Fifteen journalists from 14 media outlets across Nigeria have been selected to participate in the 2025/2026 Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Journalism Fellowship.
The 15, selected after a highly competitive process, emerged as the finalists from close to 200 applicants and 45 shortlisted candidates. The 15 Fellows are drawn from a mix of print, broadcast, and online media outlets from Nigeria; and are made up of a fairly balanced gender representation of eight males and seven females.
Through the Fellowship, the 15 journalists will receive hands-on training, editorial mentorship, and access to a continental information hub that curates resources and data on DPIs and DPGs. Fellows will also join an expanding network of alumni across West Africa who are using journalism to illuminate the opportunities and challenges in the continent’s digital evolution.
To support their work, each Fellow will receive a monthly stipend of $250 for the first three months of the Fellowship, while their respective newsrooms will be supported with $1000 under a DPI/DPGs Newsroom Partnership Agreement. Additionally, Fellows will have access to special investigative reporting grants to support in-depth story development about DPI and DPGs. Selected Fellows who excel throughout the Fellowship programme will have travel opportunities to participate in international DPI/DPG convenings.
Upon successful completion, participants will be awarded a Certificate of Honor in recognition of their contribution to improving awareness, uptake, transparency and accountability around DPI governance, and related issues.
The Fellowship will run from October 31, 2025 to April 30, 2026. Over the six-month period, the Fellows are expected to produce at least six original and well-researched stories that facilitate awareness creation and public discourses around inclusive digital identification, digital payments, data exhanges, interoperability, safeguards and related issues in the design, implementation and uptake of DPI and DPGs in Nigeria and beyond.
The full list of selected Fellows and their respective media outlets can be found below:
The DPI Journalism Fellowship is a flagship initiative jointly implemented by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), in partnership with and with support from Co-Develop.
The Fellowship is aimed at to amplify public awareness, participation, and uptake of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Digital Public Goods and Services (DPGs) through media narratives and public discourses.
“The DPI Journalism Fellowship represents a strategic investment in fostering informed and independent media narratives that shape public discourses around inclusive design, implementation and uptake of DPI developments in the areas of policy, governance and utility. And we are grateful to Co-Develop for the partnership and the support in making this initiative possible,” said Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa.
For further information, please reach out to the MFWA at info[@]mfwa.org or contact Vivian Affoah at vivian[@]mfwa.org and Dora Boamah Mawutor at dora[@]mfwa.org.
