David Mbewa, CGTN Africa
In our interview with David Mbewa, New Media Editor at CGTN Africa, he opens up about achieving his dream to become a journalist. He goes further to discuss his interest on lesser-covered stories, the exciting African trends, his preferred industries to cover and why it is important to tell African stories.
What led you into journalism, and what would you be doing if you weren’t a journalist?
It was always my dream to be a journalist. My biggest desire was to be a news anchor. My path into journalism was not a straightforward one. I actually worked in different industries (hospitality and IT) before I finally got my foot into journalism. Those stints helped prepare me for the rigours of the media industry. I actually nearly missed my break into journalism because I was doing a different job, and I was so focused on it, when I got called for an interview for an internship. But my mother and sister reminded me about my dream and encouraged me to go for that first interview. I took that leap of faith and went for it. The rest, as they say, is history.
If I wasn’t a journalist, I’d be a footballer, playing for Newcastle United in the English Premier League.
When you’re researching stories, what compels you to work on sharing a particular story with your audience? Any hot trends we should look out for in the coming months?
I like doing stories that mainstream media may not always give a spotlight to, as well as those that tend to give unique, personal perspectives, and have the potential to instigate socioeconomic change. The belief that one must do a story that always resonates with a majority of the population is flawed. One person’s unique story might emotionally connect with a large audience and help them avoid, deal with or come to terms with a situation they may face or are facing.
As for the hot trends, I think one major story to keep an eye on is Africa’s potential ‘Arab Spring’ moment, particularly with the rise of the now-famous Generation Z in Kenya and the effect of the youthful protests in the country. It is encouraging and interesting to see young people push for accountability and good governance and inspire change across the continent.
Why is African business so unique and what makes it so exciting to report on?
In my opinion, the uniqueness of the African business story is the potential of its youth bulge, as well as the array of enterprising minds that are using technology to lift millions of people from poverty.
Reporting on this aspect of African business is exciting because you get to see how young people are developing unique solutions to address the challenges that are unique to their localities/countries, and make a living at the same time.
It is also exciting to see young brilliant minds from African countries get global recognition for their outstanding work and inspire the next generation to focus on uplifting their communities.
Which sectors or industries do you like to cover most and why?
I like covering the banking, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and technology sectors. I believe that they have a critical role in transforming Africa into an economic powerhouse and empowering the population to be financially and socially secure.
Why is it important that people around the world get to hear about young, growing companies on the continent?
I believe the single most important reason for this is to attract investment and connect African start-ups with major global players in different industries.
The biggest source of funding for African start-ups comes from outside the continent. This enables thousands of entrepreneurs to realise their dreams by setting up their businesses, and that in turn benefits thousands of people locally and regionally. The networking aspect will help these start-ups in different ways including technology transfer and knowledge sharing which will undoubtedly help strengthen their business acumen.
How can we encourage more people to join the writing community and dedicate their energy to telling stories about African tech and business?
There should be more intentional invites from tech and financial start-up expos and stakeholder forums extended to up-and-coming journalists as well as freelancers, not only journalists working in established media houses, to write about the various businesses that participated or showcased their products in such events. Additionally, established organisations and corporations can give platforms to such writers to highlight their experiences/stories about African technology and businesses outside the macroeconomic scope. These business and tech organisations, as well as media houses can also initiate writing contests and awards to encourage such writers through public recognition and motivation. Established media houses and businesses can also collaborate to sponsor special segments by writers highlighting stories about African tech and business.
