African Media Industry Calls for Stronger Ownership, Collaboration and Responsible AI

Bloomberg’s Africa Business Media Innovators marks 10th edition with focus on building a more sustainable and globally competitive African media industry

African media leaders, journalists, creators and global partners have called for greater collaboration, stronger ownership of African intellectual property and new approaches to monetisation as artificial intelligence and changing audience behaviour reshape the continent’s media industry.

The discussions took place at Bloomberg’s 2026 Africa Business Media Innovators (ABMI) convening in Cape Town, bringing together leading voices from across the continent to examine how African media can translate its growing reach and influence into sustainable economic value.

For media markets across East Africa, the discussions reflect some of the most pressing questions facing the industry: how newsrooms can build sustainable digital business models, how publishers and creators can capture more value from African content, and how AI can be adopted without compromising editorial integrity, trust and accountability.

Participants identified three priorities for the sector: turning the reach of African creative content into sustainable revenue; reclaiming ownership of African intellectual property and cultural narratives; and harnessing AI responsibly while protecting independent journalism.

Speaking at the convening, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, highlighted the opportunity digitisation creates for African voices to reach global audiences directly.

“Africa has been reported on by other people, but the digital age gives this continent something extraordinary. The ability to speak to the world without asking anybody for permission. That changes the game completely. An African idea can become a global idea without first needing validation somewhere else. And that’s power.”

The discussions took place against a backdrop of growing economic momentum across the continent. Bloomberg data presented during the convening showed that Africa is among the fastest-growing regions in the world and that, since 2025, growth in sub-Saharan Africa has accelerated beyond that of emerging markets and developing economies combined.

Participants argued that African media must be positioned as part of this wider growth story, with sustainable and trusted journalism playing an important role in providing reliable information, strengthening accountability and supporting informed economic decision-making.

Attention also turned to how media organisations can translate growing digital audiences into stronger businesses. Participants called for deeper pan-African collaboration to share knowledge and collectively strengthen the investment case for African media and its creative industries.

Five priorities emerged from the discussions: using AI to support rather than replace editorial judgement; retaining greater ownership of African intellectual property and narratives; building payment and distribution infrastructure that converts reach into revenue; supporting Africa’s growing creative economy; and developing stronger collaboration between traditional newsrooms and a new generation of content creators.

Erana Stennett, Bloomberg Corporate Philanthropy Lead, Africa and the Middle East, said collaboration would be critical to shaping the next chapter of the industry.

“Africa’s media’s future must be shaped not only by the forces acting upon it, but by African journalists, editors, media owners, entrepreneurs, creators, investors, business and public leaders working together.”

The 2026 edition marks a decade of Bloomberg convening media leaders from across the continent through ABMI. The programme forms part of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa, which works to advance business journalism, strengthen media capacity and improve access to reliable data to support transparency, accountability and governance across Africa.