Google News Initiative(GNI), an initiative created to support journalists, publishers, news startups, and online media platforms. It has opened applications for its second round of GNI Innovative Challenge. It commenced from February 23, 2021, to April 12, 2021.
Tech point reports this affects Individuals who operate in the news media industry in Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey. In this round, chosen projects will receive up to $150k fund and get back up to 70% of the total project cost.
In the first round held in 2020, the 21 projects selected across 13 countries received $1.93 million in funding. Winners from Africa came from Nigeria, South Africa, CoteD’Ivoire, Ghana, Morocco, and Kenya.
Winners get to retain ownership of their idea, and Google will have no stake in the project after giving out the fund. You can apply here and also get more information here.
Google has a number of other initiatives aimed at the media industry in emerging markets. This GNI Innovative Challenge is actually part of Google’s $300 million commitment to help journalism thrive in the digital age.
Last year, 20 podcasting teams from 11 countries, including Nigeria and Zambia, won $12,000 each and a 12-week free virtual training from international industry experts.
At the peak of the pandemic in 2020, GNI also championed the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund to help news platforms mitigate the economic effect of the pandemic.
Source: http://techpoint.africa/2021/02/24/techpoint-digest-24/