Knight International Journalism Development Fellow Justin Arenstein is working to develop a cellular communications system that can relay news to citizens of sub-Saharan Africa.

Justin Arenstein is a Knight International Journalism Fellow who is spearheading the creation of the $1 million African News Innovation Challenge (ANIC) in partnership with the African Media Initiative (AMI), the continent’s leading organization of news owners and operators. ANIC’s supporters include Omidyar Network, Google, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the World Association of Newspapers & News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the US State Department, and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Arenstein is piloting four mobile phone projects that will enable AMI members to broaden their reach to underserved communities. He has started up a mobile news service for JoyFM in Ghana, and a mobile app for the Mail & Guardian in South Africa that promotes greater interaction between the newspaper and its audience.

Arenstein also is launching ten chapters of HacksHackers across Africa, bringing together journalists and technology experts to overcome digital challenges and develop better technologies for newsrooms.