Amplify South Africa

Tailored support for South African media

Amplify South Africa provides tailored mentoring, capacity strengthening and grant funding to selected independent media. Focused on enhancing revenue streams, expanding audience reach and exploring innovative business models, it builds on the successes of MDIF’s South Africa Media Innovation Program (SAMIP) which, from 2017 to 2023, worked with 27 media outlets and carried out six investments.

Amplify South Africa continues this legacy of advancing media innovation and offering a pathway for media outlets to thrive in the evolving digital landscape. The program is funded by the International Fund for Public Interest Media.

Applications are currently closed.

Key features

With a dynamic blend of personalized, hands-on learning and collaborative networking, here’s what participants can expect from the program:

  • Bespoke one-on-one coaching and training to drive business growth
  • Diverse media management advice by local and international experts
  • Support from media start-up specialists to identify and develop optimal business strategies and models
  • Focus on developing new revenue streams and building audience, while maximizing engagement and customer experience
  • Advice on organization, leadership, project structure and execution workflow
  • Targeted grant funding tied to capacity support to maximize effectiveness
  • Workshops, hands-on-training and opportunities to connect with industry experts and fellow participants to gain insights from successful real-world examples

What applicants need to know

Amplify South Africa invites existing independent media companies and non-profit organizations, as well as new ventures that are less than a year old, to apply.

Over a two-year period, the Amplify South Africa cohort will develop the tools and skills needed to experiment with revenue and audience generation opportunities and test new business models. Amplify South Africa encourages collaboration and the cohort will have opportunities to participate in spaces created for co-learning and knowledge exchange. 

We are looking for independent media ranging from early stage, small scale to more established organizations serving both urban and rural audiences. Applicants should have innovative initiatives/projects that address issues impacting the organization’s sustainability and independence.

In addition to bespoke coaching, the media cohort will have access to targeted grant funding, typically ranging from $5k-$25k per year, depending on the project.

Applications are currently closed.

Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee (AC) plays a crucial role in the review and selection of successful candidates for support from Amplify South Africa. AC members also contribute to Amplify SA by providing key insights and contextual analyses of the independent media sector, and harnessing their experience to provide thought leadership, advice and support on key program issues. They also share reflections on the program and provide feedback and learning to improve processes and programming for the cohort.

Mapi Mhlangu

Founder and Managing Director, MInsight Content Creation

Catherine Gicheru

Director, Africa Women Journalism Project

Bilal Randeree

Managing Director Media Programs, MDIF

Sebenzile Nkambule

Managing Director, IJ Hub

William Shoki

Editor, Africa is a Country

Khadija Patel

Journalist-in-Residence, International Fund for Public Interest Media

FAQs

A media organization applying for Amplify South Africa must fulfill certain conditions. Please read through the full eligibility criteria to check whether your company might qualify.

  1. Applicants must be media outlets based in South Africa, independent from the government or any other political or economic interest group.
  2. Applicants must be supportive of democratic practices and institutions, political pluralism, transparency, human rights, dignity and equal rights for all, regardless of race, ethnic or social origin, gender, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religion, culture or language.
  3. Applicants should have a particular business and/or revenue and/or transformation project they are planning to work on over the next 12-24 months (or early in the stages of an existing project) targeting one or more of the following focal areas:
    • New revenue opportunities: Innovative solutions to revenue challenges that media companies face – opening up new revenue streams to make media organizations more sustainable and independent.
    • Digital native products: New approaches to collecting news and information, and to reporting, storytelling and distribution, that embrace the possibilities of technology and contribute to the viability of news operations.
    • Reaching communities in rural/underserved areas: Innovative approaches to reach and empower people generally underserved by existing news media.
    • Innovation in distribution: Media technology and tools that help to distribute local and relevant news in a cost-effective and sustainable way.
    • Transition to digital: Finding and implementing solutions, products or processes that assist legacy media to transform their businesses.
  4. Applicants must be willing to commit sufficient time to work with coaches/mentors and carry out assigned tasks.

No. Whilst Amplify South Africa is an English medium program, media organizations working in any of South Africa’s official languages will be encouraged to apply.

Yes, but they must be committed to developing non-donor revenue streams.

Amplify South Africa principally provides capacity-building support in the form of coaching and training. The program does have available some targeted grant funding tied to capacity support to maximize effectiveness.

Coaching schedules are based on agreement between the media and the coach assigned to work with them, but virtual meetings are usually weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, with periodic in-person coaching meetings as well. At least two of the media’s top executives should be ready to participate regularly in the coaching program.

Applications are currently closed.

If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please contact us on [email protected].

Participating Media

All Protocol Observed logo

Type: Digital

All Protocol Observed publishes The Continent, an award-winning African weekly newspaper designed to be shared on Whatsapp, which reaches 21,000 subscribers in 140 countries.

Cape Town TV logo

Type: Broadcast

Cape Town TV is a non-profit, free-to-air, community television station serving as a tool for development and social change in the greater Cape Town metropolitan area.

Currency News logo

Type: Digital

 Currency is a financial, economic and business news start-up with a non-profit division focused on investigative journalism and training and mentoring Black journalists in business reporting.

Inada Community Radio logo

Type: Broadcast

İnanda 88.4 FM is an award-winning family broadcaster servicing the INK Area in eThekwini Municipality, KZN. Broadcasting in both Zulu and English, it celebrates local talent, fosters connection and amplifies the voices of its vibrant community.

Likhanyile group logo.

Type: Digital

Likhanyile is a boutique media company that produces two Zulu publications, the online business-focused, Umbele, and a Zulu education and careers publication, Umkhanyisi, which is distributed via WhatsApp to high school learners and teachers.

Mamba.lgbt logo

Type: Digital

Mamba Online is South Africa’s longest-running independent LGBTIQ+ online news and community platform with the purpose of informing, empowering, visibilizing and engaging South Africa’s LGBTIQ+ community.

Nhluvuko Media Group logo

Type: Print

Nthavela is a XiTsonga-language tabloid newspaper that circulates in the mainly rural areas of north-eastern Limpopo province, where most residents are XiTsonga-speakers.

Politically Aweh logo

Type: Digital

Politically Aweh is an award-winning youth-oriented explanatory news show that uses humour and satire to raise awareness about important issues to mobilize youth participation in the democratic process.

Pulse FM logo

Type: Broadcast

Pulse FM 92.9 is a urban contemporary commercial radio station, offering 70% music and 30% talk content, that promotes local business, lifestyle and tourism in North-West Province.

Vutivi logo

Type: Digital

Vutivi Business News is a digital platform offering news and real small business experience, opportunities, trends and resources to the Small Medium Micro Enterprises readership.

Xenor Projects logo

Type: Digital/Print

Xenor Projects is an independent, hyper-local community media publishing house and passionate guardian of three community print and digital publications, Globe Post, Orange Farm News and Walkerville & Savanna City Times.

Zoutnet CC logo

Type: Digital/Print

Zoutnet CC is an independent news publisher, started publishing online in 1997, catering for residents of the Vhembe area, in northern South Africa, publishing two newspapers, the Limpopo Mirror and the Zoutpansberger.

Do you want to provide funding or support to this program?

Find more information here on how to make a meaningful contribution.

Workshop, two women talk

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