News & Updates

Gong Communications, part of The Wilful Group, has re-certified as a B Corp with its highest score to date of 97.0, significantly surpassing the 80 point minimum required. This recognition highlights the Group’s exceptional commitment to employee well-being, including fair wages, comprehensive healthcare, and flexible working options.

Action for Conservation (AFC), a charity dedicated to inspiring the next generation of nature conservationist has partnered with Gong parent company, the Wilful Group, as a pro bono client. AFC’s initiatives include workshops and Summer Camps aimed at educating and involving  young people in conservation efforts.

Gong Communications, a Wilful Group company, will continue providing communications and media relations support to the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA), a non-profit collective licensing body in the UK, for a second year.

In a recent webinar hosted by carbon insurance specialist, Kita, Narda Shirley founder of Gong Communications and co-founder of The Wilful Group, led an in-depth discussion on managing reputational risks within the dynamic realm of carbon markets.  

Valuable 500, a partnership of 500 international companies dedicated to ending disability exclusion, has appointed Wilful Group Company, Gong Communications, to enhance brand awareness and increase engagement among company partners in international markets, with a particular focus on Australia and the APAC region. 

The international Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) has reappointed Gong Communications, a Wilful Group company, as its PR partner. This decision follows a successful second consecutive year of  coverage in major UK and international business media.

Gong Communications, a Wilful Group company, has been selected to work with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to provide international communications support for its second Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence: Changing the Landscape of AI Governance. 

Gong has been reappointed to manage diversity and inclusion communications for Lloyd’s insurance market. This marks Gong’s ninth year collaborating with Dive In, the pioneering diversity and inclusion festival for the insurance market, on behalf of the Inclusion@Lloyd’s steering group.

A comprehensive design brief aimed at renewing internal engagement in Lloyd’s of London’s Speak Up initiative has been won by Gong Communications, a Wilful Group company.

Gong Communications, a Wilful Group company, has been reappointed by engineered carbon removal platform Puro.earth to provide UK and international communications support following another successful year.

Though our Impact Committee which oversees our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) work, Gong Communications, a Wilful Group company provided pro-bono support for climate activist Craig Cohon and his Walk it Back campaign.

Gong Communications, a Wilful Group company, has been appointed to provide social media support for STX, a leading global environmental commodity trader and corporate climate solutions provider.

PART 1: This is a question that frequently arises as companies grow. We have 25 years’ corporate communications experience to draw on in being able to advise on this. We have worked with hundreds of companies at different points in their development, from seed funded start-ups to listed multinationals looking for a reputational reboot or an image refresh.

We are pleased to share our 2022 impact report. In a year in which we donated 180 hours to CSR activities, spent 325 hours in training, and recycled 100% of our e-waste, we also celebrated making an impact through communications for our clients tackling urgent issues such as climate change, circular economy, global health, and education.

PART 2: In part two of our guidance on when is the best time to hire a PR agency, the second key question to ask is: Do you have enough time and resource to work with a PR agency?

We are delighted to have supported our client, the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE), in branding and launching the second iteration of the Falcon Awards for Disease Elimination (FADE): The Climate Edit.

Gong Communications was delighted to win two Certificates of Excellence at the 2023 Africa SABRE Awards which highlight superior achievement in branding, reputation, and engagement.

Gong has been re-appointed to manage diversity and inclusion communications for the Lloyd’s insurance market. The appointment will mark Gong’s seventh year of working with Dive In, the first insurance market-wide diversity and inclusion festival, on behalf of the Inclusion@Lloyd’s steering group.

Gong Communications, a Wilful Group company, has been re-appointed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) to provide UK and international communications support following a successful first year.

Gone are the days when it was enough to report on the financial health of a company once a year. Sustainability reporting is now not just an optional extra; it is increasingly becoming a legal requirement.

In April 2022, the UK became the first G20 country to make reporting aligned to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) mandatory.

Exploring the benefits of a multilingual comms team

A multi-disciplinary group of international advisors led by ESG specialists, Earth Active, has been appointed by Greece’s sovereign wealth fund, Growthfund.

Investor and stakeholder expectations are changing rapidly, and while climate issues have taken centre stage in ESG plans and disclosures, an increasing focus is being placed on social impact reporting. To help launch the company’s UK ESG offering, Gong Communications worked with Morrow Sodali to design and host a panel event focused on the challenges and evolving requirements of social impact reporting.

1 in every 95 people on earth has fled their home. War, religious violence, political persecution and famine are forcing people from their homes to the temporary safety of neighbouring countries – 85 per cent of which are developing nations. As part of a wider community of B Corps using business as a force for good, we wanted to use our PR expertise to help the very charities that are creating a safer, more inclusive world for forcibly displaced persons and refugees. And so, on 20 June 2021, Gong’s Refugee Press Office was born.

Dismissed as “woke capitalism” by some, the trend of making investment choices based on the positive impact they will have on society is here to stay. In the UK, much of this shift has focused on climate tech, so much so that the country is fast emerging as a global investment hub for climate tech start-ups.

