The 2025 Bloomberg Africa Business Media Innovators (#AMBI2025) event, held in Zambia’s Tourist Capital, Livingstone, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, attracted several industry professionals from across Africa who shared knowledge and discussed solutions to the major disruptions faced by the media industry in Africa.
The event was held from 8th June to 10 June and saw Global partners, public officials and was graced by Bloomberg co-founder and editor Emeritus – Mathew Winkler, the Minister of Finance of Zambia Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane and distinguished industry players and panelists for the various themed discussions.
The lively discussions were stared by the state of play in the media industry in Africa, key priorities for Africa Media including; attracting critically needed capital to the continent’s Media industry, harnessing the potential of digital disruption and Al and the development of new models of monetization that financially support the business of the media while protecting the integrity of independent journalism among other cross cutting topics.
Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, who represented the Zambian government recognized the importance of the event to the media industry, noting the crucial importance of the media in supporting the country’s economic and social ambitions.
“We are delighted that Bloomberg and the media organisations are hosting this event in Zambia. There is a lot that we share. As a government, our main focus is about addressing an African priority: youth employment. If we don’t address it quickly, it becomes the seed for social and political instability and growth comes from investment and for investment to take place, part of the job is knowledge sharing which is a critical role that the media needs to continue to play”, said Dr. Musokotwane.
However, speaking at the same event Co- Founder of Bloomberg News and Editor-In- Chief-Emeritus Matthew Winkler called for optimism by independent media houses across the continent despite the economic and challenges being faced.
“Africa’s fintech and digital business models exemplify the continent’s entrepreneurial capabilities. Groundbreaking enterprises are driving change and setting new benchmarks for media excellence. As we reflect on these achievements, we must also identify the investments and strategies that will power the next decade of media in Africa.” said Winkler.
During the panel discussion on the “state of play in African Media, Zambian Business Times – ZBT Managing Director Donald Mumba stated that the media environment in Africa and Zambia holds vast opportunities and remains largely untapped.
Mumba told the gathering that the ZBT has been able to take advantage of the digital and demographics in Africa and Zambia to attain a reach of over 2 million people a month.
He further stated that the Zambian Business Times has also been able to aggressively grow its subscriber base to over 70k by utilizing bulk subscription drives through business and professional member organizations.
The Zambian Business Times – ZBT was privileged to be the only Zambian Media organisation offered the opportunity to contribute as a panelist at the exclusive and invitation only Africa Business Media Innovators 2025 #ABMI2025 event.
