For a long time, PR and communications were often treated as a supporting function - called on mainly for press releases, product announcements, and reputational issues.
Rutendo Nyamuda is director of Brand Communications at Yellow Card. Source: Supplied.
But as markets become more connected and information moves faster, communications has become central to how organisations build relevance, trust and influence.
I recently attended Africa Global PR Week in Nairobi, which brought together more than 1000 senior delegates from over 35 countries. What stood out was not just the scale, but who was in the room: representatives from the African Union, senior communications and PR leaders, government officials, media and executives from major African and global organisations. Emmanuel Lubanzadio, Africa lead at OpenAI, also joined the programme for a fireside chat on AI and technology.
This is worth paying attention to. When institutions and organisations of this scale show up in a room dedicated to communications, it tells us something about where the profession is heading - and the increasingly important role communications plays in shaping influence, reputation and how Africa is positioned globally.
The three-day programme explored identity, nation branding, storytelling, strategic PR, technology and global influence, with each theme raising questions that extend well beyond the traditional boundaries of public relations.
Three themes, in particular, stayed with me.
Building brands across borders
One of the strongest themes throughout the week was the challenge of building brands that can resonate in different markets.
It is a question that feels particularly relevant to me. My career has naturally been shaped by different perspectives. I was born in Zimbabwe, raised in South Africa, and have spent much of my career working across countries, industries and audiences.
In my current role as director of Brand Communications at Yellow Card, a global fintech, building the brand across markets has been a core part of my role, taking it from recognition in a handful of pan-African markets to broader visibility across the continent and into global markets.
That experience has reinforced something I believe strongly: building a brand across borders is about much more than taking the same message and distributing it in different places. The first question has to be: why should anyone care?
Noleen Thompson 2 Sep 2026 My background in journalism continues to influence how I approach my work. Before moving into corporate communications, I worked in journalism and television production, including writing for Forbes Africa and CNBC Africa. When I look at a proposed story, one instinct that has stayed with me is to ask: Would I actually pick this up?
Too often, communications teams start with what an organisation wants to say rather than why anyone else should want to hear it. And when you're working across markets, there is another question: why should someone in this particular market care?
A story that is compelling in Kenya may not have the same relevance in Nigeria. Something that matters to an audience in Africa may need a different entry point for a reader in the UK or US. The fundamentals of a strong story remain the same, but the context changes. Understanding that context is what turns a message into a brand that can genuinely travel.
How technology is changing communications
The second major theme was how technology is changing the PR and communications industry, something I explored as part of the panel “Innovation, AI, Digital Transformation, and Redefining Africa’s Influence”.
It’s striking how quickly AI has already become integrated into our workflows. We are well past simply asking whether AI can write a press release faster. The bigger opportunity is how technology is changing the way we gather intelligence, understand audiences, operate across markets and make decisions.
The shift is already happening. Research from Meltwater and WE Communications found that more than 90% of PR teams globally are already integrating generative AI into their workflows, although only 13% say it is highly integrated.
For me, the opportunity is not simply about doing existing work faster. It is about thinking differently about what a communications function can do when it has access to vastly more information, analysis and intelligence.
That has particular implications for African organisations looking to compete globally. Technology can give smaller teams access to capabilities that once required significant resources and teams across multiple markets. But as our tools become more sophisticated, we also need to protect the human connection at the heart of communications.
These are not conversations about a distant future. They are happening now, and communicators need to understand where they fit into them.
Who gets to shape the narrative?
The third theme was perhaps the one that felt most familiar. For as long as I can remember, there has been a conversation about Africa's narrative: who tells our stories, which stories get amplified and how the continent is represented to the rest of the world.
But we’ve never had a shortage of stories. There are businesses being built, technologies being developed, creative industries growing, athletes achieving extraordinary things and entrepreneurs solving difficult problems.
The question is often how far those stories travel. Representation matters. But so does reach. This does not mean pretending every story about the continent should be positive. Organisations and individuals will have moments that deserve scrutiny and criticism.
But there is a difference between having a balanced understanding of a continent and allowing a narrow set of narratives to dominate how it is understood.
We need more people telling African stories boldly and loudly. More voices participating in global conversations, and more stories about the progress, innovation and ambition coming out of the continent reaching audiences beyond it.
One of the most memorable moments of the week came from the legendary Eliud Kipchoge, who spoke candidly about his own journey, the challenges he faced and the role of perspective and perseverance in navigating difficult moments. It was a good reminder that behind every brand, institution and narrative are people - and that the most powerful stories are often the ones that make us feel something.
That, ultimately, is the opportunity for communicators: to be more deliberate about the businesses and people we help build, the reputations we shape, the communities we engage, and the stories we put into the world. Because the stories that travel shape perception. Perception shapes reputation. And reputation shapes influence.
