The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has conducted a two-day workshop for journalists and editors of The Chanzo, a Tanzanian digital media outlet, on reporting Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs). The training took place at The Chanzo’s premises in Dar es Salaam on February 10 and 11, 2025.
The workshop aimed to enhance journalists’ and editors’ understanding of IFFs, enabling them to identify IFFs within Tanzania and across borders. This will strengthen The Chanzo’s ability to produce investigative reports on financial crimes.
Speaking after the training, Jackline Kuwanda, a journalist from The Chanzo, expressed her appreciation, emphasizing how the sessions had broadened her knowledge of IFFs.
“These training sessions have significantly improved my understanding, allowing me to write more in-depth stories on IFF-related issues compared to how I was reporting before,” said Jackline, who serves as The Chanzo’s correspondent in Dodoma.
This training is part of MFWA’s project Expose the Flow: Working Together to Curb IFFs in Sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative aims to improve journalistic reporting on IFFs across the region and is supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) through the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In addition to the training, MFWA provided The Chanzo with essential newsroom equipment to support investigative journalism. The donated equipment includes two laptops, a camera, a live streaming device, and microphone accessories.
During the handover, Adizatu Moro Maiga from MFWA reflected on the organization’s first meeting with The Chanzo in July 2024, where one of the key concerns raised was the high cost of investigative reporting, especially without access to proper technical tools.
“We are handing over these gadgets to The Chanzo with the hope and assurance that you will use them to produce more investigative reports,” said Adizatu. “We wish you the best in all your work.”
Receiving the equipment on behalf of The Chanzo, Joel Ntile expressed gratitude for the strong partnership between The Chanzo and MFWA, emphasizing that it is based on mutual understanding and shared goals.
Ntile also commended MFWA for its efforts in supporting public interest journalism, highlighting that some The Chanzo journalists had already benefited from its mentorship program.
“I hope this partnership will continue to grow and expand into more areas to ensure that journalistic work focusing on public interest issues moves forward,” said Ntile.
