Awards Wrap: Sikuvile Awards winners announced, Media Host Group named best Female Owned Media Company, Sandton Times Hour nominated for 2024 APVA Podcast Of The Year

The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media.

South African media celebrates excellence in journalism at the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) and Standard Bank held a successful and prestigious awards ceremony on Saturday night to honour the best of SA journalism.

Lucas Ledwaba was crowned Journalist of the Year, earning high praise from the judges for his “intensely poignant writing” and “commendable journalism.” His work has highlighted critical issues facing South Africa, challenging authorities to act on behalf of marginalised communities.

The Juby Mayet Rising Star of the Year award was presented to Julia Evans of the Daily Maverick. Her exceptional piece, based on research from the University of Stellenbosch, explored the feasibility of electric vehicles in the minibus taxi industry, showcasing her potential as a future leader in journalism.

The late James Clarke was posthumously honoured with the Allan Soga/Standard Bank Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his impeccable ethics and excellence in the journalism craft. Clarke’s legacy as an activist journalist who rallied public support against the National Party Government’s plans to mine the Kruger Park remains a beacon of inspiration. His humour and wit also endeared him to readers through his columns and books.

• The Hard News category was taken by both Zikhona Tshona of Newzroom Afrika for the story, “Ofentse” and Slindelo Masikane of eNCA for the story “Best Escape”.
• The Indigenous Language Reporting in Community Media went to Hlengiwe Ngwenya of SABC’s Cutting Edge for the story “Amabhodlo”.
• The Community Service Reporting category was taken by Hazel Friedman of Fokus on SABC2 for her story “Oukloof”.
• The Investigative Journalism award was taken by team News24 Kyle Cowan, Azarrah Karrim, and Sipho Masondo for their story “Mashatile unmasked”.
• The Business Journalism award went to Nick Wilson of News24 Business for the story “Convicted Health & Racquet fraudsters sub-let lucrative site to Virgin Active”.
• The Features award winner is Lucas Ledwaba of Daily Maverick for stories “On a quest for healing justice” and “Gold mining widows battle with trauma and poverty”.
• The Lifestyle category winner is Nomvuyo Ntanjana of SABC’s Cutting Edge for the story “Buru the Snake Guru”.
• The Columns/Editorial category winner is Bhekisisa Mncube from LitNet for the story “The contested legacy of Mangosuthu Buthelezi”.
• The Visual journalism (Editorial cartoons & graphic layout) winner is Thulani Ntsong of Maverick Citizen for the body of work, including: “Lesufi”, “Elections”, and “CR Zondo”.
• The News Photographs winner is Ayanda Ndamane of Cape Times for the story “Pro-Palestine crowd clash with Police”.
• The Feature Photographs winner is Theodore Jeptha of Daily Dispatch for the story “We walked a mile in their shoes…. And it was Terrifying”.
• The Sports Photographs winner Bertram Malgas of News24 for the body of work, including: “Springboks demolish Romania in Bordeaux try-fest” and “Springboks stumble against still-unbeaten Irish outfit in Paris”.

The Sandton Times Hour nominated for 2024 APVA Podcast Of The Year

The African Podcast and Voice Awards (APVA) are Africa’s premier event recognizing outstanding audio talent across the continent. Scheduled for 27-28 September 2024, this year’s event promises to be a grand celebration of excellence in African audio content. With over 5’000 nominations spanning 14+ countries, the APVA awards aim to honour the unique perspectives and stories that African audio creatives bring to the global stage.

 The 2024 APVA theme, ‘King of The Game’, celebrates the spirit driving African audio creatives. It acknowledges the journey toward excellence and innovation, highlighting the hard work, creativity, and leadership that define the nominees. Every participant embodies this spirit, demonstrating resilience, creativity, and a commitment to storytelling that resonates across the continent.

The Sandton Times Hour’s nomination coincides with its recent accolade of securing the third spot on Feedspot’s list of the 30 Best South Africa Podcasts for 2024. This list, released in May, evaluates podcasts based on relevancy, authority, social media followers, and freshness, further cementing The Sandton Times Hour’s reputation for high-quality, engaging content.

Adding to its achievements, The Sandton Times Hour has joined The Podcast Party, an initiative aimed at shaping a future where dialogue fosters positive change and empowers individuals to engage critically with the world. This partnership marks an exciting new chapter for the show, broadening its reach and accessibility to a dedicated podcast audience.

First-ever Bookmarks learner jury announced

Off the back of Youth Month and with Round 2 judging of the prestigious 2024 Bookmark Awards, powered by naming rights partner Mark1, currently underway, the IAB South Africa Bookmark Awards is pleased to announce the launch of the Bookmarks Learner Jury Initiative. Aimed at fostering the next generation of digital media and marketing leaders, the initiative builds upon the success of the IAB South Africa Front Row programme, which provides young professionals with access to industry events.

