First graduations from Ecobank and AMA Academy’s Finance Journalism Training Programme 

Africa Financial Journalist Awards 2022 winners announced 

LOME, Togo, 14 December  2022 /African Media Agency (AMA)/ – Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African banking group, and AMA Academy, the pan-African e-learning platform providing free training to African journalists, announce that the inaugural cohort of journalists have graduated from their fintech-focused Finance Journalism Training Programme.  

The Programme is a ground-breaking initiative providing five weeks of training modules covering the history of financial services, blockchain, open banking and the fintech transformation of financial services and regulation. The course is specially designed to train and build the capacity of journalists covering finance, business and technology by equipping them with the skills, knowledge and experience that they need to fully understand and accurately report on the issues, challenges, opportunities and benefits of the African financial sector.  

Eloine Barry, Managing Director of the AMA Academy, said: “The Finance Journalism Training Programme delivers on the huge need to provide high-level knowledge and understanding to African journalists on the emerging trends in finance, and especially those relating to the rapidly evolving fintech landscape. It is particularly fitting that we are collaborating with the Ecobank Group for this programme as it shares our vision of creating a world where everyone should be able to learn about the new trends that affect the development of our continent.” 

“This fintech training course aligns with Ecobank’s strategy to support the growth of the African fintech ecosystem. We applaud this first graduating cohort for their willingness and curiosity during these training modules. They and future attendees of this programme will help to ensure the robust media reporting necessary to drive public education and awareness of the financial sector across the African continent. We also thank our partner AMA Academy for successfully implementing the programme,” said Christiane Bossom, Communications Manager, Ecobank Group. 

In August 2022 over 400 journalists from 30 African countries were selected to participate in this free Financial Journalism Training Programme.  

Fintech Journalist of the Year 2022 Awards 

Mr. Felix Abely, Editor-in-Chief of Congo Media Plus from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Joseph Ndamu Sandu, Editor of Business Times in Zimbabwe, won the Fintech Journalist of the Year Award for Francophone Africa and Anglophone Africa respectively. They were selected as the winners by a jury of experts and journalists for writing the best fintech articles in their final assignment of the programme. The two winners were given free access to the Africa Financial Industry Summit, courtesy of Jeune Afrique Media Plus, which took place on 28 – 29 November in Lomé. 

On behalf of the two winners, Joseph Ndamu Sandu, said: “We pay tribute to pan-African bank, Ecobank, and its partner African Media Agency for delivering a programme that gives journalists the right toolbox to report with real knowledge and understanding on the fintech revolution.” 

A total of 22 journalists who completed the training modules competed for the Best Fintech Journalist Award, 11 in Francophone Africa and 11 in Anglophone Africa. In Francophone Africa, Anselme Akeko and Acheck Yacoub Hassan finished second and third respectively, while Gugu Lourie and Isaac Aidoo finished 2nd and 3rd in Anglophone Africa. 

The Ecobank Group Chief Executive Officer, Ade Ayeyemi, congratulated the winners as he handed them their awards on the sidelines of the African Financial Industry Summit. He also congratulated all participants in the training program and highlighted the value that training of financial journalists brings within the context of Africa’s Financial Sector.  

Future training programs will be communicated in due course.  

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Ecobank Group and AMA Academy.

About Ecobank Group (or ‘Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’ or ‘ETI’) 

Ecobank Group is the leading private pan-African banking group with unrivalled African expertise. Present in 35 sub-Saharan African countries, as well as France, UK, UAE and China, its pan-African platform provides a single gateway for payments, cash management, trade and investments. The Group employs over 13,000 people and offers Consumer, Commercial, Corporate and Investment Banking products, services and solutions across multiple channels including digital, to over 32 million customers. For further information, please visit ecobank.com 

About AMA Academy 

AMA Academy is a free training and networking platform for African journalists and media professionals. Our mission is to train 10,000 journalists and media professionals by 2027, enabling them to acquire skills in all genres and sectors of journalism to change the African narrative and promote high-quality reporting. We partner with established organizations and reputable experts in a variety of sector to design and adapt training modules to the local requirements of media innovation. Launched in March 2022, we have so far provided training to over 500 media professionals in more than 35 African countries. 

Media Contact – AMA Academy: 

Eric Jonathan SEBGO 

Training Coordinator 

[email protected] 

Media Contact – Ecobank: 

Christiane Bossom 

Group Communications Manager 

Email: [email protected] 

Tel: +228 22 21 03 03 

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