13:00-13:10
(Cape Town time)

INMA’s fifth annual Africa News Media Summit will bend the global trends impacting media worldwide to the realities of our region. Join us as we welcome delegates and set the scene for two days of outstanding keynotes and practical case studies from Africa

13:10-13:35
(Cape Town time)

In this keynote address, look across the news industry worldwide to better understand the media environment and how business models are being impacted by the emergence of generative AI. Get up to date on the state of subscriptions, advertising and commerce, generative AI, newsroom transformation, and the scenarios ahead.

13:35-14:00
(Cape Town time)

Where does Africa’s media fit in the global trends affecting publishers today? This presentation will look at journalism in the post-truth era, including what this means for news gathering, news distribution, and newsroom structures/workflows/priorities. Joseph will also dive into audiences, notably on how youth increasingly rely on the use of social media to form opinions and how mainstream media is reacting. Finally, what does this all mean for media sustainability. Are headcount reductions and re-organization efforts the only ways to deal with a changing revenue picture?

14:00-14:55
(Cape Town time)

How to remain relevant as digital transforms consumer behaviour and heavy-handed regimes and inconsistent regulators lean against freedom of expression is the focus of this panel. Learn how some of Africa’s leading lights of journalism are pushing against trends, including organizational changes and re-examining how the work of journalism gets done.

14:55-15:55
(Cape Town time)

Adaption of new technologies for media workflows, business efficiency, revenue models, and managing data are among the most exciting trends on the continent this year. Understanding the limitations and freedoms AI affords the news industry is a process that is key to unlocking growth and opportunities presented by its use to produce trustworthy journalism and ensure we remain relevant to our audiences. In this session you'll hear three case studies presented in fast-paced, to-the-point presentations.

• Business Insider Africa discusses the innovative strategies that have propelled Pulse Africa growth as an online and social media platform, how they have leveraged the unique characteristics of each channel to grow and expand their market share.
  Victor Oluwole, Head and Editor, Business Insider Africa, Nigeria

• Citizen Digital has become a leading digital news platform, leveraging its leadership from legacy broadcasting to become one of the most downloaded news and content apps in the East Africa region.
  Carol Wachira, Marketing Director Royal Media Services – East Africa, Kenya

• Media24 is conducting training across various teams and seeking efficiencies and innovative uses of generative AI.
  Charlene Rolls, Head of AI, Media 24, South Africa

15:55-16:00
(Cape Town time)

We wrap up Day 1 of the INMA Africa News Media Summit with a quick summation: What were the commonalities and the outliers in today’s presentations? What are the priorities?

13:00-13:10
(Cape Town time)

On this second day of the Africa Summit, join us as we learn how we can better leverage our diversity, develop innovative revenue streams, and re-inject the entrepreneurship mindset into our media sustainability conversations — and all emerge stronger as an industry.

13:10-13:30
(Cape Town time)

While in many countries of the world, social networks and online channels are becoming the main means of communication and information, in Africa, the most used information tool across rural parts remains radio. In Rwanda, the difference between urban centers and rural areas is made above all by Internet connection, the same is not true for the more remote areas of the country that live primarily from agriculture. Not everyone has a smartphone or tablet. And the connection, running mainly in 2G, is not apt to the use of social media. For this reason, radio is the medium that continues to unite communities, the main connection between the happenings in the world and families in rural Africa. Radio Umucyo tells us about the humble beginnings of this remarkable radio station from a lunchtime show ran from a church in 2005 to a full-time radio station impacting the community through programming “Stations of generosity,” a truly unforgettable story from Rwanda.

13:30-13:50
(Cape Town time)

Zimbabwe’s media landscape is historically dominated by state media and is showing an encouraging increase in the diversity of players. In spite of heavy-handed regulation and prohibitive costs of entry, the use of social media platforms and messaging apps has created opportunity for TellZim that began as a newssheet to transition online and build a community of readers as advertisers.

13:50-15:15
(Cape Town time)

This session will broadly look at new ways in which news media publishers are monetising their platforms and leveraging their audiences for growth and sustainability of their businesses. This erosion of value in the news media landscape has been influenced by various factors including audiences increasingly relying on alternative platforms to access all sorts of content and information. Many of these platforms are increasingly loosening ties to news and publishers and instead focusing more on other kinds of content and other creators. The news industry is indeed in a difficult place in most of Africa. In terms of revenue models, many news media organisations continue to explore new ways of alleviating the loss of sales in advertising. We look to four African countries — Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa — to see mixed approaches to revenue: commercial events and partnerships, affiliate marketing, reader revenue subscriptions and paywalls, philanthropy and innovation funding.

15:15-15:30
(Cape Town time)

As we wrap up the key takeaways from today’s sessions, we loop them into broader themes from the two-day summit. What are the big challenges (and solutions) for African media in the year ahead?