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Media in Minutes
Beyond the Headlines: Bloomberg's Jennifer Zabasajja on Covering Business, Innovation and Africa's Future
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If “Africa” still sounds like a single storyline in your news feed, this conversation will challenge that fast. We’re joined by Jennifer Zabasaja, Chief Africa anchor and correspondent for Bloomberg Television, who reports from Cape Town on the people, companies, markets and innovations shaping one of the world’s most dynamic regions. She breaks down what it means to cover business across 54 countries, and why getting the nuance right is not optional if you care about global markets, emerging markets and where growth is heading next.
We talk about Jennifer’s path from a love of storytelling to broadcast journalism, then into major newsrooms and finally Bloomberg, where speed and clarity matter. Along the way, she shares how she chooses stories, how travel and local relationships sharpen her reporting, and what surprised her in places many audiences rarely hear about beyond headlines. You’ll also hear how Bloomberg’s Next Africa brand works across a TV show, a weekly podcast and a newsletter to unpack big themes with facts and data, from AI and the future workforce to data centers, power constraints and the way sports, politics and the economy collide.
For listeners in public relations and media, Jennifer offers direct guidance on what helps a journalist most: don’t just send a name, send the story and the reason it matters now. We also dig into the bigger forces she’s watching, including private capital flows, growing intra-African trade and finance, the shift from aid to trade and how changing US and global dynamics are pushing more countries toward self-sufficiency and new partnerships.
If you value smart international journalism and practical media insight, subscribe, share this conversation with a colleague, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.
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Welcome And Meet Jennifer
AngelaWelcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host, Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those who report on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio here at Communications Redefined, this is Media in Minutes. Today we're talking with Jennifer Zabasaja, Chief Africa anchor and correspondent for Bloomberg Television. Jennifer reports on the people, businesses, economies, and innovation shaping Africa's future, bringing global audiences a closer look at one of the world's most dynamic and fastest changing regions. In addition to her work on Bloomberg TV, she hosts Next Africa, Bloomberg's TV podcast and newsletter exploring the trends, opportunities, challenges, and stories driving businesses across the continent. Born in the American South, raised in the Southwest, and now reporting on stories spanning dozens of countries, Jennifer brings a unique perspective to international journalism. Her reporting covers everything from economic development and entrepreneurship to finance, technology, politics, and global markets. Welcome, Jennifer. Thank you. Thanks for having me, Angela.
Life In Cape Town
AngelaYes. What time is it where you're at?
JenniferOoh, right now it's 5:30, but I'm in Cape Town. So the sun is setting on the on the world over here, it feels like.
AngelaSo it's not so bad. I'm sure. I guess it takes a little bit getting used to, though, right? How long have you lived there now?
JenniferYeah, I've been here about three and a half years. So it's an adjustment for sure, especially when I talk to family who are on the West Coast in the US. Um, they don't always get the time difference. So I just have to remind them every now and then. But yeah, it's been great.
AngelaAnd set your phone on do not disturb in the middle of the night, right?
JenniferYeah, but you know how you can you can uh have a few people who get through the do not disturb. Yeah. Sometimes those are the ones that end up waking you up. And so I need to rethink that in the future, but it's okay.
From Theater To Journalism
AngelaWell, let's take a step back. I'd love to start at the beginning.
JenniferWhat first sparked to myself.
AngelaWhat first sparked your interest in journalism?
JenniferYeah. So I mean, I've I've always been interested in storytelling. I I come from a bit of a family that likes to tell stories. My grandmother could sit and talk for hours and recount, you know, her own experiences when she was in Uganda. But um I I actually, when I was younger, I participated in theater. And so that sort of was my entrance into storytelling from a young age. And as I got older, I saw journalism as the next obvious progression for me as a career. And so I studied journalism in school at NYU, specifically broadcast journalism. Okay. Um, just because I was excited about the medium and and what I could do with it.
AngelaWow. So briefly walk us through your career from NYU to where you are now.
JenniferOh man, briefly. That's that's over 10 years, Angela. Um yeah, I mean, I I guess I would say I went to school at NYU, study broadcast journalism and sociology. But as I was in school, I was super eager to work from quite a young age. And so I was interning quite a bit. Of course, I was in New York City, so there were so many opportunities for internships. So I was working at, you know, a lot of the well-known um organizations and networks. I transitioned from being an intern into a graphics PA at the weekend today show, and then spent a bit of time there, and then went over to CBS News' streaming division at the time, which was called CBSN. Um, and then eventually made the transition over to Bloomberg. Um, and specifically at the time, it was called Bloomberg TikTok, was what I was hired for, which was um not T-I-K T-O-K, it was T-I-C-T-O-C. So it was more uh of the quick, fast um news that we were trying to do at the time. And that evolved uh over the years into where I am now, which is Bloomberg TV.
