Mimi Kalinda

Mimi Kalinda
CEO, Africa Communications Media Group
DRC

Mimi Kalinda is a global communications expert with a rich experience of 25 years in developing, implementing, and measuring impactful strategies across Africa, Europe, and the United States.

In 2012, Mimi co-founded Africa Communications Media Group (ACG), Africa’s leading panAfrican public relations and communications agency headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. ACG has been instrumental in supporting clients across Sub-Saharan Africa, including esteemed organizations like the Mastercard Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mercer, Mercedes, Western Union, Barloworld, Accenture, the World Bank/IFC, the Rockefeller Foundation, AFIG Funds, Nesta, Lloyds, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the ONE Campaign, and Dalberg Advisors.

Additionally, Mimi led the global communications team for Innovations for Poverty Action and the Global Development Incubator (GDI) in Washington, DC. Mimi’s passion for global development issues and stakeholder engagement at the policy level has earned her recognition as an award-winning communications consultant. Recently, in her role as Director of Communications, she led the communications team for the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya (2023), where she played a crucial role in amplifying the summit’s message and promoting climate action across the continent. She also worked on country branding efforts for Ethiopia and the Invest in Morocco campaigns.

During her tenure as FleishmanHillard’s Africa Lead, she contributed to the team’s success in winning PRISM Awards for the Barclays Africa “Prosper” campaign and the African Union’s campaign against Ebola, which raised an impressive USD$51 million. Her tenure at Weber Shandwick involved managing significant social impact accounts, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Innovation Prize for Africa. As the Global Director of Communications for the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), she played an integral role in the historic launch of the Next Einstein Forum (NEF). Notably, Mimi’s career trajectory extends beyond the communications realm.

In New York City, from 2003 to 2006, she worked as a Production Assistant for 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, contributing to the film Inside Man, directed by Spike Lee. Mimi made history as the first African woman to host a show on MTV Europe. She also received the prestigious One World Media Award for Rien Que La Verite, a television program advocating HIV/AIDS prevention and an end to violence against women in the DRC. Mimi’s commitment to supporting leaders in achieving exceptional results is evident through her frequent coaching and leadership workshops, as facilitation work for various esteemed organizations, including the Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa program, Absa Bank, the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), and the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. In addition to her professional achievements, Mimi actively contributes to various boards and advisory bodies.

She serves on the board of the AKO Caine Prize and Catalyst for Growth (C4G), a solution launched by JP Morgan and Dalberg to support entrepreneurs across Africa. Mimi is also a member of the Africa Brand Counsel, where she advises policymakers and private sector leaders on leveraging Africa’s brand equity for economic development. Furthermore, she serves on the advisory board of Africa Works Ventures, a Hong Kong-based consultancy facilitating investment from China for promising African companies.

She was listed in the second & fifth publications of 100 Most Influential African Women in 2020 & 2023 by Avance Media.

Credits: Wikipedia.org