ENIOLA HARRISON
Adviser, APCR Committee
Co-founder, Africa Communications Week
Africa’s PR and communications industry continues to grow and evolve and although the continent presents new and unique challenges, the future is exciting and full of opportunities.
The first Africa PR & Communications (APCR) report highlights the industry’s wins, explores its challenges and opportunities, and underscores the enormous work to be done on the continent, particularly the role PR and communication can play in advancing the much-needed transformation and sustainable development of Africa’s economy and people.
First, the emergence of new opportunities across the continent indicates it is an exciting time for PR practice. An unprecedented embrace of African culture and creativity across the music, film, fashion, arts, and tech industries globally means demand for reputation and crisis management is on a high, accounting for a quarter of the total services demanded in the PR and communications industry.
Africa’s film industry alone has the potential to create over 20 million jobs and contribute $20 billion to the continent’s combined GDP. PR practitioners will be expected to appropriately cater to the reputation management demands of the creative and cultural industry with strategic deliberation and professionalism using new communication technologies, sound data, and experience.
A similar rise in reputation management demands is evident in the tech industry as it records all-time high capital investments and growth, with startups continuously seeking ways to sustain their brand image. The APCR represents a key source of data and expert insights to guide practitioners in building, managing and protecting reputations across various sectors.
PR practice in Africa over the next two years is poised to take an interesting turn as the continent makes its final sprint to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. An important question to explore is how the PR and communications industry will inspire public and private actions towards solving critical challenges that hamper Africa’s development today for the continent to achieve the UN’s SDGs by 2030.
A major area of concern also presents a growing opportunity for PR practice across the continent. Communicating about corporate environmental, social and governance performance will become unavoidable with 13% of responders in the APCR report citing ESG as one of the prime issues facing businesses and clients in Africa–-only behind economic instability (21%), funding and cash flow (17%), and sales (15%). PR and communication professionals will need to become more skilled in building effective ESG strategies for their businesses and clients and well-versed in implementing them. With African countries and economies at severe risk due to the effects of the climate crisis, the PR and communications industry must understand its vital role in driving climate conversations, and in particular, shaping narratives on Africa’s need for climate adaptation and finance.
Another emerging opportunity for the industry is the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. There is a real need for AfCFTA signatory countries to raise awareness among stakeholders of the trade and investment opportunities opened up by the free trade area. The PR and communications industry will therefore be a critical vehicle to steer conversations around collaborative actions, emphasizing the need for deepening private sector engagement and commitment to the implementation process. There can be no better motivation for the industry than the World Bank’s prediction that the AfCFTA—the largest free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization—if fully implemented, has the potential to raise incomes by 9% by 2035 and lift 50 million people out of extreme poverty.
As the APCR states, these efforts cannot be accomplished without commitment to ethical practice and uncompromised professionalism.AlackofregulationofPR practice poses a real challenge in ensuring credibility and accountability for practitioners across the continent. Hence it behoves industry stakeholders to lay regulatory policies that will guide, monitor, and reward ethical and responsible practices among practitioners.
Among many other key indicators, the APCR also spotlights African governments’ roles in providing the PR and communications industry with a solid foundation to thrive. At least 10% of practitioners sampled in this report are concerned about how government policies affect the industry. The APCR emphasizes a need for better legislative and regulatory policies, as well as strategic collaborations to elevate the standard and achieve growth of PR practice on the continent.
It is an important time for the PR and communications industry to play a role in driving Africa towards sustainable growth, as the continent continues to evolve and present new opportunities. The 2022-2023 Africa PR & Communications report(APCR),steeredbyBHMResearch& Intelligence, provides much-needed insights to gain a deeper understanding of the industry’s current realities, challenges and opportunities. These will hopefully inspire industry actions towards achieving short and long-term development goals.