Elijah Nyaanga was honoured in South Africa as a winner of the Forty Under 40 Africa journalism award (Radio/TV/Newspaper) in March 2023, raising his profile as a communication expert.
He was recognised for his innovation, leadership, and profoundness in impacting and transforming Africa.
“It has come home! Emerging as the best in the entire continent from the midst of thousands is not a joke. I thank my friends who believed in and supported me all through," he stated after winning the award.
Nyaanga was among the eight winners from Kenya lauded at the continental function who later met with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at his office.
Nyaanga's story of founding Scholar Media Africa began with him as an intern at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) as a reporter and translator.
He worked at the state-owned media house in 2011 before moving to Sayare RTVN as a news anchor, sports editor, and reporter until 2014.
The journalist established Scholar Media Africa in 2017, where he shares stories and business ideas with the team.
Before founding the media house, the journalist worked as Bureau Chief, Contributing Writer, and Investigative Reporter. He also founded the African Network Forum in 2020.
"A seasoned journalist, results-oriented with over 10 years of progressive experience in the media industry. Possesses solid leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills to establish rapport with staff, management, business partners, and key decision-makers in an organisation," he wrote on LinkedIn.
Nyaanga is popularly known as the Ambassador Scholarman and is Kenya's representative to the Turkey-Africa & Investment Council (TATIC) and a delegate to the Global Chamber of Business Leaders (GCBL).
He is currently pursuing communication and media studies at St Paul's University.
One of his goals as a journalist is to impact the world through his writing, content creation, and digital strategies.
"This is a win for Scholar Media Africa, a symbol of the efforts, impactful and truthful stories we have done, and the voice of reason we are trying to inculcate through positive storytelling," he concluded.