On April 20, Gong Communications founder, Narda Shirley joined other signatories to the Better Business Act at the House of Commons to lobby MPs for a change in the law. If passed, the Better Business Act would amend section 172 of the Companies Act so that businesses are legally obliged to consider all stakeholders.

As a B Corp, we are required to report on our impact. We are pleased to share our 2021 impact report, both in terms of the work we do and the clients we are proud to work for and also to reflect on our own activity.

Africa is taking the lead when it comes to realising the potential the wildlife economy has to offer. Home to abundant wildlife and diverse habitats, it is perhaps not surprising that the journey to unlocking and diversifying the wildlife economy begins on this continent.

In the finale of our 3-part series zooming in to focus on 10 inspiring international B Corps, we’re heading out east to spotlight 3 more certified organisations. Gong’s B Corp Committee member and Senior Account Executive, Ryan Witton, acts as your guide to the final fab three.

Welcome back for part 2 of this 3-part blog celebrating the achievements and commitments of international B Corp organisations. With 4,700 of them already certifying as part of a movement that believes business can be a force for good, we’ve picked 10 companies dotted around the world to shine a light on their activity, creating change for people, community and planet.

With this year’s B Corp Month of March set to be the biggest on record, Gong’s B Corp Committee set off to learn more about the B Corp movement globally and how creating change from within our organisations can benefit people, communities and the planet. 

The UK’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050 means we will all have to change some aspects of our lives for good. Whether it is giving up petrol and diesel cars, switching to renewable energy or making changes to our homes and offices, everyone will need to do their bit.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we recognise the historical, cultural, and political achievements of women across the world.

The good news is that according to the IDS (Income Data Services) there is an eight per cent increase in the number of graduate roles being advertised.

In the latest episode of our Africa Net Zero series, we were delighted to sit down with two guests: Siggi Huegemann and Dr Innocent Uwuijaren from the African Hydrogen Partnership. We learned more about the African hydrogen journey so far and discussed what the future might hold as the continent becomes one of the world’s major producers.

Through our merger with CherishPR, we have created Wilful, a new firm that works at the intersection of tech innovation and sustainability. We asked the team what most excited them about Wilful and here’s what they said:

WILFUL AGENCY LAUNCHES WITH CLIMATE INNOVATION FOCUS Communications taskforce to support low carbon, regenerative economy 19 October 2021, London Wilful is a new agency that works at the intersection of tech innovation and sustainability to help clients amplify and scale solutions to the climate emergency. The agency is built on the merger of its founding … Continue reading Wilful Press Release →

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)-focused funds and impact investments have been delivering strong yields and gaining investors, despite a broader pandemic-induced sell off. But is ESG enough to deliver needed change?

Gong Communications launches B Corp e-learning platform in partnership with Danone and B Lab to support fellow B Corp organisations engage and inspire employees around certification.

Our Gong colleague in Lusaka covers the Zambian presidential election as events unfold, reflecting on the qualities of a strong leader

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)-focused funds and impact investments have been delivering strong yields and gaining investors, despite a broader pandemic-induced sell off. But is ESG enough to deliver needed change?

Whether it’s a product launch, media briefing or industry-wide festival, devising and executing a memorable event is often a key element of an effective communications campaign. Here are our top tips for creating a great virtual event

We launch our Countdown to COP26 with the publication of an introductory guide to all things carbon, including a glossary of terms related to the UN’s climate change conferences

Gong has been appointed on a project basis to provide local and international PR and communications support for SEED’s biennial awards

Join us as we navigate and map the connections between the financial net zero alliances, and view our resulting infographic

Gong Communications launches a refugee press office to extend the reach of its pro bono resources to a greater number of small charities 

Crises – like the current Covid-19 pandemic – take a significant social and economic toll, yet they contain the dynamics for disruption from which new business models emerge. In this blog we highlight our favourite gamechanging companies.

For EU Green Week 2021, we cast a spotlight on our current and previous clients driving sustainably conscious, greener industries by sharing their quotes around this goal.

Gong has been chosen as PR partner for the launch of Birimian Ventures, which aims to scale up African heritage luxury brands through patient capital, supporting designers on the continent and in the diaspora to facilitate their sustainable expansion both regionally and internationally, from seed funding to capital growth.

To celebrate Africa Day, we are shining a light on the work of some of East Africa’s stand out creatives.

Gong was named among the winners of the 2021 Africa SABRE Awards, which recognize Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation, and Engagement, during a virtual award ceremony.

Today marks the launch of the Green Pensions Charter, led by Make My Money Matter in partnership with Count Us In. It’s a world first for pensions, uniting 50+ employers – Gong included – in a mission to “make our money matter”.

We examine the economic potential of Nature-based Solutions within climate change mitigation in our latest blog

As important international negotiations on climate and sustainability are underway, we look at some inspirational stories of sustainability from around the globe

As part of our #AfricaNetZero series, we spoke to @Wolfram Schmidt about his research into alternative materials like cassava and other agricultural residues as a source of ‘green’ African-made cement for future sustainable construction on the Continent.

