SA and Daily Maverick dominate Wan-Ifra Digital Awards Africa 2025 finalists

Source: © 123rf 123rf The Digital Media Awards Africa 2025 finalists have been announced, with SA and Daily Maverick dominating the list

Netwerk24 has three finalists and News24 two. Food for Mzansi and The Outlier have one finalist each.

Nigeria has four finalists, Tunisia three and Kenya two, with Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana with one finalist each.

The finalists are outstanding projects that have excelled in journalism, digital products and monetisation initiatives.

Once again, the region proves its commitment to creating inspiring projects that engage and inform its audiences.

Finalists

(Finalists are listed alphabetically by company name.)

Best Data Visualisation

Project: 2024 Elections Dashboard
Company: Daily Maverick
Country: South Africa

Project: Visual Investigation | Final Footsteps: The Kirsten Kluyts murder
Company: News24
Country: South Africa

Project: The Road to a Just Energy Transition
Company: The Outlier
Country: South Africa

Best fact-checking project

Project: Palesa’s Brave Discovery
Company: Food For Mzansi Group
Country: South Africa

Project: FactSpace DisinfoLab
Company: Ghana Fact
Country: Ghana

Project: Elections 2024: News24 debunks disinformation and fact-checks misinformation
Company: News24
Country: South Africa

Best in audience engagement

Project: Live Journalism Webinar Platform
Company: Daily Maverick
Country: South Africa

Project: Whatsapp
Company: Jeune Afrique Media Group
Country: Tunisia

Project: The User Needs Impact Project 360
Company: Pulse Africa
Country: Nigeria

Best newsletter

Project: Elections ’24
Company: Daily Maverick
Country: South Africa

Project: Le Brief
Company: Jeune Afrique Media Group
Country: Tunisia

Best use of video

Project: Smart Video Strategy for Business News Publication on TikTok
Company: Business Insider Africa
Country: Nigeria

Project: How 750m in Cape Town’s city centre points to South Africa’s expansive extortion problem
Company: Daily Maverick
Country: South Africa

Project: Short form documentary | ”I don’t want to lose myself,” Carol de Swardt’s assisted suicide
Company: Netwerk24
Country: South Africa

Best digital subscription drive

Project: Daily Maverick Shutdown
Company: Daily Maverick
Country: South Africa

Project: Kook & Geniet | Netwerk24 adds iconic cooking brand as a digital-first
Company: Netwerk24
Country: South Africa

Project: The New Vision reader revenue project
Company: New Vision, Vision Group
Country: Uganda

Best innovative digital project

Project: Manifesto Mayhem!
Company: Daily Maverick
Country: South Africa

Project: People Daily News App
Company: Mediamax Network Limited
Country: Kenya

Project: MwanaClick: A Digital Revolution in News and Content Access
Company: Mwananchi Communications Limited
Country: Tanzania

Project: MultiVerse
Company: Radio Africa Group
Country: Kenya

Best use of AI in the newsroom

Project: Hausa AI News: amplifying indigenous voices with technology
Company: Legit.ng
Country: Nigeria

Project: The world in a nutshell
Company: Netwerk24
Country: South Africa

Best relaunch of digital platforms

Project: Relaunch of Africa Business+
Company: Jeune Afrique Media Group
Country: Tunisia

Project: Cross Fire: A YouTube Sports Fan Engagement Offering
Company: Pulse Sports Nigeria
Country: Nigeria

Whilst not all competing initiatives made it to the final, the exceptional quality of their people and work remains undeniable.

Jury

The jury includes:

Adedeji Adekunle, Program director, Nigeria Media Innovation Program, Nigeria
Cherilyn Ireton, Executive director World Editors Forum, Wan-Ifra, UK
Corinne Podger, Director, Digital Skills Agency, Australia
Denis Jjuuko, Communication and visibility consultant, Prime Time Communications, Uganda
Ivor Price, Co-founder & editor-in-chief, Food For Mzansi Group, South Africa
Joseph Adeyeye, Managing director and editor-in-chief, Punch, Nigeria
Khalil A. Cassimally, Head of audience Insights, The Conversation, Mauritius
Kim Svendsen, Membership director, Wan-Ifra, Denmark
Lindsey Jones, Strategic advisor, publishing consultant author, UK
Madeleine White, Editor-in-chief of The Audiencers (English)
Nick Tjaardstra, Head of digital sales (Subscriptions), Kurier, Austria
Paul McNally, Founder, Develop AI, South Africa
Penelope Nankunda, Content manager, digital, Vision Group, Uganda
Queen Mosarwe, Co-founder & editor, The Argus Online, Botswana
Susan Makore, Director, advisory and insights, Women in News
Valérie Arnould, Deputy director, Digital Revenue Network, Wan-Ifra, France
Tshepo Tshabalala, Project manager & team lead, The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
Brian Veseling, Senior editor, Wan-Ifra, Germany