Elbagir joined CNN in February 2011 as a reporter based at network's Johannesburg bureau, before later moving to Nairobi. Prior to this, during her time freelancing for CNN, the stories she covered during this time included the escalating violence against women in the Congo; Nigeria's 50th anniversary of independence; the South Sudanese Referendum; and CNN's coverage of the Hajj. Before joining CNN, Sudanese-born Elbagir worked in various capacities for the UK's Channel 4 for a number of years from 2005: She freelanced from Kabul for Channel 4 News; reported for the "Unreported World" documentary strand; and both reported and presented for Channel 4 News and More4 News. Elbagir began her journalism career as a stringer with Reuters in 2002 reporting from Sudan, and one of the first to provide footage from inside Darfur; while also filing material for the Economist, the FT and Radio France International. She stayed on with Reuters as a London-based Graduate Trainee through to 2005.