Building A Career In News
JenniferOkay.
AngelaAnd did you grow up in New York?
JenniferNo, I actually grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, which um I don't I don't think most people would expect. I'm a desert girl uh at heart. I I like the heat. Uh, but I spent 14 years in New York. So it it somewhat feels like a home as well when I go back to the States. Yeah.
AngelaOkay. So you now cover Africa for one of the world's leading financial news organizations, Bloomberg Television. How did you find your way into, you know, to Bloomberg specifically in the international business?
JenniferYou know, I mentioned I went from CBS to Bloomberg, and really it was the excitement of uh a new platform that they were experimenting with at the time, which was trying to tell um fast news, get get news to people in a quick fashion, right? So it was really in the time when linear TV was being rethought. So I was excited about the new opportunity to deliver news to audiences in a different way. Um, and it, you know, it's I spent some time doing that with the company, and then the opportunity came up to be uh an international foreign correspondent, and I I took I took the leap of faith, I guess is is what
Why Bloomberg And Fast News
JenniferI would call it.
AngelaYeah. Yes, that is amazing. What was it like move? So, first of all, had you been to Africa before, and what was it like moving there?
JenniferYes, so I I had been. Um my my parents are my family's Ugandan, and so I'm first generation American. So I've I've been to the continent before. I've always wanted to delve deeper into it, just given my uh family history.
AngelaYeah.
JenniferUm, but I hadn't been to South Africa. So so that was new for me. Um, but it was exciting, right? I had the more you learn about the continent, the more you learn just how nuanced it is, how many countries there are, how many languages and borders and airlines. And so I really saw it as as the next step to delving deeper into my own curiosity about, you know, my my own culture and and my own life, but then also where the continent was going more broadly. So um, I spent some time in essay before actually moving, which convinced me to
Moving To Africa With Context
Jennifergo.
AngelaWow. And so, you know, as you kind of mentioned, but many Americans only hear about the continent when there's a crisis or a major event. What do you wish more people understood about it today?
JenniferYeah, it's it's a bit unfortunate that that that's the case. I think it's changing though. Good. I think it's we're at a point where it's it's really at a bit of an inflection point and there's a lot of momentum behind the continent. But I I think people have to remember that it's home to nearly uh over a billion people, 1.5 billion people. Um, by 2050, one in four people on earth will be African. Even if you look at, you know, sports. Um, there's so many connections to the continent. I mean, it's not just sports, it's yeah, it's tech, it's business, it's finance, it's um it's across the board. It, you know, there's so much that that is connected to the continent, and that is so important to be invested in and have an understanding of what's what's going on. And it's also so diverse that I was just mentioning, the cultures, the languages, what comes out of the continent, what is produced here, um, what gets exported across the world, the consumers that are here, how you know what we're digesting in the West and in the developed world, how that in many ways is an offshoot of or an evolution of what has come out of the continent. And so I think it's important that people are plugged into what's happening because if you're not, you're you're gonna be behind.
What People Miss About Africa
JenniferRight.
AngelaAnd you and you cover business for the entire continent, right?
JenniferYeah, yeah. Somehow, yeah.
AngelaSo, how do you decide what stories to cover? And, you know, what are the themes or trends that most excite you right now?
JenniferUm, yeah, it's a good question. It's it's it's tough because it's 54 countries. I I always remind people. Um, and so it's it's always funny when people say Africa is like a catch-all because I don't know if people always understand just how how big it is and and how much sort of encompasses the continent. Um, to your question on what to focus on, it a lot of times it's the same themes and drivers that are at the top of the agenda around the world. Um, a lot of our focus has to do with is flowing, how AI is changing the workforce, what it's going to look like for the dominant workforce in the future. And so it's it's sort of always trying to have a lens into what's coming next. Um, and and really sort of what sets whatever market we are talking about apart. Um, a lot of people focus on the main countries and and the markets that are big, um, which are of course where where a lot of the uh industrialization has come from, which is South Africa. Um, there's Egypt, there's Morocco, there's Nigeria. Um, but we're seeing uh as we're seeing a lot of development in even mid-tier, smaller countries and in different ways and in different sectors, because each country um is has their own resource, is resource-rich in a different way. And so um it's sort of looking at how all of these different levers connect to the bigger picture and and how they stand out. So it yeah, it sort of depends on the day. Um a lot lately has been, I'm sure, as you know, driven by what's happening in the Middle East and how that's filtering into here and um in some ways how Africa is to um be a bit more independent and and find ways to not be to be a bit more self-sufficient and not so reliant on um some of the countries and the the places they have
Choosing Stories Across 54 Countries
Jenniferbeen before. So yeah, I think a bit more nuanced to the to the overall discussion is hope is where I hope we're we're heading to in the future.
