BMIA Financial Journalism Training Program Marks First Year

The Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) Executive Training Program to advance financial journalism in Africa marks the completion of its first year this month with 260 graduates receiving recognition at graduation ceremonies in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. The series of ceremonies concluded in Kenya on 22 February.

 The six-month certificate program is offered to journalists and mid-career professionals in business and civil society to strengthen their skills in capital markets and data analysis and enhance their knowledge in financial and economic reporting. The program is a core component of the BMIA, which aims to accelerate development of a globally competitive media and financial reporting industry as well as promote transparency, accountability and good governance in Africa.

The Director of BMIA, Erana Stennett stated that their hope is that participants will consider the training as an exposure to business and financial reporting as a lifelong vocation to further the development, quality, accuracy and impact of the field in Africa.

Stennett added that Bloomberg was proud to partner with preeminent journalists and leading universities in Africa to make the program possible. “I am proud of the journalists and executives who completed the program, and thank their employers for giving them the opportunity,” she added. 

Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, with additional support from the Ford Foundation, the BMIA Executive Training Program brings together leading faculty from the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and five other preeminent 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, and the Pan Atlantic University Lagos Business School in Nigeria; and University of Nairobi, School of Journalism and Mass Communications and Strathmore Business School in Kenya. 

Dr. George Njenga, Dean of Strathmore Business School, Kenya said that Extraordinary business journalists who had completed the BMIA Executive Training Program in Kenya will help grow the financial and business sector to greater heights.

This interactive program aims to enhance the skills and knowledge of media professionals to better serve the public interest as a critical part of continental development and progress. Program participants received instruction from world-class faculty and industry experts.

The 19-day program over six months consists of six modules featuring Public Policy, Financial Journalism, Financial Markets, Accounting and Finance. 

Linda Sing, Director, Secretariat added that they have two more programs, which will offer aspiring African media professionals, and all communicators focused on Africa’s economies, an opportunity to expand their theoretical knowledge base and to enhance their understanding of the critical interdependencies shaping the African growth and development narrative. 

Applications for the third intake are now open. Interested individuals who possess a recognized tertiary qualification (bachelor’s degree or diploma) and have experience in journalism, finance, communication or a related field are encouraged to

The BMIA is a three-year Pan-African program that provides cross disciplinary education programs to strengthen business and economic media capacity, convene African and international leaders to examine worldwide best practices in financial journalism, and improve access to information in order to advance transparency and accountability on the continent.

Article by Vera Shawiza.