The National Fund for Public Interest Media (NaFPIM)

The National Fund for Public Interest Media Sierra Leone (NaFPIM) is established to support media houses in Sierra Leone to practise public-interest journalism. NaFPIM will provide this support by awarding, through a highly competitive process, grants to media outlets that demonstrate public-interest media through a proven track record of delivering independent and impartial contents that matter to the people of Sierra Leone.

The concept of a National Fund for Public Interest Media in Sierra Leone stems from the National Action Plan for Media Viability which was agreed with key stakeholders in the wake of the Sierra Leone National Media Viability and Investment Conference held in April 2022. Recommendations generated by the conference included the following: “Government and development partners should commit to a national fund for public interest media” (Recommendation 6).

In April 2022, the Ministry of Information and Communications and its partners including the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and other national media organizations, such as the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), with support from the BBC Media Action under the PRIMED project, organized the first ever National Media Viability and Investment Conference. The conference explored ways in which all stakeholders can work together to create a healthier information ecosystem where a steady flow of trusted public interest media contents are more freely and widely available to the people of Sierra Leone. The conference was preceded by regional consultations led by a national consultant with support from an experienced international media-viability professional. The national conference brought together industry actors, local and central government, the private sector, donor and international development partners.