Entries Open for GNI Innovation Challenge in Africa, Others

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

News providers in Africa, the Middle East and Turkey who intend to receive up to $150,000 each in funding can apply for the third Google News Initiative (GNI) Innovation Challenge can begin to apply.

A statement from Google News disclosed that providers of all sizes are eligible to apply as projects would be evaluated against five criteria: innovation, impact on news ecosystem, diversity, equity and inclusion; inspiration; and feasibility.

Applications must be made online via the GNI Innovation Challenge website and are open until Tuesday, April 5 at 23:59 GMT.

As part of the application process, applicants are required to produce an explanatory slidedeck. There will be an online town hall on Tuesday, March 8 at 10 am GMT via https://goo.gle/GNItownhall with a live presentation and the opportunity to ask questions.

The GNI Innovation Challenge has been running in the region since 2019 and the first two rounds saw 43 projects selected from 18 countries.

Recipients of the 2019 and 2021 Innovation Challenges answered a call for projects which would increase reader engagement and/or explore new business models. The ideas ranged from digital membership schemes to Arabic language search tools.

According to Google, the GNI Innovation Challenge empowers news organisations from around the world to demonstrate new thinking in online journalism, to better understand their communities, and to develop new publishing business models.

The Head of Google News Initiative Innovation, Ludovic Blecher, in the statement, was quoted as saying, “Over the past three years, we’ve seen news providers in the region advance a diverse range of topics from data journalism and new readers revenue models to digital newsroom tools designed to tackle climate change reporting.

“The Middle East, Turkey and Africa is a region rich with talent, high potential and opportunities. This year, we’re looking forward to seeing fresh ideas and innovative approaches to big challenges the news ecosystem is facing.”