Amplify Asia
Tailored coaching for Asian media
Amplify Asia is an innovative coaching program for independent media working to build their business capacity and financial sustainability. It provides support to independent media based in or serving selected countries in Southeast and South Asia.
Key features and benefits
- Careful matching with personal coach from the region to advise on company strategy
- Capacity building plans tailored to the media’s individual needs
- Access to regional specialists
- Technical assistance in areas such as website redesign, SEO services, sales and marketing training
- Possibility of small grants and seed equity facility
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Criteria for joining the program
Amplify Asia supports the business development of selected media from Southeast Asia as well as Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. There are strict eligibility conditions for participation. Applicants must be:
- Media companies (for-profit) or not-for-profit organizations committed to providing credible, independent news, information or public interest debate for audiences based primarily in South and Southeast Asia. Media from Southeast Asia as well as Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are eligible to apply.
- Independent from the government or any other political or economic interest group.
- Supportive of democratic practices and institutions, political pluralism, transparency, human rights, dignity and equal rights for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion and other subjects of discrimination.
- Operating in countries where access to reliable information is limited.
- Legally registered, except in extraordinary circumstances.
- Committed to developing a path to financial sustainability.
- Having sufficient capacity to produce regular financial reports.
- Willing to commit sufficient time to work with coaches/mentors and carry out assigned tasks.
Please note: Amplify Asia is not currently accepting applications. But if you are an independent media that is interested to learn more about the program, please email Mayuri Mei Lin, Senior Program Officer for Asia, at .
FAQs
Media from the following Southeast Asian countries are eligible: Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Media from the following South Asian countries are eligible: Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
We do not have an expansion planned at this time.
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.
Amplify Asia principally provides capacity-building support in the form of coaching and training. The program does have a small grant facility to support new initiatives designed to extend audience reach or increase revenue, provided the media’s coach endorses them.
No. While Amplify Asia supports and encourages local language projects, the application must be in English.
Yes, but they must be committed to developing non-donor revenue streams.
If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please contact Senior Program Officer for Asia Mayuri Mei Lin.
Participating media
Country: Indonesia
Type: Digital
Bollo.id is a small Indonesian-language digital news outlet that focuses primarily on environmental issues as well as women and marginalized groups in the province of South Sulawesi.
Country: Indonesia
Type: Digital
Bandung Bergerak is a hyperlocal media outlet that reports on political and social affairs issues in Bandung, the capital of Indonesia’s West Java province.
Country: Indonesia
Type: Digital
Ekuatorial has been in operation for the past decade, producing in-depth, well-researched, long-form reporting on environmental issues impacting Indonesia.
Country: Bangladesh
Type: Digital
Earki is a digital media platform that blends satire, journalism, and storytelling to promote freedom of speech, civic awareness, and social justice. Since 2015, Earki has become known for its creative content that challenges power and sparks public dialogue on political and social news.
Country: Malaysia
Type: Digital
Faqcheck Lab is a fact-checking initiative based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They factcheck and debunk disinformation spread online, and also conduct media monitoring.
Country: Pakistan
Type: Digital
Hazara Express News is an independent digital news platform from the Hazara division of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Country: Sri Lanka
Type: Digital
Himal Southasian is a regional online magazine with a focus on the politics and culture of South Asia.
Country: Indonesia
Type: Digital
Jubi is an independent news organization covering news in the Papua province of Indonesia.
Country: Nepal
Type: Digital
Kalam Media produces a newsletter in English that summarizes key political developments in Nepal and provides subscribers with an in-depth nuanced analysis of one topical issue each week.
Country: Indonesia
Type: Digital
Konde is an online news outlet that reports and publishes research on the politics, economics and social affairs of women and minority groups in Indonesia.
Country: Vietnam
Type: Digital
Luật Khoa Magazine is an independent, not-for-profit online magazine based in exile covering Vietnam’s political and legal scene.
Country: Malaysia
Type: Digital
Malaysiakini is a digital news organization covering political and social affairs in Malaysia.
Country: Philippines
Type: Digital/Print
Mindanao Gold Star Daily is a news outlet that provides news about the Mindanao province in the Philippines in both print and online.
Country: Malaysia
Type: Digital
Newsgraphy is an online data journalism news outlet from Malaysia founded a year ago that publishes data stories on politics, social affairs and environmental issues.
Country: Indonesia
Type: Digital
Project Multatuli is a collective initiative producing data-based, deeply researched news stories focused on marginalised voices in society.
Country: Sri Lanka
Type: Digital
Rata.lk is an independent media platform based in Sri Lanka, dedicated to delivering data-driven and analytical news and feature stories. Its mission is to inform and empower the public by providing a credible space for socially responsible journalism.
Country: Pakistan
Type: Digital
Raftar is a digital platform from Karachi, Pakistan that produces explainers and podcasts in Urdu and focuses on in-depth and long-form journalism.
Country: Indonesia
Type: Digital
NU Jabar Online is an online media outlet based in Bandung with news focused on the West Java province.
Country: Pakistan
Type: Digital
Pakistan Press International is an independent news wire agency that is recognized as a credible news source and has one of the largest networks of journalists in Pakistan.
Country: Philippines
Type: Audio
Puma podcast is a leader in podcasting and audio production in the Philippines, founded by a group of award-winning journalists.
Country: Pakistan
Type: Digital
The Centrum Media is an independent digital media based in Pakistan that reports on the South Asia region.
Country: Thailand
Type: Digital
The Opener is an independent digital publication based in Bangkok that reports on political, economic and cultural issues in Thailand.
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