We take a look at the companies transforming healthcare to build a fairer, healthier world for all

How does being a B Corp help your business excel at governance? In this short video, we outline three key areas.

If you’re considering becoming a B Corp this B Corp month, you will already know the importance of putting purpose at the heart of your organisation. Here’s why we became certified as a B Corp back in June 2017 and continue to be proud members of the B Corp community today.

This week, as part of B Corp month, we are charged with telling a positive impact story from among our network. One of our favourites is from our partner, the African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC). This wonderful collection of business accelerators supports local entrepreneurs to drive job growth across Africa. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Collective … Continue reading Positive impact stories: B Corp month →

One of the good things about celebration days in the international calendar is that they give us the excuse to pause and think about important issues amidst the rush and clamour of busy schedules. Female leadership is still a big issue, particularly for those who subscribe to the belief that diversity in leadership enables better … Continue reading Female Leadership – insights on International Women’s Day →

This B Corp month, we shine a light on our top 5 fellow B Corps

Engineering makes a difference in places you wouldn’t always expect. Find out how Charlette N’Guessan and her team are revolutionising AI bias and why it won her the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

The Royal Academy of Engineering has appointed Gong Communications to support its sub-Saharan Africa grants programmes: Higher Education Partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa (HEP SSA) and Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Africa Catalyst.

Outside work, I love public speaking and have been an active Toastmasters member for 3 and a half years.

This year, the UNESCO-backed International Day for Education recognises the significant impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on global education.

You’ll know from our previous blogs that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is scientifically argued to be the best route to mitigating climate change via a less CO2 intensive world. As a B Corp dedicated to being carbon Net Zero, at Gong we are always on the lookout for inspiring companies.

Starting a new job can be nerve-wracking: meeting colleagues, learning about new clients, getting to grips with a new work landscape – but doing it all completely remotely makes it so much harder.

As the year draws to a close, we’ve used the opportunity to reflect on the year we’ve had and the impact we have made.

To kick off Gong’s new #AfricaNetZero series, we talked to Elizabeth Wangeci Chege, CEO and Co-founder, @WEBLimitedGroup who was recently honored by @WorldGBC in recognition of her 20-year commitment to green building in Africa and her pioneering work in the sustainable construction sector in Kenya. 

After a successful project in which we helped announce its commercial launch and global rollout, carbon marketplace Puro.earth has extended its brief with Gong.

Gong supported Lloyd’s on the creation of its Ethnic Diversity in the Workplace report, a culmination of an 18-month exploration into racial and ethnic diversity in the Lloyd’s market.

Trevor Robinson OBE, is a Creative Director and owner of advertising agency Quiet Storm and founder of CreateNotHate, an initiative to promote the creative industries as a career path to inner city kids.

The Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE), has appointed Gong Communications to lead its communications effort.

Visionable, the rapidly expanding British health technology company, has extended its contract with Gong on a corp comms brief.

Despite nearly 500 LGBT+ events being cancelled or postponed this year due to Covid-19, Pride Month remains as important as ever with its message of acceptance ringing no truer than now.

World Environment Day has prompted us here at Gong to reflect on the issue so many businesses are grappling with at the moment: How to get to Net Zero carbon dioxide emissions using science based methods as fast as we can?

There is something about the sustainability pioneer John Elkington’s new book, Green Swans; The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalismthat brings joy as one scans the contents pages. The title unapologetically riffs off the idea of Black Swans – the extreme, the unknown, and very improbable events – described in a book of that name published just before the global financial crisis of 2008.

Africa-impact specialist, Kina Advisory has appointed Gong to support the growth of its brand internationally. Kina is best known for advising boards on key ESG issues affecting business and investment in Africa, which for those in the know, is the proving ground for ESG best practice.

In April, we were delighted to be invited back to work with Invest in Africa following our initial efforts to help capture the challenges SMEs faced when working with large corporations in Ghana in this report: David & Goliath: Creating a level playing fled for SMEs. 

In March, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial and advanced technology batteries,  Systems Sunlight, retained Gong on a corporate comms brief. Sunlight is part of The Olympia Group, one of the largest international conglomerates in Greece.

We were thrilled to be appointed by Granger Reis for two reasons: Human capital is a big theme for us at Gong and international boutique, Granger Reis has a global perspective on sectors that we operate in: Infrastructure, Real Estate, Construction and Mining being the main focus areas where we have track record. 

2020 got off to an inspiring start with an event from our new client, Volans, whose ‘Tomorrow’s Capitalism: The Inquiry’ on 10th January saw initial insights of 18 months’ research shared with an invited audience of business leaders, regulators and industry associations to explore what it means to step up as leaders in the 2020s: a period of exponential change.

In January, we were called on to support Circle Gas, a start-up that is revolutionising energy access for clean cooking in Africa. Circle Gas was announcing the acquisition of proprietary technology from Tanzania’s KopaGas in a transaction worth USD 25 million.

Sometimes it takes a mutual friend to help make a great match. As members of UKSIF and as a B Corp, we spotted the potential in getting them in a room together to talk about the challenges in the growth of sustainable investing.

