WAN-Ifra has responded to huge mobile growth in the region with a new Digital Media Africa conference and awards event.

The first will be held in Johannesburg from September 28-30.

"Innovation has no boundaries, and our members and colleagues in Africa are a true testament to that with their inspiring mobile initiatives," says chief executive Vincent Peyrègne. "There is so much to be learned from their example and to share with the rest of the world."

Entries for the inaugural Digital Media Africa Awards are already open, and close on August 7. They honour individuals and news publishing companies that have created ground-breaking digital products that engage readers while increasing their online business.

Open to all news publishers in Africa, the competition has categories for best

News Website; Entertainment & Lifestyle Website; Use of Online Video; Data Visualisation Project; News Mobile Service; Entertainment & Lifestyle Mobile Service; Tablet Publishing; Reader Engagement; Digital Advertising Campaign; and New Product.

More information and submission guidelines are at www.wan-ifra.org/DMA16_awards.

Winners will be honoured at a reception on September 29, during the Digital Media Africa conference, and winners will go on to contest WAN-Ifra's World Digital Media Awards.

The Digital Media Africa conference is built around four main themes -

reader revenue, distributed content, metrics & KPIs, and millennials & Generation Z.

The event is supported by African publishers including Caxton, Media24, Nation Media Group, Ringier, Independent, Times Media Group, dailynews and the African Media Leaders Forum. More details at www.wan-ifra.org/DMA16_programme.