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Africa Business Media Innovators, June 8-10, 2025, Livingstone, Zambia

In 2015, the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa launched its inaugural Africa Business Media Innovators (ABMI) in Johannesburg, South Africa, uniting global leaders to explore the continent’s transforming media landscape. Now, ABMI celebrates ten years of commitment to the advancement and success of Africa’s media industry. As we reflect on the past and look to the future, ABMI convenes for this milestone event to measure the progress of the continent’s media industry and explore key themes, including the impact of emerging technologies and AI, the business of sport media, the podcast industry, media investment, fintech and digital media.

Open Letter from Media Entrepreneurs

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2025 Africa Business Media Innovators Highlights

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Previous Convenings

Across Africa, media owners and operators face common and extraordinary challenges both locally and globally. These include the acceleration to digital and remote online technologies, the advancement of AI tools, the increasing rise of global competitors, particularly social media, and the loss of advertising revenue driving the need for new business models. These challenges are coupled with dramatic changes in the structure of African and global economies.

The Africa Business Media Innovators (ABMI) is a featured component of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa, launched by Michael R. Bloomberg in Johannesburg in 2014. This initiative aims to support a flourishing media sector in Africa to contribute to the continent’s economic development. Focused on Africa but with an international perspective, ABMI provides a unique, forward-looking platform for actionable dialogue and learning for industry leaders in Africa to navigate the most consequential developments of a changing media landscape.

Since its first gathering in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015, ABMI has been held in various locations including Lake Naivasha, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; Livingstone, Zambia; Cape Town, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; and virtually during the pandemic in 2020 and 2022. These gatherings convene media executives, cross-industry CEOs, public policy makers, technology founders, business innovators, investors, and civil society leaders from around the world. Together, they seek new opportunities, innovative strategies, and solutions that will power journalism and media in Africa and globally.

969 leaders from media, business, technology, and government

65 countries

Highlights

• Launch of ABMI in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015
• Six in person convenings held in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Senegal, Cape Town
• Over 1,000 leaders from Media, Business, Technology, Government and Civil Society attended
• Honorable Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana addressed the audience in Accra in 2017
• Senegal Minister of State, Honorable Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne addresses in the audience in 2019
• ABMI was held virtually in 2020 with a keynote address delivered by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank

Welcome
 Growth in Africa
Generative AI
 Honorable Geordin Hill-Lewis
Outlook for Africa’s Economy
 Reviewing Post-Covid Dynamics
Art Activism
 Financing Commercial and Non-commercial Media
Future of Work in the Newsroom

H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, in conversation with Matthew Winkler, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, and Co-Founder of Bloomberg News, ABMI 2017, Ghana
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank, ABMI 2020 Innovator Chats, Virtual
Frank Aigbogun, CEO, BusinessDay Media Ltd., Dr. Edith Dankwa, CEO, Business and Financial Times, and Matthew Winkler, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, and Co-Founder of Bloomberg News, ABMI 2018, Zambia
Vusi Mahlasela, Guitarist and Singer-Songwriter, ABMI 2015, South Africa
Suzanna Owiyo, Songwriter-Performer, ABMI 2016, Kenya
Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, Former Minister of State and Secretary General, Senegal Presidency, ABMI 2019, Senegal
Erana Stennett, Corporate Philanthropy Regional Head, Africa and the Middle East, Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa, ABMI 2018, Ghana
Sangu Delle, Chairman, Golden Palm Investments, Pali Lehohla, Former Statistician General, South Africa, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, Former President, African Development Bank, and Matthew Winkler, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Bloomberg News, ABMI 2016, Kenya
Honorable Dora Siliya, Former Minister of Communication and Broadcasting, Government of Zambia, ABMI 2018, Aambia
Lena Sene, President and CEO, Developing Capital for Africa, and Tariye Gbadegesin, CEO, ARM-Harith Infrastructure Ltd, ABMI 2019, Senegal
Dr. Solomon Aseffa, Former Vice President, IBM Research, ABMI 2018, Ghana
Micheline Ntiru, Co-Founder, We Three Queens of Africa, Koyo Kouoh, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Zeitz MOCAA , Moky Makura, Executive Director, Africa No Filter, and Prof. Lesley Lokko OBE, Founder and Director, African Futures Institute, ABMI 2023, South Africa
Matthew Winkler, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, and Co-Founder of Bloomberg News, Raju Narisetti, Leader, Global Publishing, McKinsey & Company, and Harlan Mandel, CEO, Media Development Investment Fund, ABMI 2023, South Africa
Scott Havens, Former CEO, Bloomberg Media, Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO, Big Cabal, Styli Charalambous, CEO, Daily Maverick, and Mr. Wachira Waruru, Group Managing Director, Royal Media Services, ABMI 2023, South Africa
Erana Stennett, Bloomberg Corporate Philanthropy Regional Lead Africa and the Middle East, Zain Verjee, Founder and CEO, Zain Verjee Group, and Dr. Brook Taye, Director General, Ethiopian Capital Market Authority, ABMI 2023, South Africa
Honorable Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor of Cape Town, ABMI 2023, South Africa
Matthew Winkler, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, and Co-Founder of Bloomberg News, Tshepo Mahloele, Chairman, Arena Holdings, Co-Founder and Chairman, Harith General Partners, Chairman and Founder, Lebashe Investment Group, Leonard Stiegeler, Investor, LS and Founder, Pulse and LS, and Timothy Kotin, CEO and Co-Founder, Superfluid Labs, ABMI 2023, South Africa
Nishant Lalwani, Co-Founder and CEO, International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM), Maria Ressa, Nobel Laureate, Co-Founder and CEO, Rappler, Co-Chair, International Fund for Public Interest Media and Albie Sachs, South African Lawyer, Former Justice, Writer, Activist, ABMI 2023, South Africa
Lola Ogunnaike, Journalist and Writer, Yvonne Orji, Comedian, Actress, Writer, Producer and Author, and Danai Gurira, Award-Winning Actress, Playwright, Activist, Artistic Director of Almasi Collaborative Arts, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, ABMI 2023
Matthew Winkler, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, and Co-Founder of Bloomberg News, and Dr. Acha Leke, Senior Partner and Chairman, Africa, McKinsey & Company; Chairman, Governing Council, Zeitz MOCAA and Co-Founder, African Leadership Academy, ABMI 2023
Amogelang Mbatha, South Africa Bureau Chief, Bloomberg News, Nyimpini Mabunda, Chairman, Schindler Lifts South Africa, Dr. Brook Taye, Director General, Ethiopian Capital Market Authority, and Mr. Travis Adkins, President and CEO, US Africa Foundation, ABMI 2023, South Africa
Micheline Ntiru, Co-Founder, We Three Queens of Africa, Aguil Deng, Senior Program Manager, Bloomberg Corporate Philanthropy Africa and the Middle East, and Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Spotify, ABMI 2023, South Africa
Jacqueline Simmons, Editorial Lead, EMEA, Bloomberg News, Zain Verjee, Founder and CEO, Zain Verjee Group, LaSharah Bunting, CEO and Executive Director, Online News Association, Andile Khumalo, CEO, KhumaloCo, and Licy DoCanto, Managing Director, North America Head of Market Engagement, APCO Worldwide, ABMI 2023, South Africa

