BusinessDay’s Akinmurele emerges tops as Bloomberg Media Initiative graduates 306

BusinessDay’s economy reporter, Lolade Akinmurele, has emerged the best financial journalism delegate and best graduating student in class four of the Bloomberg Financial Journalism training, as the programme graduates 306 delegates for intakes 3&4, 2016/2017, marking its exit from Nigeria, Kenya, and South-Africa to Cote-d’Ivoire, Zambia among others, after four years of operations.
A joint graduation ceremony for both classes held at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, on Monday, July 10, with Kirk Leigh, who is head of business and market intelligence at the Independent Newspaper, emerging the best financial journalism delegate and best graduating student in class three.

The graduates join 260 alumni who have successfully completed the programme since 2015.
“Financial journalism is an exciting field and I hope the graduates take on the challenge that has been thrown at them after completing this programme to write more data driven stories that are impactful and engender accountability,” Anthony Osae-Brown, editor of BusinessDay, who represented Frank Aigbogun, publisher of the media outfit, said.
The six-month certificate programme is offered to journalists and mid-career professionals in business, government and civil society to broaden their skills in capital markets and data analysis and to expand their knowledge of financial and economic reporting.
Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, with support from the Ford Foundation, the BMIA Executive Training Programme brings together leading faculties from the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and five other prominent business and journalism schools in Africa, including: Rhodes University School of Journalism in South Africa; the University of Lagos Department of Mass Communication and Radio, the Pan Atlantic University Lagos Business School in Nigeria; University of Nairobi, School of Journalism and Mass Communications and Strathmore Business School in Kenya.
Since 2015, more than 500 delegates in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya have completed the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) financial journalism-training programme.
“BMIA has been an important conduit to promote transparency and accountability on issues of complexity that are relevant to society. The journalists who have completed the programme are generating insightful news reports which will continue to hold government and its agencies accountable to the citizens,” Paul Nwulu, a programme officer at the Ford Foundation’s office in Lagos, said.
The BMIA Executive Financial Journalism Training Programme appears to come “at a time in Nigeria when diversification of markets and economic activities has started to attract global investment and attention,” said Bongo Adi, Consortium Faculty, Lagos Business School.
“We are happy to report that the feedback we have received shows that participants derive immense value in the program and that rapid enhancement has been experienced in the quality of financial and business reporting in the country. We are grateful to Bloomberg Philanthropies for such an essential intervention in the critical aspects of our economic and financial development,” Adi added.
Throughout the 19 contact days, delegates were exposed to experts and practitioners from government and major media and business companies with first-hand knowledge and experience in global markets and the media industry. Delegates also received training on the Bloomberg Terminal.
”BMIA has revolutionised the teaching and practice of financial journalism in Nigeria. Now, journalists know that research and data should drive their work” said Ralph Akinfeleye, the chair and head of UNILAG Mass Communications Department.
Bloomberg is proud to have been instrumental in promoting business journalism in Africa by working with African journalists to enhance their level of understanding of critically important business and financial concepts and the role reliable, timely data can play to move markets and advance development, according to Erana Stennett, director at Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa.
“We look forward to continuing to work with media leaders, journalists, government, and universities to enhance business and economic reporting on the continent,” Stennett said.

 
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