The Embassy of France in Uganda has joined forces with the Media Challenge Initiative (MCI), a leading Ugandan non-profit organization focused on youth media development, to launch a year-long digital skills training and incubation program called “Supporting Young Content Creators in the Design and Production of Digital Media.”
With a funding of approximately 181 million UGX (44,231 euros) from the French Embassy in Uganda through the French Solidarity Fund for Innovative Projects (FSPI), the initiative aims to empower Ugandan youth digital content creators and enable them to achieve self-employment and build sustainable businesses within their communities.
This partnership solidifies France’s commitment to supporting the cultural, creative, and digital industries in Uganda.
Under this collaborative project, MCI and the French Embassy Uganda will work closely together to provide comprehensive skilling, training, mentorship, and business incubation to 15 talented and experienced young content creators from urban regions across Uganda.
The program will commence with a one-week pilot training session facilitated by the MCI Training Department and supported by external digital content facilitators at the MCI Media Hub. During this training, participants will acquire essential production skills and learn how to develop high-quality and monetizable media content.
Following the pilot workshop, the 15 trained content creators will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas for media businesses in their respective communities. The selected entrepreneurs will be granted seed funds and working space at the MCI Media Hub, empowering them to acquire necessary equipment and produce content to kickstart their enterprises.
Additionally, a three-month refresher training program led by MCI will further enhance their content creation skills and refine their business plans.
To ensure sustainable growth and success, the young content creators will receive invaluable guidance from local business mentors through a three-month mentorship program.
This program will provide support, feedback, and assistance in implementing learnings from the training sessions. The French Embassy will lead an organized debate and content exhibition, fostering exposure to the wider digital content market.
The project aims to achieve several key objectives and outcomes, including the implementation of a needs-based curriculum for digital content creation skills training, successful completion of a four-week digital skills training program by the 15 content creators, and an increase in their knowledge and skills to develop quality media content and viable business enterprises within their communities.
Furthermore, the initiative seeks to expand access to digital platforms and equip the content creators with relevant skills such as financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and content curation to effectively produce and monetize their content.
The ultimate goal is to establish media businesses that generate revenue within local communities, creating a ripple effect as the trained innovators share their knowledge through skills-sharing and mentorship for other youth in Uganda.
“We are thrilled to partner with the French Embassy Uganda on this transformative project,” said Mr. Mpindi Abaas, the CEO of the Media Challenge Initiative.
“By empowering young content creators with the necessary skills, resources, and mentorship, we believe we can create a wave of sustainable media businesses that will not only benefit the entrepreneurs but also contribute to the growth of the digital content market in Uganda.”
The French Ambassador to Uganda, H.E Xavier Sticker, expressed his happiness in working with MCI on this project, emphasizing its continuation of their partnership that includes the Kampala Geopolitics Conference, among other initiatives.
Through this collaboration, MCI and the French Embassy Uganda aim to foster new partnerships, collaborations, and growth opportunities between the content creators and other stakeholders in the digital content market.
The project represents a significant step towards building a vibrant ecosystem that nurtures and supports the next generation of Ugandan content creators.
