By Adedapo Adesanya
Media, business, government, technology, and community leaders from across Africa, the USA and beyond will convene in Cape Town, South Africa for the annual Africa Business Media Innovators (ABMI) forum on October 30 – November 1, 2023.
The event is co-hosted by M. Scott Havens, CEO, Bloomberg Media and Mr Matthew Winkler, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Bloomberg News, and Erana Stennett, Corporate Philanthropy Middle East and Africa, Bloomberg.
This year’s programme returns to South Africa, which was the inaugural host of ABMI in 2015. It is the first since 2019 that it will take place with people in attendance in an enclosed venue, as the 2020 and 2021 editions were held virtually.
Participants for this year’s summit will examine innovative business solutions reshaping and contributing to the future of media and journalism both in Africa and globally. It will also provide a unique, forward-looking platform for actionable dialogue and peer learning as media leaders in Africa prepare for journalism in the digital age.
Speaking on this, Mr Havens said, “Against the backdrop of a fragmented global media landscape and challenges to business models at both a local and global level, this forum provides an opportunity for fresh approaches, ideas and solutions to building sustainable media business models in Africa and beyond.”
On his part, Mr Winkler said, “ABMI comes at a time of growing optimism around Africa’s economic potential and aims to act as a platform for action to catalyse investment, growth, and development by contributing to the strengthening of business and financial reporting on the continent.”
Speakers at this year’s forum include Mr Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO, Big Cabal, Mr Styli Charalambous, CEO, Daily Maverick, Mr Paul Cheung, Chief Executive Officer, The Center for Public Integrity, Ms Thembisa Faukude, CEO, Mail & Guardian, Mr Koyo Kouoh, Executive Director, and Chief Curator, Zeitz MOCCAA, Prof. Lesley Lokko, Founder, African Futures Institute, Mr Nyimpini Mabunda, CEO, General Electric Southern Africa and Mrs Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Managing Director, Africa and the Middle East, Spotify.
Others include Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa, Co-Founder and CEO, Rappler Ms Pamella Sittoni, Executive Editor and Managing Editor, The Nation Media Group, Mr Monde Twala, Senior Vice President & GM Paramount Africa & Lead BET International, Paramount International.
The annual event is a component of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA), a pan-African program launched by Mr Michael R. Bloomberg in 2014.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg expanded its executive education program in business and financial journalism, BMIA Financial Journalism Training (FJT), to Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal. Offering the programme in French for the first time, more than 100 delegates joined the new training cohorts. This follows the successful implementation of the program in Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. To date, the FJT program has reached 800 participants from 16 countries across the African continent.