The Learner Jury expands access to the Bookmarks’ ecosystem, with nominations from agencies, youth organisations and higher education institutions specialising in media and marketing. The initiative allows for a wider range of promising talent to engage with specific panels based on their existing experiences and career goals. This tailored approach ensures exposure to relevant industry leaders and judging processes aligned with the participants’ interests and fosters valuable networking opportunities within their chosen niche.

“The core objective is to introduce promising young minds to the world-class work being produced in South Africa’s digital media and marketing landscape,” says Pippa Misplon, IAB South Africa Bookmarks Committee Lead and Managing Director at Retroviral. “By integrating them into the judging panels, Learner Jurors gain invaluable insights from industry experts, fostering a network that can propel their future careers.”

The acclaimed Acquisition International magazine has named South Africa’s Media Host Group as the best Female Owned Media Company at its annual Influential Businesswoman Awards.

Lisa wins 2024 Proptech Innovator of The Year Award

Lisa, a cutting-edge smart leasing platform, has been honoured with the prestigious 2024 Proptech Innovator of The Year award. This accolade was presented at the Residential Investment & Development Summit held on July 18th at the Sandton Convention Centre in South Africa.

Lisa’s journey to winning this award was marked by the launch of its three specialised leasing products, which have been adopted by major industry players including property funds and REITs. This expansion has grown the platform by 400%, showcasing Lisa’s impact and reach in the commercial real estate market.

The recognition for Lisa comes shortly after being named a solution partner to MRI, a global leader in commercial real estate technology.

Neale Petersen, chairman of the awards and REI representative, remarked, “These awards are a testament to the vision and hard work of industry leaders. Lisa is a deserving winner of the Proptech category. They have created technology that is a game changer in unifying owners, operators, brokers, and their customers across the critical leasing function.”

The Proptech award recognises technology platforms that demonstrate excellence and innovation while solving critical problems in the commercial real estate industry. A panel of industry experts selected Lisa for its proven ability to transform leasing and property management for commercial landlords.

Jodi Sher, director and co-founder of Lisa, accepted the award on behalf of the company and shared her excitement: “We strive to deliver tailored innovation that addresses critical industry needs and generates significant value for stakeholders across all sectors. Lisa was developed strategically to provide the industry with a technology solution to manage portfolios and market spaces effectively, giving property owners a competitive edge as consumer behaviours evolve.”

Top Fintech innovators to compete in the 2024 Visa Everywhere Initiative Regional Finals 

Visa, a global leader in payments, announced today that the CEMEA Regional Finals of its Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) will take place on 23 July at 1:30p.m. Gulf Standard Time, livestreamed on leading online technology publication TechCrunch.

From over 1 400 applicants, five fintech finalists from the region have been selected with their innovative payment solutions across fraud and risk, identity and biometrics, digital wallets, open banking, embedded finance, and other key subsectors. The start-ups – representing Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, South Africa, and Nigeria – now stand a chance to progress to the Global Finals at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on 28 October, competing for a grand prize of R1.825M.

Lineshree Moodley, Country Head at Visa, South Africa said: “The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a testament to our commitment to fostering innovation and supporting the next generation of fintech leaders. This year’s finalists from the CEMEA region have demonstrated remarkable ingenuity in addressing some of the most pressing challenges in payments today. It is particularly exciting to see South African startup, Nomanini  among the finalists, underscoring the strength and potential of our local innovators. We are eager to see their continued growth and the positive impact their solutions will have on the global payments landscape.”

Standard Bank recognised as Africa’s best bank by Euromoney and The Banker

Standard Bank is honoured to be recognised for our commitments to serve clients with consistent excellence and to fulfil our Purpose: Africa is our home; we drive her growth.

The Banker, which is owned by the world-renowned Financial Times, ranked Standard Bank the best performing bank in South Africa and Africa overall.

Standard Bank has also been recognised as Africa’s best performing bank in The Banker’s Top 1000 Banks 2024 rankings.

Standard Bank achieved a clean sweep of 16 accolades, including Africa’s Best Bank, at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2024.

In South Africa, Euromoney awarded Standard Bank the categories of South Africa’s Best Bank and International Bank, as well as the Best Bank for Environmental, Social and Governance amongst others.

Euromoney awarded Standard Bank the best bank in Africa overall and the continent’s leader in categories including Wealth Management, Advisory, and Financing. Euromoney recognised Standard Bank as Botswana’s best bank for ESG, Kenya’s best investment bank, and Nigeria’s best bank for SMEs and Digital Banking.