CNN to launch new series Connecting Africa which explores intra-African trade

Credits CNN

CNN International is launching a new series, Connecting Africa which will profile the people, projects and companies revolutionizing African business and bringing the continent together by championing trade and expansion, reflecting the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement.

Airing from December, the new 30-minute monthly show will be hosted by CNN Correspondent Eleni Giokos.  As trade routes across the continent are modernising and increasing, Giokos will cover stories across Africa, from the Cape to Cairo. The series will report on the airlines making intra-African air connectivity a reality, meet the telecom operators and media entrepreneurs advancing cross-African networks and communications, visit the logistics hubs central to the movement of goods around the continent, and profile the industry leaders championing cross-border trade and expansion. Along with monthly episodes of the series, segments of the reporting will also air within CNN’s flagship business programmes.

On digital, the Connecting Africa page will host a series of articles and videos which will also feature across CNN’s social accounts.

Ellana Lee, Senior Vice President, Managing Editor and Global Head of Features Content, CNN International said: “Connecting Africa will bring new stories to our international audience that highlight the fast-growing African companies and homegrown entrepreneurs that are expanding their operations and driving the continent’s economic integration. This is the fifth Africa-focused series that is currently airing on CNN International, demonstrating our commitment to going beyond the news agenda to tell standout stories about the continent to our global audience, covering everything from business and tech to arts and culture.”  

Eleni Giokos, CNN Correspondent, said: “This series is a chance to step back and take a truly holistic look at Africa, in the context of what could be an era defining free-trade agreement.  Our new series will examine the entire value chain underpinning this vast and diverse continent, taking in everything from colossal logistics infrastructure to ambitious small businesses.  We’ll be uncovering the stories in the connective tissue that binds Africa together, and asking if the time is now arriving when its long-heralded potential is truly unleashed.”

The first episode of Connecting Africa will air on CNN International from 5th December 2020.