Asharami Square Fellowship Deadline Shifts to November 30

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The deadline for submission of entries for the inaugural Asharami Square Energy Reporting Fellowship is now November 30, 2026.

Up to $5,000 is up for grabs, with the winning journalist receiving a $3,500 grand prize, according to the organisers.

The programme offers access to expert-led masterclasses, mentorship opportunities, facility tours and engagement with industry experts. It is open to practising journalists across print, broadcast, digital and multimedia platforms.

Assessors will prioritise stories supported by credible data, strong fact-checking, under-reported perspectives and evidence of real-world impact.

Speaking on the significance of the initiative, the Head of Corporate Communications at Sahara Group, Mr Bethel Obioma, said the Fellowship reflects Sahara’s belief that journalism has a critical role to play in advancing Africa’s energy future.

“Africa’s energy story requires more than reporting challenges. It requires journalism that interrogates responses, highlights practical solutions and deepens public understanding of the realities shaping the continent’s energy landscape,” he said.

Mr Obioma said Sahara would, through the programme, support journalists who can tell evidence-based stories that influence policy, investment and development outcomes.

He urged “African journalists to visit www.asharamisquarefellowship.com to apply today ahead of the November 30, 2026 deadline,” noting that submissions will be evaluated on five key pillars: integrity and accuracy, originality and depth of research, balance and context, solutions-focused rigour, and practical impact.

The Lead Assessor for the programme, Professor Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, pointed out that Africa’s energy future would be shaped not only by infrastructure, financing and policy reforms, but also by the quality of journalism informing public understanding of the continent’s energy realities, tasking media newsmen to move beyond problem-centred reporting and embrace solutions journalism as a catalyst for sustainable development and energy transformation.

The communications scholar said energy reporting has traditionally focused on grid collapses, energy poverty, policy bottlenecks and funding deficits.

“Pointing out the darkness without illuminating the pathways to light leaves our communities paralysed by despair rather than empowered to act,” she noted, describing the Asharami Square Energy Reporting Fellowship as a transformative initiative, which seeks to elevate African journalists from chroniclers of energy challenges to contributors to Africa’s energy transformation journey.

“We are looking for stories that inform public discourse, influence legislative action and hold power accountable. Journalists must not settle for shallow headlines. They should trace the funding, critique the technology, interrogate the policies and highlight the responses transforming Africa’s energy landscape,” she declared.

Mrs Ogwezzy-Ndisika stressed that solutions journalism is neither advocacy nor public relations, but evidence-based reporting grounded in accountability, scrutiny and measurable impact.

“When African journalists apply this framework to energy funding, decentralised mini-grids or regulatory reform, they don’t just report on power; they generate power. They shift public debate from asking why Africa is in the dark to exploring how communities, innovators, financiers and policymakers are helping keep the lights on and what can be scaled,” she said.

Business Post reports that the Asharami Energy Reporting Fellowship, established under Sahara’s Beyond XXX platform, was created to strengthen journalism around energy access, infrastructure, financing, sustainability, innovation and policy across Africa. It forms part of Sahara’s commitment to investing in platforms and people that help shape Africa’s future through informed discourse and practical action.