Amplify South Africa

With more than 23 years of newsroom experience, Mhlangu is the former Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of South Africa’s first 24-hour news channel, eNCA. She cut her teeth in radio news at the SABC, before transitioning to television news. During her time at eNCA, she was instrumental in the development of young television reporters, before rising the ranks to be Editor-in-Chief. Mhlangu has since made the transition from the newsroom to entrepreneur. She is the founder and Managing Director of MInsight Content Creation, which provides solutions and holistic communications strategies for local and international organizations. The company has built a formidable track record of designing organization-specific communications strategies for various local and international business entities, social and food security initiatives, and tourism bodies, among others. Mhlangu holds an MBA from Henley Business School and is a former Duke University Media Fellow. An avid reader, political scholar and journalism training advocate, Mhlangu is also a mentor to many in the industry. She has also served as a judge on the Emmy’s for television news, and the Standard Bank Journalism Awards.

Will is currently serving as Editor at ‘Africa is a Country’ and he also hosts the publication’s podcast. A respected researcher, academic and writer, he is known for long-form pieces that weave in-depth research with sharp political and social commentary. Will has written for The New York Times, Jacobin and Al Jazeera+ in addition to South African publications such as the Mail & Guardian. He has risen through the ranks at Africa is a Country and serves on the editorial collective of Amandla Magazine.

Sebenzile Nkambule is an experienced journalist and strategic communications practitioner with a diverse background in radio and television broadcasting, non-profit sector and management consulting. She hosts a talk show on SAFM, a national platform for current affairs and news, and has previously hosted shows on Power 98.7, Talk Radio 702 and Cape Talk 567. Before becoming the managing director at IJ Hub, Sebenzile was previously responsible for strategic partnerships and fundraising at a regional organization that supports LGBTI+ organizations in 13 southern African countries, along with experience at McKinsey & Company. She is passionate about Africa, development, social justice and leadership. After finishing her BA Journalism degree majoring in International Relations and a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from the University of Pretoria, she completed a prestigious Fulbright Humphrey Fellowship at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. She is also a Mandela Rhodes Scholar, a member of the Graca Machel Women in Media Network, and a member of the inaugural cohort of the Obama Africa Leadership Program. Sebenzile also serves on the board of Sound Africa and Global Girl Media SA.

Khadija is the former Editor-in-Chief of the Mail & Guardian in South Africa, the co-founder of the youth-driven, award-winning digital news startup, The Daily Vox, and the Vice-Chairperson of the International Press Institute (IPI) in Vienna. As a journalist, her work has appeared on Sky News, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Quartz, City Press and the Daily Maverick, among others. She is also a research associate at WISER (Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Witwatersrand) and is passionate about the protection and enhancement of global media as a public good.

Catherine Gicheru is the founder and director of the Africa Women Journalism Project (AWJP), established during her International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) Knight Fellowship. The AWJP equips women journalists with the skills and resources to drive nuanced, evidence-based journalism that sheds light on crucial but under-reported issues affecting women and other marginalized groups in society, and works to strengthen the voices of women journalists by helping them to become innovators in their newsrooms. Catherine leads a team of journalists, mentors and data analysts in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa and Senegal. She has worked with The Nation Media Group and the Star newspaper in Kenya in roles ranging from investigative reporting to editorial leadership and advocating for women’s voices and perspectives to be heard and respected within newsrooms.

With two decades of experience across finance, management and editorial, Bilal has helped numerous media companies navigate challenging business and operational environments. Before joining MDIF in 2017, Bilal worked for KPMG, Al Jazeera and successfully scaled a digital media start-up. He is a Chartered Accountant (CPA equivalent) and holds a post-graduate diploma in Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University. He received his undergraduate degree in Finance and Marketing and Honours degree in Accounting from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.