Impact investing, one of the fastest-growing areas of asset management, continues to gather momentum. The industry had $502bn of assets under management at the end of 2018, more than twice the previous estimate of $228bn at the end of 2017 — itself double the amount reported the year before.

Five years ago, Gong sat with the Inclusion@Lloyd’s committee, the steering group for diversity and inclusion strategy, governance and best practice in the Lloyd’s market, to plan a D&I festival for the London insurance market: the Dive In festival.

The Bridge theatre on London’s Southbank played host to a 600-strong audience for B Lab UK’s first B Inspired event on Thursday 10th October. Global circumnavigator, Fergal o’Nuillian, a geography teacher and explorer, opened the event with the poignant image of the earth rising in space. He told a story about one of his students who against the odds, passed his geography GCSE. He set the tone for the event by reflecting that like the advice to his teacher from this young man, we must all learn to practise hope on a daily basis.

On 16 October we heard from three speakers with very different routes into the world of refugees…

On 19 August, the Business Roundtable, a group of leading CEOs of the largest corporations in the USA, agreed a new purpose beyond creating value for shareholders.

With the ‘Attenborough effect’ propelling waste management companies into the public spotlight, it’s never been such a critical time for these companies to shape the direction of policy and commercial discussions.

D&I for fund managers was our 6th event focused on the link between reputation and culture. This time we focused on the asset management community and private equity in particular with a panel representing the views of investors and advisors who believe that the time has come for firms to focus on their own D&I, not only that of their portfolio companies.

Check out social media, flick on the radio or read a business publication and you will find new evidence every day that the global apocalypse is coming, whether it’s the disappearance of insects, or the melting of the glaciers. It’s basically all terrifying.

Gong Communications Kenya selected from 13 agencies to deliver communications for two-year British Council pilot programme.

It’s a requirement for B Corps during certification to “consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment”.

Google’s global employees (called ‘Googlers’) are encouraged to share what makes them ‘Googley’. They actively reflect on how they identify with Google’s culture as owners, not receivers. This insight was shared by Dorothy Ooko, Google’s PR lead for Africa; guest speaker at Gong Kenya’s recent Cultural Capital event held in Nairobi.

On 11 September, we held our third event on Culture, this time lifting the lid on how digital platforms are used to measure sentiment and predict behaviour at work.

There’s a lake in Ghana called Lake Volta, it’s the largest man-made lake in the world. It lies along the Greenwich meridian just six degrees above the equator.

If an organisation’s Purpose is its general direction of travel, then Culture governs everyday decision making in the business when the CEO is not in the room.

B Corp has today released a list of its ‘Best for the World’ honorees based on its top scoring community members. Gong Communications is one of just 12 UK B Corps who made it into the ‘workers’ category.

On Thursday 14 June, GreenTech Challenge will open its doors in London to the latest cohort of 12 carefully selected environmentally focused businesses to help them meet their dream potential investors.

Cute children and baby animals. These are two of the most emotive subjects available to campaigners for sustainable supply chain practices. Whether it’s children being forced to pick cotton in Uzbekistan or orang-utans with dwindling natural habitat because of deforestation, heart wrenching stories are powerful advocates for change.

In a pressured corporate environment, organisational culture – the purpose, values and behaviours that characterise a business – are widely understood to be a more effective route to decision making with integrity than a rulebook.

London, 18 January 2018: Gong Communications, a multi-award winning B2B PR and marketing agency, has hired a dedicated Financial Director following a string of new business wins over the past six months. Joanne Cotterell joins the agency bringing with her a wealth of international PR industry and FD experience.

I love Christmas.  I’m obsessed with it. On the 1st of December, like clockwork, Mariah Carey’s ‘All I want for Christmas’ rings out from every speaker, and along with it, I prepare to gain an extra kilo or two accompanied by a dollop of food guilt.

You’ve just spent the last six months creating your fantastic looking new website and now it’s finally live, you might think the work’s over. Sorry, but it’s not! Even after launching, to be truly safe and effective platforms, websites need some ongoing TLC.

Narda Shirley is the Founder and Managing Director of Gong Communications, a business to business agency with offices in London and Nairobi. Gong is focused on 3 areas; human capital, natural capital and private capital.

Up until 2016, I’d never given much thought to toilet paper. That was until I was assigned the task of taking my company through the B Corp certification process. Now I am a stickler for upholding the small changes, like eco-friendly toilet paper, that helped us achieve the highest standard of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability required to become a certified B Corporation.

The subject of purpose powered business and the issues that inspire CEOs and entrepreneurs alike have been keeping us occupied for a while here at Gong as we’ve worked on the Purpose Powered Business book for John O’Brien and Andy Cave and joined the B Corps community.

On 6 July Gong Kenya, Moody’s Investor Services and the Business Council for Africa (BCA) collaborated to stage a breakfast event on the subject of ‘Reputation Capital’ in Nairobi.

