MDIF has initiated Amplify South Africa, a program focused on mentoring, capacity building, and providing grant funding to support independent media enterprises in enhancing their revenues, expanding their audiences, and fostering innovation.
Amplify South Africa offers customized mentoring, capacity building, and grant funding tailored to selected independent media entities. Emphasizing the augmentation of revenue streams, broadening audience outreach, and exploring innovative business models, it builds upon the achievements of MDIF’s South Africa Media Innovation Program (SAMIP), which collaborated with 27 media outlets and executed six investments from 2017 to 2023.
Continuing this legacy of fostering media innovation, Amplify South Africa aims to facilitate the flourishing of media outlets amidst the evolving digital landscape. The program receives funding from the International Fund for Public Interest Media.
Eligibility Criteria:
Media organizations seeking participation in Amplify South Africa must meet specific criteria. Applicants are advised to review the complete eligibility requirements to assess their company’s potential qualifications. Application submissions will commence soon.
Candidates must represent media organizations based in South Africa, free from ties to governmental or other political and economic entities. Applicants must endorse democratic principles and institutions, political diversity, transparency, human rights, dignity, and equal rights for all, irrespective of race, ethnicity, social background, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, culture, or language. Applicants should have a defined business, revenue, or transformational project planned for the next 12-24 months (or be in the early stages of an existing project), targeting one or more of the following primary areas of concentration:
- New revenue opportunities: Innovative solutions addressing revenue challenges encountered by media companies, aiming to establish new revenue streams for enhanced sustainability and independence.
- Digital native products: Novel approaches to news and information gathering, reporting, storytelling, and distribution that leverage technology’s potential and contribute to news operations’ viability.
- Rural/underserved community engagement: Innovative strategies to reach and empower individuals traditionally underserved by mainstream news media.
- Distribution innovation: Media technology and tools facilitating cost-effective and sustainable distribution of local and relevant news.
- Digital transition: Solutions, products, or processes aiding legacy media in transitioning their businesses to digital platforms. Applicants must be willing to dedicate ample time to collaborate with coaches/mentors and undertake assigned tasks.
Program Benefits:
Participants can anticipate the following benefits from the program, characterized by a dynamic blend of personalized, practical learning and collaborative networking:
- Tailored one-on-one coaching and training sessions to drive business expansion
- Varied media management guidance from local and international experts
- Assistance from media startup specialists in identifying and refining optimal business strategies and models
- Emphasis on cultivating new revenue streams, expanding audience reach, and enhancing engagement and customer experience
- Guidance on organizational structure, leadership, project management, and workflow execution
- Targeted grant funding linked to capacity-building support to maximize effectiveness
- Workshops, practical training sessions, and opportunities to engage with industry experts and fellow participants for insights drawn from successful real-world examples
For further details,
Application Deadline: March 16, 2024
