Lerato Mbele is one of Africa’s most accomplished international broadcasters and moderators, recognised for bringing an authoritative African perspective to conversations shaping the global economy, business, leadership and development.
With a broadcasting career spanning more than two decades, Lerato has worked across some of the world’s most respected news platforms. She spent nine years with BBC World News, where she became a prominent international face of African business journalism, presenting programmes including Africa Business Report, Talking Business Africa and In Business Africa, as well as international documentaries exploring Africa’s relationship with global trade, commerce, development and investment. She initially joined the BBC in 2012 as a presenter of the flagship Newsday programme on BBC World Service.
Before joining the BBC, Lerato was a Senior Business Anchor at CNBC Africa, having joined the network around its launch, and earlier established herself as a prime-time television news anchor at SABC, including presenting News at 10. Her career has consequently placed her at the intersection of journalism, economics, politics and international affairs.
A Global Voice from Africa
Lerato’s strength extends well beyond the television studio. She is an internationally sought-after conference moderator, programme director, interviewer and facilitator, trusted to lead complex conversations involving heads of state, global CEOs, economists, policymakers and international development institutions.
Her international journalism has seen her interview an extraordinary calibre of global leaders and changemakers, including Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Sundar Pichai, Christine Lagarde, Kristalina Georgieva, Graça Machel, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Wole Soyinka, Muhammad Yunus, the late Kofi Annan and Wangari Maathai, President Paul Kagame, former President Thabo Mbeki and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
She has moderated high-level plenaries and discussions for many of the institutions driving the international economic and development agenda, including the World Economic Forum, World Bank, IMF, United Nations, African Development Bank, New Development Bank/BRICS and OPEC Fund, as well as major African investment and economic forums.
Her experience includes participation in and moderation around the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings, World Economic Forum on Africa, African Development Bank summits, UN Climate Change Summit COP17, Rio+20 and presidential and economic debates across Africa.
Recognition & Achievements
Lerato’s contribution to journalism and African leadership has received significant international recognition. In 2014 she was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, joining a global community of influential leaders recognised for their professional achievements and potential to shape the future.
In 2023, she received the Charlotte Maxeke Women in Leadership Award in recognition of her contribution to international broadcasting. In March 2024, the City of Atlanta, Georgia issued a proclamation in her honour, recognising her contribution to global journalism and her work in showcasing opportunities across Africa.
She has also been recognised on influential women’s lists including O, The Oprah Magazine’s Power List, New African Women, Leading Ladies in Africa and the Mail & Guardian’s catalogue of influential South African women.
Beyond Broadcasting
Lerato brings substantial academic and policy depth to her work. She is a Chevening Scholar and holds an MSc in Development Studies from SOAS, University of London. She has also worked in foreign-policy research and advisory roles at the South African Institute of International Affairs, where she headed its Multiparty Democracy Programme and co-edited the book Designing Democracy in Africa with Ayesha Kajee.
Today, her work continues across broadcasting, strategic communications and thought leadership. She is the proprietor of the African Leadership Dialogues series and hosts PowerTalk with Lerato Mbele, extending her reputation as a compelling interviewer and facilitator of substantive conversations about Africa’s economic and social future.
On Stage
Intelligent, composed and exceptionally well researched, Lerato has the rare ability to command a room while allowing the people and ideas on stage to remain at the centre of the conversation. She is equally comfortable interviewing a head of state, challenging a global CEO, navigating a technical economic discussion or facilitating a conversation around leadership, investment and Africa’s place in the world.
Her combination of international broadcasting experience, economic insight, political understanding and distinctly African perspective makes Lerato Mbele an outstanding choice for global conferences, leadership summits, financial and investment forums, executive conversations, fireside chats, awards ceremonies and high-level corporate events.
Key Areas:
Global Economics • Africa & Emerging Markets • Leadership • Business & Investment • Geopolitics • International Development • Sustainability • Women in Leadership • Entrepreneurship • Moderation & Thought Leadership
