South Africa Media Innovation Program

Application Deadline: midnight on October 31, 2017.

The South Africa Media Innovation Program (SAMIP) is a new $4 million, 3-year media initiative to accelerate digital media innovation among independent media outlets and encourage new entrants.

The program will provide funding and capacity building to organisations selected to participate.

Requirements:

The SAMIP Innovation Challenge is for South African projects and organisations that are building news and information products that engage and inform local/underserved communities, by:

searching for new ways to connect people with information,
exploring new business models, distribution mechanisms and/or revenue generation opportunities, or
creating platforms within existing news outlets for citizen reporting through mobile technology

New projects just getting off the ground, for which the applicant has initial evidence of a user need.
Specific and actionable ideas for a novel product or service – product or working demo doesn’t necessarily have to be built yet – funding can be used for MVP. (Capability requirement)
Products or services that have shown initial success/viability, and applicants that are looking to scale up.

Benefits:

A total of ZAR 3 million of grant funding is available to support independent media (covering existing companies, non-profits, and new ventures) in South Africa.
Cash Prize: Up to ZAR 500,000 (*depending on budgets, we will consider smaller projects that apply)

In addition, winners will be admitted to SAMIP and benefit from capacity building:

on-going strategic advice, (expert advice)
tailored one-to-one consulting, (mentorship)
targeted group training designed to help participants’ financial viability and audience reach (training)
further funding, if approved by Advisory Panel, based on favourable initial results

How to apply

The deadline for our initial funding cycle is midnight on October 31, 2017.

We will narrow down applicants to a set of finalists for phone or in-person interviews during late October, before making our selections in November.

The winners will be announced at the end of November 2017.

Apply Now for the SAMIP Innovation Challenge

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the South Africa Media Innovation Program 2017

South Africa Media Innovation Program (SAMIP) 2017 for South Africans (ZAR 3 million in grant)

How to apply