I have no doubt that our country’s transition to a real democracy would not have happened the way it did were it not for the journalists, editors and media owners who were prepared to risk it all for the sake of telling the full truth.

Honorable Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor of Cape Town (ABMI 2023, South Africa)

Covid-19 has helped us accelerate the movement from the hard copy to the digital platform…we are so excited of the movement in terms of technology…the pace was very slow in Ghana, COVID-19 helped us to move to digital paid subscriptions.…

Dr. Edith Dankwa, Group Publisher, Business Times Africa Magazine, Energy Today Magazine and Business & Financial Times (Virtual ABMI Innovators Chat 2020)

It is the most dynamic I have seen the media business…as hard as this year has been, it has been one of the most dynamic, challenging in a good way, stimulating and innovative time for our business and media as a whole….we are living in an era of change….

Almar Latour, CEO, Dow Jones and Company (Virtual ABMI Conversations 2022)

This is the first time that we have had recognition from one of the major platforms that they have some obligation to support the creation of the high-quality journalism that is keeping a lot of the people on these platforms. I think that there might be an opportunity there for everybody.

James Bennet, Former Editorial Page Editor, the New York Times (ABMI 2019)

The pandemic has fast-tracked technological innovation, which will be a key driver of South Africa’s and the continent’s economic recovery. As Africans we have to begin to look into being able to the use the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to become innovative, to invest into developing our own technology and trade among ourselves.

Honorable Pinky Kekana, Deputy Minister of Communications, South Africa (Virtual ABMI Innovators Chat 2020)

…data is becoming the most abundant natural resource…

Dr. Solomon Assefa VP, IBM Research - Africa & Emerging Markets Solutions (ABMI 2018, Zambia)

The time has come for us to harness the full potential of the media

H.E. President Akufo-Addo (ABMI 2017, Ghana)

If you only gauge the value of your work by traffic and readership, that’s not journalism. That’s just a content production outlet.

Yinka Adegoke, Former Africa Editor, Quartz (ABMI2016, Kenya)

A study by MIT has shown that lies spread six times faster than the truth, even more quickly if they are premised on fear and hate and sadly social media companies are putting their thumbs on the scale of the most divisive content….

Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa (ABMI 2023, South Africa)

Africa will build back faster by harnessing and better managing its natural resources, including minerals, metals, biodiversity, blue economy, forests, resources, agriculture or gas in order to boost domestic savings…More transparent governance must form a key component of financing Africa’s growth.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank (Virtual ABMI Innovators Chat 2020)

2015 Report

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2016 Report

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2017 Report

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2018 Report

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2019 Report

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2020 Report

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2023 Report

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