Gong Kenya, in partnership with Moody’s Investors Services and Business Council for Africa, invites you to learn how to maximise and protect your business reputation in today’s digital age.

B2B comms agencies can be at the heart of the global movement using business as a force for good. Gong has become the UK’s newest B Corporation and part of a growing core of MarComs companies committed to ‘doing business better’.

For decades to come, events on United Airlines Flight 3411 on Sunday 9th April and the aftermath will go down in the annals as a ‘how not to’ manage a PR crisis in the digital age.

This is the first recommendation to promote purposeful companies put forward today by The Purposeful Company Task Force, a consortium of FTSE companies, investment houses, business schools, business consultancy firms and policy makers at The Big Innovation Centre.

Much as I dislike most of the caricatures about PR folk, the image of the time-poor, plate-spinning, device-juggling communications professional isn’t much of an exaggeration.

Award-winning agency prepares for further growth in 2017

When Inga Beale, chief executive of the Corporation of Lloyd’s, unveiled her Vision 2025 for the insurance business, it rested on eight pillars. Alongside Innovation and Capital sits Talent. For the Vision to be successful, by 2025 Lloyd’s will be ‘a place where talented, diverse and socially responsible employees feel proud to work’.

Kick the habit of ignoring advice given by parents and career advisers, just this once, and take it from a peer – internships are worth your time.

Gong Communications’s democratic approach to CSR was mentioned in PRWeek

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) are on the agenda for most organisations in terms of recruiting a broad talent base. But it is increasingly recognised that the diverse and inclusive perspective you get from that workforce can enrich the internal DNA of a company.

New visual identity and vision for Gong marks milestone in company’s growth

Praised as a ‘bold and brave’ event, the Dive In Festival for diversity and inclusion in insurance has won a prestigious industry award. Curated by Gong for our client Lloyd’s of London, Dive In won the Diversity Champion category at the Marketing Week awards beating off some stiff competition.

THE 13th ANNUAL AVCA CONFERENCE Dates: 25th – 27th April 2016 Location: Sheraton Addis – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The AVCA Conference is the flagship event for the African Private Equity and Venture Capital industry and provides an important platform for GPs, LPs and investors interested in the continent to discuss the most pertinent opportunities and issues of … Continue reading The 13th Annual AVCA Conference →

  Dates: 10th – 5th March 2016 Location: Shangri-La Hotel, 10, avenue d’Iéna, 75116, Paris, France The Future of Banking Summit convened multinationals, new technology and emerging banking organisations and financial services executives, along with policy makers, economists and academics to discuss the sector’s prospects as the banking industry experiences systematic change. It centred on the … Continue reading The Economist: The Future of Banking →

Gong Communications, has been re-appointed to manage diversity and inclusion communications for the Lloyd’s insurance market.

As I struggle to warm my fingers after a freezing commute through London this morning, it’s hard to believe that this time last month I was spitting distance from the equator.

Gong Communications Kenya has won The Asian Weekly Achiever’s Award 2016 for Best Product/Brand Launch for the official opening launch of mixed use development Garden City in Nairobi.

I often find myself banging on to clients about the virtues of bite-sized video as a story telling medium.

A young female delegate at the Economist Energy Summit on 4th and 5th November was overheard to remark that the audience in the room was unusually diverse.

ECONOMIST ENERGY SUMMIT Dates: November 4th  – 5th 2015 Location: Honourable Artillery Company, Armoury House, City Road, London, EC1Y 2BQ The Energy Summit 2015 will bring together senior representatives from the supermajors, the smaller independents and national oil companies with executives in the power, utility and renewable sectors; together with policy makers, economists and academics to discuss and debate … Continue reading Economist Energy Summit →

AGRI-COMMS DRINKS Dates: November 3rd 2015 Location: Near Portcullis House, Westminster The next instalment of our monthly meet-ups to bring together all those involved in communications, media and PR focused on food security, nutrition and agricultural issues.  

FT WATER SUMMIT Dates: October 27th 2015 Chris Brown, Global Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Environment Manager at Olam International is speaking in the afternoon session ‘In conversation: Managing water through complex and fragmented supply chains’ www.live.ft.com/Events/2015/FT-Water-Summit  

DIVE IN – THE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION FESTIVAL Dates: September 29th – October 2nd 2015  The first market-wide festival for diversity and inclusion in insurance The Corporation of Lloyd’s, the Lloyd’s Market and insurance in general must innovate and adapt to stay relevant. Technology, globalisation, climate change – these factors are just a glimpse of the … Continue reading Dive In →

Managing a mixed-use real estate development on the scale of Garden City means dealing with a complex community of suppliers.

Challenger brands and innovation often go hand in hand. But how easy is it to break into a mainstream category like yoghurt in the UK when it is dominated by major organisations like Muller and Danone?

