MTN Nigeria to invest over N300m in Media Innovation Programme

AS the media space is rapidly changing, with citizen journalism, digital media, data science, solution journalism, and other innovations changing journalistic practice and media content production, organisations and institutions are taking bolder actions to help journalists understand these changes and equip them with new skills needed to function in the new age of media.

Nigeria’s leading technology company, MTN Nigeria has joined global organisations supporting media practitioners to stay relevant in an everchanging media profession with the launch of groundbreaking Media Innovation Programme to train 20 Nigerian media professionals in digital skills, improvement in writing and reporting skills through group presentations and sessions on Powerpoint tools for effective communication.

“The MIP fellows will engage in intensive sessions on courses covering creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship and management principles, subscription business, strategic planning skills, amongst others,” the CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said at the launch of the programme.

The six- month fully funded fellowship programme is in partnership with the School of Media and Communication, Pan- Atlantic University, in Lagos. The 20 fellows will spend some time in accelerator labs and innovation centres, creating and incubating ideas as well as a study visit to the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, adjudged as one of the top African universities in media training.

The Media Innovation Programme is coming at a time when media leaders from more than 50 countries across the world say lack of sufficient resources and skills are the major barriers

to delivering innovation in their works, according to the ‘ Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2022’ report published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, in January 2022.

The report revealed that around 51 per cent of 246 media leaders in 52 countries surveyed say they don’t have enough money to invest in innovation this year. A similar proportion says they struggle to hire or keep enough technical, design, or data staff to deliver solutions.

Technical Assistant to Plant Director and Head Alternative Fuel, Ibese, Mohammed Sumaila( left); Acting Plant Director, Myneni Nageswara; Head, Sustainability, Dangote Cement Plc, Igaezuma Okoroba; Head, Alternative Fuel Project, Peter Anagbe and Head of Procurement, Ibese, Mohammed Mohammed, during a visit to select palm kernel shell ( PKS) value chain stakeholders in Ikire, Osun state, in commemoration of the Mother Earth Day.