The Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) has announced the expansion of its Financial Journalism Training (FJT) programme to Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Ghana and Zambia.
This was contained in a statement by the media consultant to the BMIA, the Portland Communications to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday.
The expansion was to support the advancement of financial journalism and contribute to economic development on the continent.
It follows the success of the programme in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, where 568 delegates from 13 countries have graduated to date.
More than 100 delegates would take part in the first intake of the training in the latest three countries to offer the programme –Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Tanzania – which will be delivered in collaboration with university partners in each country.
The BMIA’s expansion to Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal would also introduce the training programme to Francophone countries for the first time.
Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, said: “Reliable, accessible financial reporting is critical to driving sustainable economic growth and good governance.
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“The expansion of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa to five new countries will significantly further our mission to advance financial journalism and transparency on the continent.”
During the next six months, the delegates would spend 19 days in interactive sessions led by prominent faculty at local universities.
They would cover topics in data analysis, capital markets, accounting, public policy, economics and the transforming media landscape.
Financial journalism sessions would be taught by Bloomberg News reporters.
Delegates would also receive a free, six-month subscription to the Bloomberg Terminal, offering access to global data, news and analysis.
Partners in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Tanzania include Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée d’Abidjan (ENSEA), Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny and Centre Africain d’Etudes Supérieures en Gestion (CESAG).
Others are Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Centre d’Etudes des Sciences et Techniques de l’information (CESTI), University of Dar es Salaam Business School, and the University of Dar es Salaam School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
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“We are very excited to see the start of this new phase of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa Financial Journalism Training programme.
“The Stavros Niarchos Foundation is proud to partner with Bloomberg in helping equip a global talent pool of journalists with the sort of specialist expertise that can propel them towards attaining a high level of professional excellence.
“This is the basis of a robust, ethical, independent press, which now seems to be more critical than ever,” said Andreas Dracopoulos, Co-President of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
Four intakes of the interactive, hands-on training programme have been delivered in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa over the past three years and resulted in 568 graduates from 13 countries.
Close to 70 per cent of delegates trained were journalists and representatives of the media.
The first intakes in Ghana and Zambia are currently underway and have enrolled 91 delegates.
The FJT programme is a core component of the BMIA, which aimed to contribute to the advancement of business and financial reporting in Africa and recognising the role of the media in promoting transparency, accountability and good governance. (NAN)