Lerato Mbele is a well-known Broadcast Journalist, focused on the pulse and business opportunities in Africa. She presented Africa Business Report on BBC World News television for 9 years, and is a regular speaker at international conferences, focusing mainly on economics and investments in Africa. She has moderated plenaries and hosted television debates, including World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings, African Development Bank, the United Nations, Nigerian Economic Summit, the Africa Leadership Summit, and various prestigious international platforms.
Lerato completed her undergraduate and Honours degrees at the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch. She is a Chevening Scholar and holds an MSc degree in Development Studies from The School of Oriental and African Studies, at the University of London.
Her career in journalism was launched in 1999 at The South African Broadcasting Corporation, where she finally served as anchor for the daily news show, News at 10. Prior to joining the BBC in 2012, she was Senior Business Anchor for CNBC Africa, where she hosted a variety of business programmes and discussions related to the Economy, business strategy, stock markets, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
Lerato was nominated for the inaugural New African Women Awards in the media category in 2016, and was included on the Oprah Magazine Power List of 21 African women “Rocking the world”. In 2014, she was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. She is also a recipient of a literary award from the World Association of University of Women.
During her tenure as a researcher at the SA Institute of International Affairs, Lerato co-edited the book “Designing Democracy” alongside Ayesha Kajee.