Mimi Kalinda is the CEO and co-founder of Africa Communications and Media Group (ACG) a pan African public relations and communications agency based in Johannesburg. She is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and was raised in South Africa. Mimi Kalinda is also the former director of communications for the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS).
In her free time she also hosts a show called "Talking To Africa" on Africa Business radio every Wednesday that unpacks Africa's reputational challenges and opportunities. Mimi uses her two decades of experience in communications in Africa and abroad to argue and highlight the importance of giving Africans a voice and recreating the African continent's narrative.
Mimi has also led workshops on Storytelling and Narrative Leadership for the Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa program, as well as for the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business: Women in Business Conference, and the Africa Trade and Investment Global Summit 2018 in Washington, DC. Mimi frequently hosts workshops for leaders across Africa on Storytelling and Communications. She also sits on the board of Catalyst for Growth and the Africa Board Counsel.
She is the author of an e-book ‘Talking to Africa- Considering Culture in Communications for a Complex Continent’ Her take home message is, when communicating with Africans, do your homework, do not underestimate cultural dynamics, and do not stereotype or make assumptions.
Her work has been honoured through many awards including the One World Media Award for Rien Que La Vérité, a television program advocating the prevention of HIV/AIDS and an end to violence against women in the DRC. She was also the recipient of the Emerging Producers Bursary from the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (WCSFP) and was nominated for the Women4Africa Awards 2016 as a finalist in the International African Woman of the Year category. Mimi was also a finalist for the Standard Bank Top Women Awards as Entrepreneur of the Year 2019.
We award Mimi Kalinda our Person of the Month for October 2021 for actively contributing to Africa’s representation in the media through increasing awareness.
