The Ecobank Group and the AMA Academy have joined forces to offer business journalists, financial journalists, and technology journalists across Africa training modules in fintech. English and French will be offered as language options for the modules.
The course, which is comprised of five different curricula, will be presented online by professionals from the field. At the course’s conclusion, the continent’s most accomplished journalists covering the fintech industry will be recognized and given various honours.
This event will discuss various topics, including the history of financial services in Africa, how these services have changed over time, blockchain, AI in fintech, and open banking. It will also talk about governance, laws, inclusion, and how the financial technology market in Africa will change in the future.
The goal of working together is to improve the quality of reporting and have a more effective public awareness campaign. They also want to learn more about the industry on the continent that is growing the fastest so they can better understand it.
Elone Barry, founder and CEO of the African Media Agency and AMA Academy, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Ecobank Group, which is at the forefront of fintech transformation and growth in Africa.” Our academy is also committed to helping journalists improve their skills by giving them access to a wide range of experts and training opportunities. Since journalists often have to cover more than one topic, our goal is to give them the help that does the work they do more accurate and efficient.
Read also: Ecobank sets $50,000 Prize for African Fintech Challenge 2022
Mobile money transactions in Africa make up an amazing 45.6% of all mobile money transactions around the world. This is a phenomenon made possible by the rapid growth of access to the internet and smartphones, which is expected to be made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Fintech companies are causing a lot of growth in Africa
Academics in the tech industry say that 60% of the more than $4 billion invested in the tech industry in 2021 will go to fintech companies. This figure exceeded the entire investments made into the broader tech start-up ecosystem in the years prior. It is estimated that six million young people in Africa gain access to the internet each year.
This makes it easy for new fintech industries to grow, like agriculture, insurance, healthcare, clean energy, education, crowdfunding, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality, which are still relatively unexplored.
“Despite all of the good news surrounding the expansion of the African fintech industry, there is a gaping hole and an unbalanced understanding of how this story should be conveyed and understood.” Sources from the worldwide media drive the narrative that is being told now. We do not have a compelling domestic narrative that provides an in-depth examination of the events that are taking place in Africa written by Africans. Elone Barry says, “This course will give journalists the confidence, skills, and knowledge they need to be as relevant and competitive as other journalists worldwide who have taken this course and work in the same space.”
Djiba Diallo, the Senior Fintech Advisor at Ecobank Group, said this about the partnership: “Outside of the traditional strongholds of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, the continent has seen the rise of “challenger markets.” These ‘challenger markets’ include Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uganda, to name a few. These are the countries where Ecobank is active and where the fintech media training course will significantly impact the local media. As a pan-African banking group, we are committed to the growth of local fintech solutions, many of which have the potential to become global solutions and to give our local media partners more power.
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The AMA Academy
The AMA Academy is a recognized training program that helps people learn skills that are in high demand in the media industry. Through individualised training and workshops, they teach media owners and reporters how to make the most of the continually developing new technologies.