Zain Ejiofor Asher was born to first generation Nigerian parents in South London. The third of four children, she spent her childhood in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. She attended Oxford University, where she earned degrees in French and Spanish before moving to New York to pursue a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia University. 

After working as a receptionist for a production company in California, Zain moved to New York, where she worked as a freelance reporter at News 12 Networks and later Money Magazine before becoming a business correspondent at CNN. She is the anchor of One World with Zain Asher on CNN International, a primetime show devoted to giving every continent, especially Africa, an equal seat at the global table.