PRESS RELEASE
AFRICAN MEDIA INITIATIVE ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEMBERS
Nairobi, 17th
March 2015- The African Media Initiative
(AMI) has announced a new line-up of its board of trustees, as it begins the
second phase of operations with a fresh strategy and new partners, focused on
driving the media development agenda on the continent.
The new members are: Wale Aboderin, Chairman
of Punch Nigeria Limited, Omar Ben Yedder, Group
Publisher, IC Publications, Rebecca
Enonchong , Founder & CEO, AppsTech,
Robert Kabushenga, Managing Director, New Vision
Media Group, and Angela Minyem, CEO of L’Image de L’Afrique Com.
The five join Linus Gitahi of the Nation
Media Group, Mathata Tsedu
of the Southern African National Editors Forum (SANDEF), Trevor Ncube Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings and AMI Board Chair,
and AMI CEO Eric Chinje, to bring to nine the total membership of
the board.
Board Chair Trevor N’cube, announcing
the Board composition, noted: “I’m confident the new members, all of them outstanding
achievers in media and related fields, will make enormous contributions as we
support AMI in
scaling up its programmes and working with media on
the continent to support social, economic and political transformation in
Africa.”
In this second phase of operations, AMI will be working with Strategic Partners to establish networks
of media specialists on subjects that are central to development in
Africa. A membership program aimed
at pursuing Excellence in Media – branded “ZIMEO” – will comprise professionals, media
houses and media support organizations that subscribe to a basic set of ethical
guidelines. AMI is also working to establish a platform for shared content
across Africa, dubbed ,the African Media Cooperative
(AMC)
"We are delighted to have a new Board at a critical time when
the organization is moving in a new direction,” said AMI’s CEO Eric Chinje. “We
will focus our efforts on harnessing new technologies, identifying revenue-generating
initiatives and promoting ethical principles to support the growth of the
African media industry. We will
work to provide media professionals the best tools available to improve on the overall
quality of the media product and identify the technologies and ideas to ensure
that media survives and grows in a very competitive and fast-evolving
environment.”
Biographical
information of the new members:
Wale
Aboderin is the chairman
of the PUNCH Nigeria Limited, publishers of Nigeria’s most widely circulated newspaper
titles. He previously served as the PUNCH’s vice-chairman and is an alumnus of
Government College Ibadan.
Omar
Ben Yedder
is the Group Publisher, IC Publications, working across various departments, but
primarily with the sales department. He previously worked as an Associate Vice-President
in the Equity Finance team at Merril Lynch. He holds a Honours degree in Language and
Economics, and a chartered management accountant qualification.
Rebecca
Enonchong is
the founder and CEO of
Apps Tech, a global
provider of enterprise application solutions. AppsTech
is an Oracle Platinum Partner. Enochong is a member
of the board of directors for the Salesforce.com Foundation and is also on the
board of VC4Africa, a member of the UK Department for International Development
Digital Advisory Panel. She was previously involved with the IN Women Global
Advisory Committee.
Robert
Kabushenga is the Managing Director, New Vision
Media Group, Uganda, which he joined on January 1, 2007. He holds of a Bachelor
of Laws degree from Makerere University and a Post
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre, Kampala.
Angela
Minyem is
the President and Founder of L’Image de L’Afrique Com’ – (LILA Communications), a global
communications company based in Paris, France.
For further information, and to request for
interviews with AMI officials, please contact Irene Wangui
or Justus Machio on 0700857024 or via email,
NOTE TO EDITORS:
About AMI
AMI is an umbrella organisation that brings media owners together and seeks to
find solutions to perennial problems facing the industry such as the lack of
financing and solid business models, as well as difficulties in accessing the
advertising market or even just good Internet connectivity. The organisation also aims to spur better journalism through
various training programmes, including data and
development journalism.