Editor
Jabulani is the Editor of The Conversation Africa. Jabulani was previously spokesperson for the South African Minister of Finance and National Treasury. He has also worked as spokesperson for the South African Reserve Bank. He had a long career as a journalist, columnist and editor on South Africa’s leading business and finance publications. He was a 2002/2003 Nieman Fellow (Harvard University).
Founding Editor
Caroline Southey is the Founding Editor of The Conversation Africa. Previously Caroline was editor of the Financial Mail in South Africa. Prior to that she worked for the Financial Times in London and Brussels in various roles over 17 years, including as World Desk Editor and as a foreign correspondent covering European Union agriculture and social policy.
Regional Editor East Africa
Julius was previously managing editor of a number of Kenyan national daily and weekly newspaper titles under the Nation Media Group and The Standard Group in Nairobi, among them the Saturday Nation. He was the founding editor of Drum East Africa magazine and has also worked as a senior editor in Tanzania.
Regional Editor West Africa
Adejuwon Soyinka is a 2019 International Emmy awards nominee, multiple award-winning journalist and editor, with over 20 years experience reporting for local and international media as well as working in corporate communication, political communication and media relations.
Francophone Editor
Assane Diagne a rejoint The Conversation Africa en tant que rédacteur en chef francophone en octobre 2022. Il était auparavant le premier rédacteur en chef francophone d'Africa Check, poste qu'il a occupé pendant quatre ans, de 2015 à 2019. Il a également ouvert et dirigé le bureau de Reporters sans frontières (RSF) en Afrique de l'Ouest de 2019 à 2021. Auparavant, il a travaillé pendant 12 ans à l'Agence de presse sénégalaise (APS), dont il a été le rédacteur en chef de 2009 à 2015.
Assistant Editor
Moina has extensive online media experience, as a journalist, researcher and editor. She has written widely on a variety of pan-African issues having previously worked for Africa Review (The Nation Media Group) and Mail & Guardian Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya. She has also contributed to a range of titles across the continent.
Politics + Society
Thabo is a journalist and editor with 30 years of experience. He is the former editor of the Pretoria News, Sowetan, Sunday World, and Business Times. His main areas of interest are human rights, politics, labour, transport and small business development. He is a past winner of the Sanlam Business Journalist of the Year Award (small business section). He was a 2008/2009 Nieman Fellow (Harvard University). Thabo holds a Masters in Philosophy (Applied Ethics).
Arts, Culture and Society Editor
An established arts editor and award-winning journalist, Charl started work at the Vrye Weekblad before creating the Mail & Guardian’s arts section Friday in the 1990s and, decades later, City Press’ arts section #Trending. He has worked as a news reporter, feature writer and critic; as a trainer of young journalists and of LGBTIQ journalists across Africa; and as a frontline and front-page investigative reporter, focusing on cultural issues and institutions.
Commissioning Editor, East Africa
Kagure was previously the head of investigations, data and research at the Standard Group, a multi-platform media organisation in Kenya. She has more than 12 years of experience in communication, media and publishing, having previously edited business, lifestyle, politics and foreign news. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Leeds in the UK and an undergraduate degree from Daystar University in Kenya.
Commissioning Editor, East Africa
George has several years of media experience, having previously covered several beats as a reporter for more than 10 years. Prior to joining the Conversation Africa, he served as an editor at the Business Daily, a national daily business publication in Kenya, owned by the Nation Media Group. He has written extensively on a variety of African issues, including politics, security, trade and the economic integration of East African countries.
Health + Medicine Editor (Africa edition)
Ina Skosana was a health researcher at Africa Check based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to that she was a journalist at Bhekisisa, the Mail & Guardian’s Centre for Health Journalism. Before joining Bhekisisa in February 2013, she was the health reporter at The New Age newspaper. Ina has won several awards including the Discovery Health Journalist of the Year and the Discovery Young Health Reporter of the Year.
Commissioning Editor: Nigeria
Wale was a reporter and editor with three newspapers in Nigeria for 22 years and also had stints in the development sector with some international agencies. A past winner of the Nigeria Media Merit Award, he is a graduate of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and was also a Ford Foundation International Fellow at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York between 2004 and 2005, graduating with a Master of Science degree.
Commissioning Editor: Nigeria
Kofo is a journalist with over 16 years experience. She has won many awards and attended local and international training programmes. A 2021 alumna of the U.S IVLP exchange programme, Belo-Osagie is also a 2021 Fellow of the Wole Soyinka Female Reporters Leadership Project; a 2017 Fellow of the Dart Center Reporting Institute on Early Childhood Development and the brain, Columbia University, New York; and a 2016 Fellow of the Kiplinger Program in Digital journalism at the Ohio State Universit...
Commissioning Editor: Ghana
Godfred Akoto Boafo is a journalist with over ten years experience in multimedia journalism. He has worked as managing editor for Pulse Ghana and Business Insider Sub Saharan Africa. His main areas of interest are politics, international relations and sports. Godfred joins The Conversation from Citi FM/Citi TV where he is a co-host of their multiple award winning Breakfast Show.
