Editorial Team
Benedicte Kalombo
Founder | Editorial Director
Benedicte is an international multimedia journalist, producer and media entrepreneur with extensive knowledge of digital audiences. Through Pin Africa and Pinned Media, Benedicte elevates and showcases the voices and stories of Africa and its diaspora, as well as empowering the next generation of African journalists via ACQUIRE By Pin Africa. Benedicte has worked for the BBC, ITN/ITV News, Deutsche Welle Africa, and UNDP. She contributed empowering stories to New African Woman magazine where she was the digital editor.
Ahmed Idris
Editor-in-chief | In-depth Reports, Editor
Ahmed is the founding editor of Pin Africa. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with an interest in investigations and telling African stories in a compelling and honest way. Ahmed is enamoured by democracy and untangling the complicated relationship between citizens and the state. Also, he is motivated by an eternal hope of what Africa can become.
Mohamed Keita
Visual Journalism, Editor
Mohamed is a former contributing writer at Quartz Africa and Of Note magazine but his articles and opinion columns have also appeared in publications including Quartz Africa, Of Note magazine, The Mail & Guardian, The Continent, True Africa and The New York Times. He formerly spearheaded a development project-focused storytelling initiative in Ghana and Uganda in which he authored a basic storytelling guide and led workshops with citizen journalists in-country. Prior to that, he taught written storytelling in the Akoma Amplify Fellowship for Content Creators and Storytellers in Africa. He previously worked for seven years as a breaking news reporter covering the Africa region in the newsroom of the global nonprofit journalism group Committee Protect Journalists. He began journalism in high school as editor in chief of a school newsletter.
Emmanuel Yegon
Mobile Journalism, Editor
Emmanuel Yegon is a multimedia storyteller and the co-founder and communication director at Mobile Journalism Africa. He is a mobile journalism trainer and digital communications consultant.In Accra, Ghana, in 2018, he trained young journalists from across Africa in mobile journalism. He has trained journalists and content creators in Kenya on smartphone storytelling. He’s also collaborated with many international institutions on smartphone storytelling training.Emmanuel is a UN-awarded writer and mobile filmmaker. Under the Aga Khan University (GSMC) and Facebook initiative, he taught Kenya’s first mobile journalists. DW Akademie co-developed a programme on constructive journalism with him. He graduated from the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).
Janet Machuka
Head of Editorial Strategy
Janet is a Kenyan journalist who has vast knowledge in digital marketing, copywriting and content strategy. She’s previously been published on Standard Media as an author. She also took part in the 2017 Kenya Presidential Debate as a content strategist. Janet has spent the past 6 years helping brands plan, create and execute content strategies on their digital platforms.
Belinda Otas
Podcasts, Commissioning Editor
Belinda Otas is an editor, journalist, and media consultant with a keen interest in Africa—at the intersection of entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology; art and culture, gender, health, education, and the African diaspora. She was the deputy editor of the New African Woman and the editor of Selamta magazines. Belinda was most recently the Business & Innovation editor at AMAKA Studio, a pan-African digital platform. As Pin Africa’s podcasts lead, Belinda values challenging conversations and believes audio discussions allow people to speak effectively to audiences with direct impact.
Manitou Nsaka
Live news and events, Editor
Manitou has written for, among other publications, True Africa, the Congolese Chamber of Commerce, Esimbi Magazine, Haiti 73 Agency, and Congo Films Magazine. The primary subjects of Manitou’s writing are politics, culture, and economics. He is continuously attempting to improve people’s perception of the African continent. Due to his interest in African history, he authored a book about the Kuba textile, which is regarded as one of the world’s most distinctive textiles.
