The Thomson Media Foundation has launched the ‘Africa Means Business’ (AMB) project in Ghana for journalists and economic researchers to sharpen mutual skills for improved public debate on finance and business issues. Sixteen selected trainees are participating in the series of workshops at the University of Ghana’s School of Communication Studies to build capacity to better inform on economic and development policy decisions by increasing the level of public debate. Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Seth Terkper, in an opening address, emphasized the need for governments and business enterprises to do more to provide information to media outlets to tell Africa’s fair and balanced story. “Entrepreneurs, governments and civil society organizations must help institutionalize the emergence of print, radio, TV and web-based outlets that are dedicated to reporting economic and business news on the continent”, he said. The Minister however noted this cannot be a substitute for hard work, research and leadership by media organizations, adding that a competitive media environment will be eluded if the working conditions of media professionals are not enhanced. “Media houses and institutions must be willing to invest in capacity building and the welfare of their employees to get a positive return on profit from their business through proper business schemes such as strategic planning and budgeting,” he stated. Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, bemoaned the under-reportage of activities by African researchers to spark development discourse. He is hopeful the AMB project will provide a better opportunity for media-researchers engagements to increase public sector interest in research. The AMB project is aimed at resourcing journalists to create accurate, probing stories about economics and business, whilst equipping economists with communication skills to make important research and other relevant materials available to journalists. According to the Chief Executive of Thomson Media Foundation, Nigel Baker, the economic activity in African states deserves better analysis, scrutiny and coverage in order to manage and derive maximum benefit from the continent’s natural resources. “It is important to be able to hold governments as well as private companies and aid institutions to account, so that the media have a deep understanding of the relevant economic and policy decisions,” he added. A similar project has been rolled out in Kenya and by the end of 2013, a total of 32 journalists and 32 economists will have taken part across the two countries. The project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Other partners include Oxford University’s Centre for the Study of African Economies, the Financial Times’ Wincott Foundation and the Africa Economic Research Consortium.