AngelaYes, and I I I just keep thinking about how hard it would be to cover 54 countries. Yeah. And fighting right, and you don't speak 54 or more languages, I'm assuming. Oh no, I barely even speak two.
JenniferI try, I try. But there's a lot of, yeah, no, uh, it's it's it's a lot of traveling, but it's a lot of learning. Um and I wanted to be sure when I came into this role that I wasn't coming in with sort of an arrogance or an ignorance about, yeah, you know, I know, I know what's happening uh across the board. Um, because you don't. Um even within one country, you know, even within South Africa, there's 11 different languages. There's so many different um subsets of of the culture and the community and the population. And so I try to do a lot more talking and meeting people and understanding what's happening than and trying to use that as a filter in some ways to the reporting that I do, but always sticking to the facts and and the data as well, because um, yeah, everyone has a different opinion, I'm sure you can imagine.
AngelaWere there certain, you know, you said you've done a lot of traveling, where there's certain countries that really surprised you?
JenniferI've always been surprised by where is where is somewhere? I would say Mozambique was very surprising for me. Um it's a very small country. I don't know. Have you have you been there? Do you know where it is? No, maybe not.
AngelaI think I might know where it is, but I'm not going to say in case I'm wrong.
JenniferNo, no, no, no, no, no. It's fine. It's in southern Africa. And and I went there to Maputo, which is the main part of town, in order to get to a coastal coastal area. Um, and it is so rich, the personalities that that I had met, and it is just beautiful. Um and it it you wouldn't you wouldn't visit the it's called Tofu Beach, is is where I went to. Um, but I just spent a few days and the people who I met were just so I mean, they love their country. They're so positive about sort of the direction that they're um heading in. And it felt like a real community, despite all of the difficulties that the country as a whole is is going through. Um it it's always it's always eye-opening to me to go into some communities and just get to spend a few days with locals because you get you get you get a feel for the day in the life and and sort of their own pride in in their country and in their part of their countries. And so yeah, I really enjoyed enjoying Mozambique. And there's always just, I mean, there's so much positivity no matter where you go, which is always um, I think lost on people who don't get to travel as much because as you were saying, you see the headlines about, you know, what have you, war or conflict or diseases that are happening, but there's also a lot of positivity that is happening that I don't think always gets um the headlines and gets as much attention.
Surprises From Reporting In Mozambique
JenniferAnd it should because it really enriches what it is that this this country and this continent um is all about.
AngelaYes. And as you do that, you're being a better journalist to be able to tell the business stories more accurately, you know, as you create those relationships, definitely. You host Next Africa, both TV and the podcast. Tell us a little bit more about that.
JenniferYeah, so uh Next Africa is our cross-platform brand that we have within Bloomberg. Um, I have the monthly show, as you were mentioning, where we focus on one theme each month on television. And it goes out on the last Friday of the month, but then on digital, it goes out on Saturday. Um, and we also have the podcast, which is weekly. Um, similar idea. We we sort of take one theme and as we do at Bloomberg, really look at it through the lens of data and facts and try to unpack that story. But, you know, I think some people might assume um the types of stories that we cover, but it it really ranges, um, which is the the really exciting thing because I think what I've realized over the past few years is just everything, every story in a lot of ways touches money, touches the economy, touches big. There's such a wide range of stories that we can cover, especially when you're talking about 54 different um countries and and the the topics and the themes that that they touch. And so just one example for you, you know, um the World Cup is going on. And so this week we we had our podcast focused on the Moroccan national football team, how they were the last African team in the World Cup, and how preface. So we sort of dissected how sport and politics and the economy intersect, um, and how that's playing out in a country like Morocco. Um, also for our monthly show, we're gonna talk about data centers, which is a big topic all around the world. Um, I know it's been big in the US, but also the conversation is a little conversation, is similar to what's happening in the US, but um in many parts of the continent, power is still a deficit. There's still a deficit of power. And so what does that mean for all of these data centers and these hyperscalers that are coming in?
Next Africa Show Podcast Newsletter
JenniferAnd so um, yeah.