2015 has seen lots of noise around the emergence of new challenger banks in the UK with much being said about the potential for emerging firms to take on the big players and provide a credible alternative for consumers

The enigmatic employee-owned business of engineers, designers and consultants that make up Arup played host to another brain tingling Knot event last night which brought together the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Product Health and Arup’s Global Resources and Waste team to present ideas on The Circular Economy.   I’m not quite sure who coined the phrase, … Continue reading The Knot’s intro to the Circular Economy →

  Narda Shirley One of the defining characteristics of challenger brand start-ups in the food industry is that they are unencumbered by legacy. They can source from where they like and the entrepreneurs behind the brands can lay down any number of guiding principles that give their brand a feel good factor that helps it … Continue reading Which came first, the brand or the values? →

OLAM PRIZE FOR INNOVATION IN FOOD SECURITY Olam will be announcing the winner of the Olam Prize for Innovation in Food Security, in partnership with Agropolis Foundation, at the Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture on 16th March 2015 in Montpellier. The prestigious event convenes leading agricultural scientists from around the world. The shortlisted candidates have been judged … Continue reading Olam Prize for Innovation in Food Security →

  Beverly Amira This last week has been consumed in a flurry of activity for Maarifa in Nairobi – a company set up by a serial entrepreneur who believes in the power of education to lift and propel a nation. Maarifa’s CEO Scott Royster is a man on a mission. He is already successful, having … Continue reading What’s driving Kenya’s entrepreneurs? →

  Sarah Caddy Oops. Sir Richard has made another splash in the gossip columns this week with his ever-so-slightly cringe-worthy simile choices: The tweet split opinion in the office; some were mortified, others impressed that he clearly writes his own tweets (surely this would never get past a corporate comms professional?!). One thing we all … Continue reading Entrepreneurs: How (not) to get attention with Twitter →

  Narda Shirley I heard the story that Jo Malone used to be a beauty therapist working for private clients in London before her fragrance empire took off. Listening to Desert Island Discs, I was intrigued to discover that she had learned about cosmetics as a child going to work with her mother and later … Continue reading Falling for entrepreneurs →

Last week saw the Economist Events’ inaugural World Water Summit, convening leading authorities on water management, governance and policy, sanitation, international development and innovation.

Having recently blogged on the dearth of innovation in insurance, it seems only fair to give stage to those ‘disruptors’ that have emerged to create new opportunities.

If you’re following the right people on twitter, you’ll know that Towers Watson’s #ERMForum took place in the Netherlands in early October.

  On Monday, I attended the launch of the Global Hunger Index by Concern Worldwide. There was much to be hopeful about, particularly in India and sub-Saharan Africa where hunger and malnourishment has decreased significantly over the past 5 years. However, it quickly became apparent through the speakers’ comments and the audience’s questions that there is still much … Continue reading Nutrition and agriculture: bridging the divide →

It’s true what they say – no two days are the same in PR, which is what makes it such a stimulating career path. However, prospective interns may be curious as to what a typical day looks like at Gong. As a small, boutique agency, you really can do some meaningful work in your two weeks.

As global agribusiness and Gong client Olam International enters its 25th anniversary this month, one might expect much congratulatory back patting from Sunny Verghese, the group CEO and founder. Rather than resting on any laurels, however, Sunny has seized the opportunity to reflect on how much more there is still to be done and the place in the global ecosystem that Olam could – and should – now take.

I heard a great story today about Howard Smith, the Operations Director of Crossrail. In order to truly understand how it is for tube and rail travellers in London he travelled from Euston Square to Kensal Rise pushing a baby buggy to experience for himself what it was like to be one of his customers.

In the UK, the personal injury insurance industry continues to be beleaguered with the reputation for bogus claims driving up premium costs (reports state that 78 percent of all UK personal injury claims are for whiplash injury, compared to just three percent in France, for example), slow pay-out rates, and poor forecasting.

Are you bullish about the future of the asset management industry? Recent reports that global profitability levels have recovered post-crisis, and that worldwide assets under management (AuM) levels are on track to exceed $100 trillion by 2020 (from $63.9 trillion today) certainly paint a rosy picture.

The Spring bank holiday weekend meant a trip to Oxford to staff the 2014 Oxford Africa Conference. The 2-day event titled African Transformations was organised by Oxford’s two leading student-run Africa organisations: the Oxford Africa Society and the Oxford Business Network for Africa.

Our guiding light here at Gong Creative is to adopt a collaborative approach. We get to know our clients, understanding their commercial needs, and forming as clear a picture as possible as to what they are looking for.

Gong is the first PR firm to win this prestigious award in recognition of its successful export of UK communications expertise.

It is generally accepted that global economic growth will increasingly come from emerging markets. Following more than 20 years of hard-won political and economic reform, sub-Saharan Africa is set to play a very important part.

News broke that Nigeria has overtaken South Africa to become Africa’s largest economy as the 500+ delegates at the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s 11th annual conference in Lagos returned home (in my case, to a Saharan sand-strewn London).

According to a recent UN report, climate change poses a greater threat to food and security than previously thought. The IPCC warns that global warming is leading to more volatile weather patterns that have already begun reducing crop yields worldwide. As temperatures rise, rainfall patterns change, and pests and diseases spread.

Many authors have written about the failure of economic theory but best-selling financial author, George Cooper, has come up with an original solution on how to fix both economic theory and the economies of the world.