Audience Development Manager
Usifo is a digital media producer, social media strategist, manager and trainer, with over twelve years’ experience in digital media, community/commercial radio development, reality TV projects and public relations. Before joining The Conversation, he worked as the training manager for BBC language services in Africa and as the pioneer senior digital journalist (Social media) for the BBC Pidgin service. He is very passionate about using digital and social media as tools of development.
Audience Development Manager
Judy has a passion for digital media. Before joining The Conversation, she worked as a news and current affairs sub editor at Standard Digital. She was among the team that established its online news platform, having joined after graduating with a degree in Information Sciences from Moi University.
Copy Editor
Lyrr joins us from the University of the Witwatersrand where she worked as communications officer in the alumni office. Prior to that Lyrr was deputy chief sub at the Financial Mail, South Africa’s premier financial weekly. Lyrr has also worked for the Development Bank of Southern Africa as well as the South African Journal of Science.
Strategic Initiatives Editor
Candice worked as an investigative journalist at the Johannesburg-based civil society organisation Corruption Watch. She has also been a reporter in the newsrooms of several weekly and daily national newspapers, most recently the Sunday Independent and Johannesburg Star newspaper.
Commissioning Editor
Natasha worked as news editor of City Press for three years before joining The Conversation Africa. She has freelanced for a range of publications, including Al Jazeera English, The Atlantic and The Big Issue. After obtaining her Bachelor of Journalism at Rhodes University in 2003, she worked for the Cape Times as a general reporter before joining the Cape Argus as news editor in 2009. She is a former contributing editor to the Index on Censorship.
Commissioning Editor Francophone Africa
Aliou a plus de 10 ans d’expérience en journalisme, communications et traduction aussi bien dans le secteur privé que dans les institutions internationales. Avant de rejoindre l’équipe de The Conversation, il a été notamment journaliste au magazine hebdomadaire La Gazette, Consultant en Communication et Editeur de Documents Bilingue à IFC (branche du Groupe de la Banque Mondiale dédié au secteur privé).
General Manager
Alex has been involved in the non-profit sector for 10 years, focusing on general and operational management, research and programme implementation. Previously Alex has worked as a management consultant implementing large scale projects in the public sector, and in banking organisations focusing on building financial solutions for poor people in South Africa.
Strategic Partnerships Manager
Pfungwa joined The Conversation Africa to manage stakeholder relations and drive the university partnerships strategy for Africa. She was formerly head of subscription sales for Africa at Research Africa, a subsidiary of a London-based Research Research (Ltd.). Pfungwa has a Masters in Administration and is currently enrolled in a Masters in Science and Technology Studies at Stellenbosch University. She volunteers and serves on the SA Board of Trustees for the Canon Collins Educational and Le...
Office Manager
Lavani has 18 years’ experience in office management, legal PA services and general administration. She has worked at a number of law firms including Bowman Gilfillan, ENS and Werksmans. She joins The Conversation Africa from a small family law practice where she established and managed all administrative and operational systems for the firm. At The Conversation Africa she is responsible for all office related management and administration.
Strategic Partnerships West Africa
Anu manages Strategic Partnerships for West Africa at The Conversation Africa. She has worked in the hospitality, technology, and media industries for over seven years. Before joining the team, Anu directed and managed programs at Herconomy, and before that, worked on the strategic partnerships team that launched Google Station in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a West Virginia University graduate with strong interests in Strategic Partnerships, Marketing, Program & Event Management.
Dr Beverley Damonse is the Group Executive: Science Engagement and Corporate Relations of the National Research Foundation (NRF). She is a member of The International Women’s Forum of South Africa (IWFSA), invited member of the NRF Board, a member of The Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP) Advisory Council, a member of the Board of the Cape Town Science Centre and a member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) Advisory Board.
Director
Rob Moore is the Executive Director of the Gauteng City-Region Observator. Prior to this, he joined the University of the Witwatersrandin (Wits) in 2006 as Director of Strategic Planning, before being appointed as Deputy Vice Chancellor (2007-2014). Before joining Wits, he spent twelve years (1992–2004) at the University of Cape Town researching and teaching in higher education studies.
Director
Mandy Kort is a Senior Financial Manager at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Prior to this, she was a Tax Specialist at Deloitte until 2005. Before joining Deloitte Mandy worked in manufacturing and served her articles at an audit firm while obtaining her CA(SA).
Executive Secretary
Executive Secretary at The Nigerian Academy of Science & Past Chair, Assn. of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria ( Lagos).
Founder
Andrew Jaspan is the creator and co-founder of The Conversation. He launched the project in Australia in 2011 and was instrumental in seeing it established in the UK and the US. The project was born out of concerns Andrew had about public access to reliable information amid a dramatic shift in the production and consumption of journalism internationally. Andrew has been Editor of The Observer, The Age (Melbourne), The Scotsman and the Sunday Herald (Glasgow).