Africa Means Business

The AMB project works to:

• break new ground in media training;
• forge improved relationships between the media and economists as well as their contacts in the financial sector;
• contribute significantly towards business journalism excellence; and
• promote a better public understanding of complex financial issues.

According to the project organisers, African media and journalists lack the resources to develop coverage that is reliable, probing, comprehensive, and analytical. The most important reason for increasing the media's knowledge of business is that there is so much economic activity in African states that needs to be analysed, scrutinised, and reported - from the growth of the business sector to the workings of the international financial institutions and non-governmental organisations, through to the issues of aid, environment, and development, as well as to the activities of banks and foreign investors. Africa Means Business therefore works to build capacity in these areas, combining practical training and media capacity building with the production of content that can be shared across the continent.

The project has established four Africa Means Business Hubs, which are located within media institutions (broadcast and print) or within existing journalism schools. Each of the hubs coordinates the development of finance, economic, and business coverage across the continent by building the capacity of economists to communicate information and the capacity of journalists to report on the economy, finance, and business issues.

In June 2009, a group of eight journalists with eight economists and business people participated in the pilot training seminar in Kenya. Participants included the Nation Media Group, the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), the Nairobi Star newspaper, Kiss FM Radio Station, the Standard Media Group of East Africa, and South Africa's Rhodes University.

Economic Development, Media Development

According to the organisers, "around the world business journalism is waging a struggle for credibility and in most parts of Africa reliable business stories are thin on the ground. There is a growing number of financial papers and magazines, largely recently founded, in a number of African states. This is partly because the community involved in economic planning, business and finance is relatively modest and the perceived need for business journalism is small."

The Wincott Foundation is the founding partner of the project. The Thomson Foundation of the United Kingdom (UK) helped design and develop the project and is coordinating the training.