AngelaSo is it more, would you say, you know, longer, deeper conversations than what you can have on traditional television segment?
JenniferUm it's it depends on what it is. We still have the the TV show, the linear um show that is standard television. And so we still try to um we still try to adhere, especially because I'm sure you know, um viewers and audiences have less time. They they click through things quite quickly, and so um we don't always spend a lot of time getting into a topic, but but we think that we we at least try to cover what we want to cover in in the time that we have. So the the TV show is 24 minutes, the podcast we try to do in under 15 minutes. Um the newsletter is daily and text, so it's a quick read. But you know, people are just skimming through everything, so right.
AngelaSo much information coming from everywhere. Yeah. Have there been any guests or interviews um that you've done recently that particularly stayed with you?
JenniferUm, guests that have stayed with me. I you know, I interviewed Tames, which was kind of a pinch me moment. I don't know if you know uh um she's an award-winning Nigerian artist who is doing collaborations with a number of musicians um and artists, and um is fantastic in and of herself. But she's she's trying to help inspire and empower and also um get more young Africans into various parts of the music business. And so I talked to her about why that's important for her. And it's not just other musicians she's she's trying to um bring up the ladder, it's also um executives, it's sound engineers, it's um it's producers, it's you know, it runs the gamma and it just sort of shows you how this next generation is really trying to, at least in the way sense of fan, sort of bring up um all the different parts of their industry. Um and she's not the only one. I also talked to Tiwa Savage, but that's that's music. If I if I think about finance, um uh I I had the pleasure of speaking to um Alisa Jancote, who is um, you know, I I don't think he needs an introduction, but um, he is about to IPO his refinery business um in Nigeria and uh just another person who you know he still describes himself as an entrepreneur, even though he is Africa's richest person. Um but it's it's it's telling to have someone of that nature and that stature still talk about how much he wants the next generation to be invested into the capital markets. And he wants to democratize um capital markets and bring people up in ways that he didn't necessarily see when he was coming up um in his own industry. And so uh I really think they're those are the stories that inspire me. Obviously, you know, it's important for me to generate news in my job, but I think it's equally important to show examples of individuals who are at least trying to lead lead the way. Um it's not always public figures, sometimes it is government officials. Um, but I'm finding a lot more often that it's coming from private individuals who have the means to go and sit back and and not necessarily speak out and do the things that they're doing, but they're actually putting their money where their mouth
Interviews That Stick With Her
Jenniferis. And and yeah, I think that's something. That's helpful too, right? Yeah, yeah. No, we need that. We need more of that.
AngelaRight. Um, Bloomberg, as you know, many know, has a very specific audience that cares deeply about markets, business, economics. What is the best way? And many of our listeners are in the public relations world or journalism. Um, what's the best way for PR professionals to help you do your job with that in mind?
JenniferI would say, I mean, especially saying what you just said, I think there's an understanding that Bloomberg is a financial company covering tech and data and media, and it's been around for quite some time, as you know. Um, but I think one point of advice that I would say is that it's very important for us as a news organization to be on the news and to push the story forward. And um, if there's a way that you're able to really get to the heart of what it is that that you're sharing or that you're telling, um that would that would at least get us a step further because it doesn't always help when you just share a name. Um it helps when you share a story. And at the end of the day, we're journalists and we're we're trying to tell a story and we're trying to inform audiences about science, politics, technology. And so if you can, if you can. Can identify that story. Um you can pass it on, and you know, the journalist will be able to decipher whether or not that fits into their remit. But I think just keeping the story element in mind, not losing sight of that is is the most important thing I would suggest.
AngelaI'm curious if you get um a lot more PR reach out now that you're covering such a large continent or or less. Are there less um PR professionals, I guess, in that part of the world?
JenniferI don't know if it's more. Um, I mean, it must be more, right? I don't I've never been asked. That's what I was thinking. Um yeah. Um, it it must be more. Um, but I I think I've also gotten better at being able to to know the story that I'm trying to tell. Um and so sometimes more isn't always better. Do you know what I mean?
AngelaRight. Yeah. Um it's I mean, so many of us are uh journalists especially now are inundated with email and even don't have time to sort through, you know what you're getting.
JenniferYeah, exactly. Um but it's I I do I will say that I I read almost all of my emails. I'm a bit I'm a bit neurotic, you know. I'm like that too, yeah. Really? Okay.
AngelaI'm a former journalist as well.
JenniferI think it's in our blood, you know? Yeah, I think so. I I I can't be those people who have like 10,000 emails on red, and I'm like, so I need to go through all of them. Right. So I I try to look through all of them. And so I I will see if there's one that stands out, but sometimes having a bit more targeted um guidance about what exactly it is that is being shared um would be helpful, I think, for everybody.
