BMIA’s FJTP enhances Africa’s economy with new graduands

The Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA)’s commitment to boosting Africa’s economic development has recorded another feat with the scheduled graduation of the final class of its financial journalism training program (FJTP).

More than 500 mid-career journalists and professionals in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, have completed the financial journalism training, since 2015, enhancing date journalism in Africa and for effective and accurate projection of Africa’s economic developments to the global community.

The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) serving as Secretariat of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA), in a statement made available to Daily Times Nigeria, announced the completion and graduation ceremony of the BMIA Financial Journalism Training Program for classes 3 and 4.

The graduation has been scheduled for the 10th of July 2017 at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi in Lagos. This July, the program will graduate 306 delegates, from classes 3 and four. The fresh graduates will join the 260 alumni of the program, who successfully completed the training since 2015.

Keynote address at the graduation ceremony will be delivered by Frank Aigbogun, CEO Business Day.

Graduation ceremonies will be held in Lagos, Nigeria on 10th July, 2017, Nairobi, Kenya, 14th July, 2017), and Johannesburg, South Africa 18th July 2017.

The financial Journalism training, a six-month certificate program funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, with additional support from the Ford Foundation, was announced in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2014, by Michael R. Bloomberg to advance business journalism in Africa.

Bloomberg is proud to have been instrumental in promoting business journalism in Africa by working with African journalists to enhance their level of understanding of critically important business and financial concepts and the role reliable, timely data can play to move markets and advance development, says Erana Stennett, Director, Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa. “We look forward to continuing to work with media leaders, journalists, government, and universities to enhance business and economic reporting on the continent.”

The training program delivered across three countries by preeminent faculty of leading business and journalism schools offered African mid-career journalists and business, government and civil society professionals courses in data analysis, financial markets, economics, public policy and other relevant business and journalisms topics to accelerate development of a globally competitive media and financial reporting industry to increase market transparency and economic growth.

Paul Nwulu, a program officer at the Ford Foundation’s office in Lagos, said, “BMIA has been an important conduit to promote transparency and accountability on issues of complexity that are relevant to society.”

The University of Lagos’ Department of Mass Communication and Broadcasting, and the Lagos Business School in Nigeria; the University of Pretoria’s GIBS together with leading faculty from the Rhodes University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies in South Africa; and the University of Nairobi’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Strathmore Business School in Kenya partnered across three countries to developed and delivery the unique multidisciplinary training program.

Dr. Bongo Adi, Consortium Faculty, Lagos Business School lauded the BMIA and the Ford Foundation for the interventionist program, adding that the program came at the right time in Nigeria, when the diversification of markets and economic activities have started to attract global investment.

”BMIA has revolutionized the teaching and practice of financial journalism in Nigeria. Now, journalists know that research and data should drive their work” says Prof Ralph A. Akinfeleye, the Chair and Head of UNILAG’s Mass Communication Department.

Kirk Leigh, Head, Business and Market Intelligence, The Independent Newspaper, and BMIA FJT Class Three delegate remarked, “BMIA introduced me to the most powerful tool of financial and market analysis-The Bloomberg Terminal. It also deepened my grasp of various tools of analysis from economics to Microsoft Excel and financial statement analysis. As a result, I feel confident to take on any challenge and responsibility in that sphere even if it means leading the research department of a Fortune 500 company.”