SPORTS WEBSITE WINS ICT AWARD

 

Sports weblog, MichezoAfrika, known for their upto date news coverage of Kenyan and international sports news caught the attention of Kenyan Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications Dr. Bitange Ndemo.

The website was awarded for its role in transforming communities and enhancing lives through Information Technology.

The award was presented by Ndemo who appreciated the role played by Michezoafrika in contributing towards the growth of ICT sector through sports while at the same time enhancing  lives.

In place to receive the top award at the Diani based Leisure Lodge Hotel in Mombasa was Michezoafrika’s director Walter Machio who attributed the success of the programs to hard work and determination of a dedicated team working day and night towards achieving the company’s objectives.

“We strongly believe that the exposure, promotion of sporting talent will create employment and enable the realization of a globally competitive and prosperous Kenya,” said Walter.

He added: “Our website michezoafrika.com has attained the global recognition not only because of the hard work of those behind it but because of the faith from our fans and readers who have constantly logged on to read our news. We appreciate and say thank you to all the fans across the globe for making this happen and promise to listen to your needs as we strive to make our website better and improve features that will highlight more issues affecting our sports men across the region. Once again a big Thank you to all our fans.”

The award comes a few months after michezoafrika.com website received another prestigious recognition – THE CHAIRMAN’S AWARD - for extensive coverage of the Kenyan Premier league during the 2011 soccer season.

This is a big leap for the online community.

Here is a One on One with Dennis Machio of MichezoAfrika

What does Michezo Afrika focus on?

 Michezoafrika is a sports consultancy firm focusing mostly on developing sports across all spheres including technical, leadership and grassroots development. Our website targets to identify and highlight talents from grassroots as well as inform on what is happening in Kenya’s sports circles.

We have been here for the past two years and I can say the growth has been immense. I credit everything to our dedicated and passionate team that work tirelessly towards making it happen.”

Currently we are ranked amongs the best 40 best websites according to alexa.com and among the top ten bets local websites.We get as many as close to 100,000 hits a day.This is encouraging.

 What does the award mean to you as a blogger?

The award just serves to motivate us more and assure that we are on the right track. Having been behind the project and sacrificing my two years to build the brand, I am extremely overjoyed that at l there is someone appreciating our work.

At the start we received very many pessimistic reactions with some people thinking it is a waste of time.

ICT in Kenya has attained tremendous growth and it is encouraging to be appreciated by the Kenya ICT board for being part of the driving force behind growing the IT and online industry. We look forward to developing better content for the world in reference to our locals’ sports scene and athletes.

How will this help to enhance your profile as a sports website?

At the moment we have worked to build the brand to where it is and we appreciate being recognized even by the ICT board and the ministry of Information technology. This will definitely lift the profile of our website and company as we seek to partner with more stakeholders in the industry to push the agenda forward. We need to get more resources especially financial to actualize  some of our online projects that include activating an online Television where we can share more video feature stories and documentaries online. We are also working towards the creation of a detailed sports database but all these need some crucial resources and finances.

The award will lift the faith of investors who could see a reason why they need to advertise with us and support some of our programs.