Newzroom Afrika CEO chosen for Young Global Leaders Class of 2024

Newzroom Afrika CEO and co-founder Thabile Ngwato

The Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGL) is an independent non-profit organisation bringing together a dynamic and diverse cohort of changemakers, under the age of 40, driving impact across the fields of public health, economic development, technology, sustainability, and more. Through a network of committed, conscientious and inspired people, YGL aims to nurture leadership that bridges divides to create real-world change for the benefit of all. It was founded by the World Economic Forum’s founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab.

The global community includes over 1,200 members and alumni representing over 120 nationalities, who lead governments and Fortune 500 companies, are recipients of Nobel prizes and Grammy Awards, and serve as UN Goodwill Ambassadors, among others.

They are active across a range of today’s most exciting fields, from the circular economy to digital governance, and more.

The programme offers executive education courses, group expeditions and opportunities to collaborate and test ideas with a trusted peer network. The aim is to create experiences and programmes for young leaders that enhance their skills, broaden their world views and inspire solutions to pressing local and global challenges.

“It’s an incredible honour to be chosen as a member of such an exceptional group of young leaders from around the world,” said Ngwato.

“It’s so important for young, especially female, African leaders to represent our continent in global forums like this where we can both contribute to shaping a better future for people everywhere and learn from our peers, test our ideas and collaborate towards solutions to the many challenges we face.

“I’m also proud to accept this honour as a recognition of the achievements of the Ngwato Nkosi Group as a whole. In the five years since we launched Newzroom Afrika it has established itself as a leading source of trusted and authoritative news, covering regional, national, continental and global stories. This recognition on a global stage is significant.”

Ngwato is a dynamic entrepreneur whose passion for broadcasting spans over a decade. With experience in radio and television broadcasting, the former news anchor and producer used her time at the public broadcaster to refine her vision as a broadcaster and entrepreneur. This resulted in her founding Rapid Innovation, a connected services agency with a focus on innovative broadcasting and content distribution strategies among its core competencies.

She then co-founded Newzroom Afrika (channel 405) which is a 100% black-owned and 50% women-owned news channel. This business speaks to her vision of being part of the transformation of the broadcast space in South Africa, and this is what drives the mission of Newzroom Afrika.

In her commitment to build an African news and entertainment platform for the future, she has now also co-founded Movie Room (channel 113) and Play Room (channel 300). Thabile also currently sits on the boards of Rapid Innovation Investments and the Ngwato Nkosi Group.