MEDIA LOVES TECH: Yaluna is the winner of the 2023 competition for Tunisian media tech start-ups

Once again, the media start-up teams of the 2023 cohort of DW Akademie’s media incubation program faced a demanding journey of development stages and objectives to reach their potential. The approach made it possible to measure the commitment, robustness and talent of the teams involved.    

This year, the five teams who completed the incubation process are now part of the growing MEDIA LOVES TECH family. Although only one could claim the top prize at the ceremony on December 8th in Tunis, all teams were able to develop their projects in depth. Each project shows strong potential for the future.      

Yaluna wins grand prize in 2023      

Aziz Chaibi, co-founder of Yaluna. The online magazine aims to inspire young people in Tunisia

Winner of the program’s grand prize, the online magazine Yaluna presents itself as a media organization that relies on solutions journalism to “help young people stay informed and inspired.” Active on social media, Yaluna addresses a wide range of subjects, including environment and health, using a constructive approach.

Paul Schütte, DW Akademie’s program manager for MEDIA LOVES TECH congratulated the entire Yaluna team. 

"While the global trend is towards distrust and disinterest in the media and information, Yaluna is the attempts a positive approach to news, to show what works, what drives people, what inspires. Like everywhere else, Tunisia can only benefit from such a project," he stated. "Furthermore, there is an educational dimension to which we are very attached. Transmitting knowledge and helping to understand the approaches to gathering information are essential for developing an informed opinion."

The grand prize will help Yaluna to structure itself further, and develop both the quality of its editorial offering and its business model.   

The MEDIA LOVES TECH family is growing

The other teams in the 2023 cohort      

Arkam – public data collection platform  

Banet– online media dedicated to women's issues  

Deep Confessions Podcast – mental health podcast  

Verex – AI-powered information verification tool        

Media incubation at the heart of a new initiative      

MEDIA LOVES TECH: DW Akademie's incubation program for media tech start-ups

Since 2023, MEDIA LOVES TECH has been a component of the SMART MEDIA ACCELERATOR, the new initiative of DW Akademie. Its goal is to identify, support and strengthen media and media start-ups in the prototyping phase. The outcome of the project is focused on developing the quality of professional journalism in Tunisia.  

In addition to the incubation program, the SMART MEDIA ACCELERATOR offers support for established media in a related project, MEDIA PARCOURS, which provides online resources to facilitate independent learning and networking opportunities. DW Akademie thus commits itself more than ever to supporting a new generation of media working for quality journalism in the region.

SMART MEDIA ACCELERATOR is part of the "On en parle ! Tunisie 360°" project financed by the European Union and co-financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The MEDIA LOVES TECH program is run by DW Akademie, Deutsche Welle's center for international media development, journalistic training and knowledge transfer. The project is developed in cooperation with Al Khatt, a Tunisian NGO working for freedom of the press and expression. The organization aims to be a laboratory of ideas on the future of journalism in the digital age.