To many viewers across the continent Nozipho Mbanjwa is recognizable as the award-winning business journalist on one of Africa’s leading news channels, CNBC Africa, however Mbanjwa simply describes herself as a communicator and connector.
This ability to build connections and talk a good game is what she believes has helped to drive her success, first in the government, then the corporate world, and now as a business journalist and entrepreneur.
Mbanjwa joined CNBC Africa in 2013 where she reports on politics, business and youth and gender issues. She is also a well-known face in the conferencing and speaking circuit and has moderated various high profile events globally including the World Economic Forum (WEF). She typically travels to three or four different countries in a month.
Mbanjwa (33) who originally hails from Pietermaritzburg, says she has always been able to engage with a wide array of people and articulate seemingly complex ideas in simple ways; this gave her the advantage when completing her studies at the University of Pretoria and later in her work in The Presidency, and the Mayor’s Office in Washington DC, US, and now as a broadcaster.
“I’m so happy as a broadcaster because everyday I’m using my talent to articulate very strong and powerful ideas in the interviews and the stories I tell and the stories I write,” says Mbanjwa.
Mbanjwa has also been able to build a business out of her love for facilitating connections. In 2013 she launched her own talent management firm, Akwande Communications, which advises corporates on millennial talent in Africa.