MEDIA LOVES TECH: Algerian platform wins third digital media start-up competition

The top prize of 10,000 euros went to "Ineffable", an Algerian cultural exchange platform aiming to use immersive technology to make culture more accessible to Algerians. Ahlem Kebiris, one of the three women who designed the project, said that although people in her country faced serious challenges "culture is also important and we need to respond to that." 

"We were very impressed by this project, by the team behind it, its innovative side and applications," said jury member Malek Khadhraoui at the award ceremony held online in early December. Khadhraoui is co-founder of Al Khatt, a Tunisian non-governmental organization that together with DW Akademie launched the annual media start-up competition in 2018. 

The jury also recognized the potential of three additional online projects: "Chourabi", a Tunisian fact-checking platform, "Shifaa", a Moroccan online health project, and "Tunisia Podcast", a platform for producing and distributing podcasts. Each team received 3,000 euros to continue developing their prototypes. A training scholarship was awarded to "Tahaqaq", a promising fact-checking project from Morocco.

Supporting start-ups

MEDIA LOVES TECH looks for innovative and entrepreneurial project ideas that combine good journalism and technology. Originally a competition for teams from Tunisia, this year it included teams from Algeria and Morocco. Due to the coronavirus, it was also the first time that the entire competition was conducted online.

Dhafer Hassine (right), a founding member of last year's winning project "Taswira" also took part in the online ceremony

Germany's Ambassador to Tunisia, Peter Prügel, spoke at the award ceremony streamed live on Facebook by IFM, a Tunisian radio station and DW Akademie partner.

"The regionalization of this project shows the dire need for sustainable concepts when dealing with new technologies," Prügel said, and praised "the innovative spirit and power of the region's dedicated and creative youth." 

This year more than 50 teams submitted ideas for sustainable digital media start-ups that could further develop the region's media sector. Eleven teams were selected for a second round and received coaching and mentoring as well as support in designing a business model. A jury then closely assessed the projects in the third round and chose the winning prototypes.

Everyone's a winner

Whether they received a prize or not, all teams that took part in the competition benefited. This is because MEDIA LOVES TECH focuses on creating a media and entrepreneurial ecosystem and a community where business ideas can develop and grow.

MEDIA LOVES TECH also organized a hack-a-thon in November 2020

One of the mentors this year was Dhafer Hassine, a founding member of the team that won last year's competition with "Taswira", a digital stock photo community. This time he had a different role in the competition: to pass on his knowledge to the new round of contestants.

The MEDIA LOVES TECH initiative is funded by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).