A month and a half has passed since Madagascar’s new president, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, was sworn in and the results of the parliamentary elections were validated by the electoral court. Yet Madagascar seems no closer to having a new prime minister and a government.

In a poll, 88% of those who attended MJ Hudson’s Future of Crowdfunding panel event believe that this is the case and the numbers speak for themselves.

Believe it or not, it is culture, with agriculture claiming the top spot. Nigeria produces almost as many films as Bollywood, at more than 50 per week, with each film employing more than a hundred people.

“Average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened; upward mobility has stalled. The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by — let alone get ahead. And too many still aren’t working at all.”

If you can’t, chances are you’re missing out, was the message from OMFIF’s conference on the ‘Role of Portugal and the UK in Lusophone Economies’ (February 4th 2014, London).

On Wednesday, 29th of January, we had the pleasure of welcoming frontier markets development expert, Jonathan Berman, to an event at the Institute of Directors to discuss his book – Success in Africa – with a diverse group of investors, commentators, multi-national companies and start-ups, some of whom have a long track record of operating on the Continent and some who are just dipping a toe.

According to the World’s leading forecasters, the African economy is expected to grow by approximately 6% during 2013/14, while its total GDP is expected to reach USD 2.6 trillion by 2020. The Nigerian stock market alone returned 47.2 % in 2013.

On Thursday morning, we welcomed journalist Emilie Filou for a breakfast briefing on Madagascar – an island which is hugely under-reported in the English language press, and that even Africa experts often know little about.

Quite recently, the five members of the East African Community (EAC) agreed to adopt a single currency, which should go into effect within the next 10 years.

“It is Africa’s ambition and no-one else’s that leads Africa. Africa is not a place that success is landing on; it is a place creating success for itself and others.”

The good news is that Africa’s economic outlook for 2014 remains promising with an overall projected growth of 5.3%.

The second half of 2013 has been about walking the walk when it came to Gong’s website and our social media channels. We kicked off with a revamp of www.gongcomms.wpengine.com, making full use of our Creative resources.

At Nelson Mandela’s funeral yesterday, President Obama hailed the former South African President as “the last great liberator of the 20th century”.

Africa’s wind and solar power potential have been much in the news since President Obama’s “Power Africa” speech on June 29th in Cape Town. Investment into renewable energies has always been rather limited on the continent, but this is now changing rapidly.

  Isabelle Alenus-Crosby More than half a decade after the financial crisis began in the summer of 2007, regulatory reforms, intended to make financial institutions more transparent, are still in the stages of being implemented. As a result, banks are being pulled in many directions at once; the regulators want banks to be prudent, customers … Continue reading A new era in retail banking? →

The World Bank Group recently published a 2014 Doing Business Report titled Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises in which Ghana topped the ECOWAS region. Overall the report compares the rate of reform among 189 countries as an indicator of how easy it is to start a business from a regulatory perspective.

Sarah Caddy “By 2050, there will be more Nigerians than Americans". The wake-up call to the country’s capacity for prominence came from the BBC’s Komla Dumor (@BBCkomladumor), chair of a morning panel at EMPEA and This Is Africa’s most recent African private equity conference in London. Komla was speaking to a converted audience; his panel … Continue reading Powering Nigeria →

Last week I attended a Gorkana media briefing with Jonathan Grun, Editor at The Press Association. In his view, “interesting stories” and “speed of response” are the secret to building long-lasting relationship with journalists.

By 2017, more than 3.6 billion people will be online, representing 48 percent of the world’s projected population.

Last week, the ruling party in Rwanda won a resounding victory in their parliamentary elections. This surprised no one. What surprised everyone was that during the last election Rwandan women won a 56% representation in the Lower House and that this number has now leapt to a staggering 64%.

With investors increasingly bullish on Africa, the time should be ripe for African central banks to come up with a long-term view on exchange rate policies.

Gong Communications today announces that it has been selected to provide full service PR, marketing and creative services to Garden City, a 32-acre mixed use real estate development in Nairobi.

Africa may have only one seat at the G20 table (South Africa), but the continent accounts for 14% of the global population.

Last week, we at Gong were treated to a lunchtime talk by Jonathan Smith of Hot Pot Digital. Jonathan runs a bespoke service, representing a number of the UK’s brands on Chinese social media sites like Sina’s Weibo (China’s Twitter-equivalent in both micro-blog format and number of users).

  Sally Maier This month marks my two-year anniversary at Gong Communications and my four-year anniversary of living and working in London. Having worked in the public relations industry in Hong Kong, Singapore and now London, people often ask me questions like “How do you find working in London as opposed to Asia?” or “I … Continue reading The Art of Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity →

Optimising Africa’s transportation infrastructure in order to increase international trade was top of the agenda at the 12th United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA 2013) held last week at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted SAC Capital, the Connecticut based hedge fund with c.US$15 billion funds under management, of insider trading.

Freelance journalist and friend of Gong, Emilie Filou has set herself a challenge: to tackle the chronic under-reporting of Madagascar in the Anglophone press.

