The Managing Director, Managing Editor and co-owner of Newsday Media, Lerato Peggy Matheka has been nominated for the 2026 Powered by Africa Top 100 Most Influential Africans in Infrastructure.
Matheka, who is also the founder of Seahlolo Newspaper, learned of the nomination in a congratulatory letter from Powered by Africa. The organisers cited her leadership, impact and contribution to shaping Africa’s infrastructure and development landscape.
The initiative recognises leaders from across the continent and the global African diaspora. Its scope extends beyond infrastructure delivery to include communications, technology, investment and public service.
Reacting to the nomination, Matheka said she was proud to see work rooted in Lesotho receive continental attention.
“I am delighted and deeply honoured by this nomination. Working in Lesotho, I have seen how much expertise, determination and potential exists within our communities. It means a great deal to see work rooted in our country recognised in a continental development conversation,” she said.
Her career brings together public-interest journalism, agricultural communication and stakeholder engagement. Through Newsday Media, she leads reporting on governance, health, climate change and development.
In 2023 she founded Seahlolo to provide sustained coverage of agriculture and a platform where farmers, experts and institutions can share knowledge and engage on issues affecting food production and rural livelihoods.
This year, Newsday Media and Seahlolo took over the management of Farmers Pitso for three years. Matheka helped lead its expansion into a four-day Agriculture Week, held in Maseru from 9 to 12 September.
The programme combined farmer knowledge exchange, a schools agriculture challenge, an AgriExpo and excellence awards, bringing together farmers, businesses, experts and institutions around agricultural development.
She said these platforms have given people greater visibility and linked them to opportunities.
“Through Newsday Media, Seahlolo and Farmers Pitso, my team and I have built platforms that give people visibility and connect knowledge with opportunity,” she said.
The nomination statement says her work illustrates the role of media and stakeholder networks in development: making information accessible, enabling engagement between communities and institutions, and strengthening public accountability. It adds that the nomination brings continental visibility to a media entrepreneur whose platforms are rooted in Lesotho.
She credited others for the achievement.
“This milestone belongs to the people who have helped build that work. I am proud of what we are contributing and encouraged to keep strengthening the partnerships that help our communities move forward,” she said.
The inaugural Top 100 list is scheduled to be unveiled during Powered by Africa’s Accra delegation in Ghana from 17 to 21 November 2026. The programme includes an Infrastructure and Investment Conference on 19 November and a gala on 20 November. Matheka has been confirmed as a nominee, and the final list has not yet been announced.
Powered by Africa describes itself as a global campaign showcasing African leadership and achievement across infrastructure, investment, innovation, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, technology and business. Its activities include international convenings, documentary storytelling and strategic partnerships.
Matheka is a media executive, journalist and entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in journalism and media management. Her work spans print, digital and visual storytelling. She serves as Secretary of the REPSSI Lesotho Country Advisory Board and is a Southern Africa Ambassador for Africa Women Experts.
A graduate of the WAN-IFRA Women in News Global Leadership Accelerator, she also mentors emerging journalists and advocates for greater visibility of women’s expertise in public discourse.
Summary
- It means a great deal to see work rooted in our country recognised in a continental development conversation,” she said.
- In 2023 she founded Seahlolo to provide sustained coverage of agriculture and a platform where farmers, experts and institutions can share knowledge and engage on issues affecting food production and rural livelihoods.
- The programme includes an Infrastructure and Investment Conference on 19 November and a gala on 20 November.
Ntsoaki Motaung is an award-winning health journalist from Lesotho, specializing in community health stories with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as HIV. She has contributed to platforms like “Be in the KNOW,” highlighting issues such as the exclusion of people with disabilities from HIV prevention efforts in Lesotho.
In addition to her journalism, Ntsoaki serves as the Country Coordinator for the Regional Media Action Plan Support Network (REMAPSEN). She is also a 2023 CPHIA Journalism Fellow.
