The African Growth Story Award is one of five award categories in the Sanlam Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism that Sanlam, with which Zimnat is associated, has been running since 1974. It is the only category that is open to African journalists outside South Africa.
Sanlam, a South African-based company, is the largest non-banking financial services group on the African continent. One of its subsidiaries has a major stake in Zimnat.
It introduced the African Growth Story category in its Excellence in Financial Journalism Awards in 2013 to honour the journalist who best captures the growth story of the African continent.
Entries for this category are therefore expected to focus on the growth of the continent in terms of investments, infrastructure development, economic progress or any other aspect of the continent's growth and development.
Entry for the award is open to every African journalist whose work was published or broadcast in Africa between January 2018 and 31 December 2018. Stories can reflect a particular country's perspective but should incorporate a continental outlook.
The deadline for entries for all the awards is February 28. The awards will be presented on June 20 in Johannesburg.
Information on the entry submission process is available on Sanlam's website (www.sanlam.co.za).
Previous winners of the African Growth Story Award include Neville Otuki and Allan Odhiambo of Business Daily in Kenya, Ancillar Mangena of Forbes Africa magazine and Dominic Omondi of The Standard newspaper in Kenya, who was the winner for 2017.
The Sanlam Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism awards reward excellence in financial journalism. This year's edition is the 44th, making the awards the longest running dedicated to financial journalism in South Africa.
The aim of the awards as a whole is to honour the indispensable role of the financial journalist in modern business life and the high standards required by the profession, particularly integrity, diverse knowledge and insight, responsibility and judgement.
Awards are open to journalists working in print, radio, television and online media.
Sanlam has operations in more than 40 countries and more than 21 000 employees. Sanlam Emerging Markets, its subsidiary, is a major shareholder in the Zimnat Group.
