Legit.ng's Dave Ibemere picked for MTN Pan-African media innovation programme

Dave Ibemere, senior business editor at Legit.ng, has been selected as one of 42 media professionals across Africa for the first edition of the MTN Pan-African Media Innovation Programme (MIP). He is representing Nigeria in the continental initiative, which draws participants from 10 African countries.

The programme is delivered in partnership with the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and The African Editors Forum (TAEF). It brings together journalists, editors and media practitioners with a focus on strengthening journalism and driving digital transformation across the industry.

What the programme covers

The curriculum spans digital journalism, storytelling, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, audience engagement and analytics, media entrepreneurship, sustainability, ethics and digital transformation.

It is structured around a mix of online academic modules and an in-person learning and immersion phase hosted at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

Organisers say the programme speaks directly to the pressures facing newsrooms today. These include shifting audience habits, evolving technology and the erosion of traditional media revenue streams.

Participants are expected to develop practical approaches to newsroom innovation, ethical storytelling and financially sustainable media operations.

Building a continental network

The MIP follows a national pilot previously run in Nigeria and forms part of MTN Group's broader push to support professional development and innovation within the African media industry.

Beyond the classroom, the initiative is designed to foster cross-border exchange among media leaders. The goal is a professional network capable of driving long-term change in African journalism.

For Ibemere, the fellowship is a chance to engage directly with media professionals from across the continent and to examine how technology, data and new storytelling approaches can raise the quality and impact of journalism in Nigeria and beyond.

What it means

The selection puts a Nigerian business journalist inside a continental programme focused on AI, audience data and media sustainability, three areas where local newsrooms are still building capacity. The skills and contacts from the programme could shape how Nigerian outlets handle monetisation and technology adoption in the coming years.