12 August 2013, London: Gong Communications today announces that it has been selected to provide corporate communications services to ‘Super Boutique’ law firm MJ Hudson.

At Gong we work with companies in Africa, across a range of sectors, to raise their business profiles beyond local markets.

  22 July 2013, London and Accra: Gong Communications announces that it has beaten off stiff competition in a 3 way pitch to win the corporate communications brief for Invest in Africa. The contract is effective immediately with initial activity mainly focused in Ghana’s business capital, Accra. Commenting on the win, Gong’s MD, Narda Shirley … Continue reading Invest in Africa taps Gong →

Google’s announcement to expand mobile broadband in Africa could revolutionize life on the continent.

At a time when South-South trade is becoming a force to be reckoned with, the North is jumping into action. Is it too late? In this global and growing world, there might just be room for everyone, and I expect that both the US and the EU will regain some footing in Africa in the years to come.

Until recently, Africa had a small, very wealthy top, a broad base of poverty, and no middle market to speak of. Today the continent is developing into one of the largest mass markets in the world.

President Obama’s long-awaited trip to Africa is coming to an end, and he didn’t manage to hide the real reason he was there.

Gaddafi’s dream might live on through an “undercurrent” that seems to be uniting Sub-Saharan African countries.

A growing number of African countries are rapidly joining the ranks of prominent investors across the continent.

This weekend saw our dedicated Oxford Business Network Gong team (Tom Griffiths, Sarah Nicholas and myself) at the Said Business School, networking amongst 389 delegates incorporating presidents, academics, business leaders, media – and the odd egg-bearing political protestor.

Almost one year ago, I entitled one of my blogs “Food for Thought”.

Pride of heritage was the flavour of the evening at the Africa Diaspora awards, held in London’s West End on 2 May 2013.

Africa’s future as the world’s economic engine rests on investing in its one billion people, President Mahama of Ghana said in a speech at The Times CEO Summit Africa today. “Investments should focus on people, providing them with jobs”.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than 60 % of Africa’s GDP, remained strong last year according to a World Bank report.

Joining the African Venture Capital Association’s Board of Directors’ meeting, I sit awaiting my turn to present on the crucial role communications has played in supporting the Association in recent months.

The BRICS account for 21% of world GDP (IMF), 17% of world trade, and over 40% of the world’s population. This year, BRICS is expected to grow at almost 5%, well above the world average (at 3.6%).

Gong recently hosted a breakfast meeting chaired by The Economist’s Business Editor, Robert Guest.

It’s Saturday. Having listened all week to local radio stations talk about peace (in 2007 the press were taking sides, so having the media on board is very important this time round), and with all the peace rallies that have been held, (there’s another one happening today I think), and peace concerts, and deliberately-public shows of the two main candidates, Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga, shaking hands, and President Kibaki appealing for ‘the losers to accept defeat and winner to embrace rivals’, the general feeling here in Nairobi is that everyone is doing all they can for Monday to be a peaceful day.

Drawing on Oxford’s experience of educating leaders for more than 800 years, the Oxford Africa Business Conference has emerged as one of the leading global platforms for engaging business and community leaders, academics and investors from around the world on significant business issues in Africa.

“Without sufficient Energy, it is impossible to change an Economy” – Jeremy Rifkin

The need for this day is due to the unfortunate fact that women are still the most discriminated against group of people. One result of the inequality between men and women is that out of the + 2 billion poor, 75% are women (USAID).

In the past couple of years, Africa has received an ever increasing amount of good press thanks to its unfaltering growing collective GDP.

On Wednesday 5 February 2013, Economist Events successfully convened an audience of 180 delegates, comprising leading figures from business, banking, government, media and consultancies, for their inaugural Africa Summit, at the Royal Garden Hotel in London.

This is what Peter Sands, CEO of Standard Chartered, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum last Friday.

A new report published by the World Bank has declared that as many as 38 of sub-Saharan Africa’s 48 countries could be regarded as ‘middle income’ by 2025.

Gong is The Africa Summit’s public relations partner Gong is proud to be The Africa Summit’s Official public relations partner.   The event, hosted by The Economist on February 5th, aims to answer some of the most pressing questions facing over 150 investors, senior business leaders and decision-makers.   The summit will be a one-day … Continue reading Gong is The Africa Summit’s public relations partner →

Demand for insurance and reinsurance continues to grow globally, but nowhere as quickly as in Africa.

Outside work, I love public speaking and have been an active Toastmasters member for 3 and a half years.

There have been various reports in the news lately that the impressive GDP statistics posted by countries across Africa may actually be underestimations, and that the continent’s outlook could be even better than previously thought.

2012 was a good year for women in Africa with the election of a second female president, the first female head of the African Union, two Nobel Prize winners, and a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court.

We recently met with LinkedIn and were surprised to find that they don’t yet publish numbers for their sub-Saharan Africa membership. Facebook’s growth in Africa on the other hand has been covered extensively.

Ghanaians elected the incumbent president John Mahama in a close vote last week.