Baraza Media Lab has celebrated its fifth anniversary with a bold reflection on its journey and a renewed commitment to shaping the future of Kenyan media.
The Baraza@5 celebration comes at a critical time, as the country’s media sector—like much of the global industry—grapples with mounting sustainability and growth challenges.
According to the 2025 Assessment of Media Environment report by the Media Council of Kenya, Kenya’s media workforce is increasingly freelance and youthful, with 65% of journalists under the age of 35, yet most lack formal contracts or benefits. Similarly, 62% of journalists cited financial pressure as a barrier to ethical reporting.
The report also notes that misinformation and disinformation remain a growing threat to the development of media in Kenya, with underutilisation of AI and other technology tools due to underinvestment and skills gaps.
Additionally, the 2025 Reuters Digital News Report reveals a surge in news avoidance, with 50% of audiences in Kenya compared to 40% globally now sometimes avoiding news, which is the media industry’s mainstay.
Speaking at the Baraza Media Lab hub on Enterprise Road in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, Executive Director Maurice Otieno underscored the key role the organisation has played in empowering creators by integrating technology into their work.
“At Baraza, we have turned this urgency into action with the sole aim of empowering independent creators through learning, unlearning, and relearning the transitions in technology, content types, and audience preferences, as well as the shift from precarious advertising revenue models to new creator- or audience-led approaches,” he said.
The Executive Director, while commenting on the beneficiaries who have undergone the various programme in the hub, announced the creation of three other hubs in Mombasa, Kisumu, and Nakuru Counties.
He divulged that in less than five months of operation, the hubs have already reached more than 5,000 young people with mentorship, training, and opportunities.
He highlighted the central role of the Industrial Area hub, noting that its location within a community that reflects Kenya’s productive energy, media savvy, and ambition affirms that every journalistic and creative voice deserves the support and attention that Baraza can provide.
“These hubs give form to our vision of a country where public interest media and creative practice are supported not only in Nairobi but also across diverse regions. Indeed, the next groundbreaking journalist, podcaster, or civic innovator could emerge from any region, not just Nairobi,” added Otieno.
Founded in 2019, Baraza has become a cornerstone of innovation, collaboration, and resilience in Africa’s rapidly evolving media ecosystem, driven by a dynamic portfolio of programmes that, among others, address four critical themes of Innovation in monetisation, Media Literacy and Misinformation, Demand for Data-Driven Journalism, and Cross-Sector Collaboration.
Baraza’s flagship programmes including the Data Storytelling Fellowship and the African Media Festival, have helped media practitioners navigate precocity, embrace ethical tech, and build sustainable business models over the last 5 years.
Besides that, there are also other programmes including She Leads Media, Baraza Sessions, and Creative Clinics, which have enabled media practitioners and creatives to experiment with form and content.
Baraza’s Fumbua initiative, a response to rising digital threats, continues to deliver tools like editorial guidelines and media literacy toolkits across media houses, civil society, and technology experts.
On the other hand, SemaBOX, Kenya’s first and Africa’s largest podcast incubator, also continues to inspire a generation of audio storytellers.
Adelle Onyango, Vice Chair of Baraza Media Lab’s Board, said Baraza was nurturing a generation of storytellers who use data, ethics, and innovation to shape public discourse.
Adelle noted that the organisation was not just telling stories but changing the story of the media itself, describing Baraza as a blueprint for African media that is collaborative, creator-led, and community-rooted.
“By nurturing a generation of storytellers who use data, ethics, and innovation to shape public discourse, we’re not just telling stories but changing the story of the media itself. Baraza is a blueprint for what African media can be: collaborative, creator-led, and community-rooted,” added Adelle Onyango, Vice Chair of Baraza Media Lab’s Board.
Baraza is now focusing on strengthening its new community-centred hubs to stay connected and responsive to local needs, allowing media practitioners and partners to actively contribute to the direction of Baraza’s work while also helping design Baraza’s future.
These will also include continued grant work, convenings, training, and partnerships geared towards building viable revenue models for creators and newsrooms, strengthening media literacy and verification, accelerating data journalism capacity, and knitting multi-stakeholder collaborations into a coherent support system for Kenyan media.
This effort will include continued grant-making, convenings, training, and partnerships aimed at building viable revenue models for creators and newsrooms, enhancing media literacy and verification, accelerating data journalism capacity, and fostering multi-stakeholder collaborations into a coherent support system for Kenyan media.
Baraza Media Lab is Kenya’s premier media and creative hub, supporting independent media, creators, journalists, and technologists through funding, training, and collaboration.
Its mission is to build a sustainable, ethical, and inclusive media ecosystem in Kenya while reimagining the future of African media.
Since 2020, Baraza has catalysed more than 200 projects, disbursed Sh15 million in grants, and hosted over 30 cross-sector conventions.
It provides spaces for ideas, connections, and bold conversations, empowering storytellers to craft narratives that reflect society, challenge perspectives, and spark change.
For more information, visit www.barazalab.com.
By Ian Chepkuto