PR Advice Tell The Story
JenniferYes.
AngelaAs you look ahead, what trends or developments across the continent are you watching most closely? I know you mentioned AI. Are there are there other ones?
JenniferUm a lot of times we've been we've been really covering how private capital has been funneling into the continent from outside of the continent. Um, but then also what's been a growing discussion is how a lot of this private capital and private funds, and even public funds to a certain extent, how how they're intersecting with one another uh across the continent. Um so there's there's intra and inter-African trade and finance that is that is happening and that is picking up. And so we're watching that quite closely. But then I was gonna say, I think people would be surprised at just how many Western are talking. There's quite a lot of um cooperation that's going on, and the discussion is is changing. I'm sure you know it's it's not a lot of people like to say it's not aid, it's trade. And so how is that working between the US, the you know, the Europeans, the the UK, and and and Nigeria and Egypt and Botswana, you know, all of these different countries. And especially how how are some of these countries on the continent benefiting? Because they're trying to do things differently this generation around. They're trying to renegotiate their contracts. What what are what does that look like? What are the trade-offs? Um, and yeah, and who is ultimately getting ahead?
AngelaYeah, I think it's widely known that what happens in the US affects most of the world. How much do you see that throughout the countries in Africa?
JenniferEveryone is plugged into what's happening in the US. I I think what's changed since I came is not everyone is using that as really the um they're they're moving on, I guess is the best way to say it. Um because there's so much that is changing in the US, it's sort of hard for some people to keep up. It doesn't even matter what industry you're in, in in many ways it will affect you. And so, you know, when I was saying earlier, um, being a bit more self-sufficient, more and more African countries, and I think countries globally are trying to find ways to not be independent, but but at least try to be a bit more self-sufficient because an over-reliance, as I think someone said to me once, an over-reliance on any one country, not just the US, um, is a risk for for you. Um and so the conversation is changing, and that's where we're seeing new partnerships formed. Um and so it, yeah, I mean, it depends on which country you're talking about, because each country is different relationships, bilateral relations with the US. But um, I think in five years' time, it's it's gonna be a lot different. And and some of these um, some of these summits that we see all of these heads of state going to, I think are gonna continue to evolve. And the ones that actually are the the powers of the world, I guess is is is what I would say, the leaders of the world. Um, I think it's it's shifting. The dialogue is shifting. Right. That's a positive idea of the thing.
Trade Capital And A Shifting World
JenniferYeah, it's an opportunity if they choose to take it.
AngelaI have to ask before we go, um, what do you enjoy to do, maybe in your free time if you have any, or something that those might not know about you?
JenniferUm, what do I enjoy to do? Outside of traveling, traveling doesn't count. Yeah, right, but that's a good one though. It does count, right? Traveling is a big one. Um, I think outside of that, I just going back to my my roots a bit. I'm I'm a big film nerd. I love going to the movies when I have time, but I haven't been in a long time. Yeah, I haven't seen a movie in a really long time, but um I I try whenever I go to a new place to to find the movie theater and go and see a film.
AngelaYeah. Yeah.
JenniferThat's great.
AngelaWe seem to see a lot of cool places too, a lot of neat theaters.
JenniferYeah. There's a the I love uh an indie theater. I used to live in Brooklyn and so um I had a lot of great um indie indie theaters that I would go to. And so I always tried to find, you know, not the not the chain ones, even though I love those and the popcorn's always great. But it's it's fun to sort of see what's playing in in some of the smaller independent theaters. So yeah, that's kind of that's that's my happy place and running when
Film Nerd Habits And Where To Follow
JenniferI can. Yeah.
AngelaAwesome. And how can our listeners follow your reporting, subscribe to your newsletter, you know, connect with you online?
JenniferYeah, I mean, uh you can find our next Africa TV show and our podcast on YouTube, um, our newsletter. You can also search Bloomberg Next Africa and it will come up. And then I'm on Instagram as at the real Gen Z2Ns, um, because I am Gen Z. I'm not a Gen Z, but I am Gen Z. Um, and then on X, I'm Gen Zaba. So yeah, but please connect with me on LinkedIn and send me a message. I'd love to hear from your listeners. Sounds like a really great community you have.
AngelaPerfect. Thank you so much, Jennifer. Thanks, Angela. Thanks for having me. That's all for this episode of Media and Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at Communications Redefined.com slash podcast. I'm your host, Angela Toole. Talk to you next time.