Wimbart, the Public Relations agency specializing in Africa & emerging markets has launched its third PR Office Hours programme. The programme has been designed to equip African and Africa-focused startups with the PR tools required to support and achieve their business goals and will be delivered in partnership with Ventures Platform and Techpoint Africa, who will share their expert knowledge on how to connect and secure with investors, journalists and how to communicate with key stakeholders.
Wimbart Office Hours is targeted at early-stage startups and with a focus on companies building tech solutions for Africans on the continent or the Diaspora. Eligible startups must be less than two years old, have a minimum viable product available and may have secured investment(s) at no later than a seed-level stage. 20 start-ups will be selected by the Wimbart team to participate in the free programme. Applications to be part of the third cohort are now open and will close on Monday 12 July, 12pm BST.
Wimbart is one of the most active PR agencies focused on tech sector companies in Africa having worked with over 60 start-ups and high growth companies, including AppsFlyer, IROKOtv, Sokowatch and Gokada. The team behind the Wimbart Office Hours programme will work with Cohort three to build a broader understanding of how PR and communications should be an integral part of early-stage tech start-ups’ planning and growth, helping them to realise their vision as they scale. Wimbart Office Hours alumni from cohorts one and two include Afriktrip, Nuguvu Health and Vybe, amongst others.
Successful applicants will join an in-depth all-cohort PR webinar + Q&A with the PR agency’s founder and CEO, Jessica Hope as well as individual sessions led by partners Kola Aina, founder of Ventures Platform and Múyìwá Mátùlúkò, CEO of Techpoint Africa. These sessions will be followed by three dedicated one-on-one office hours sessions with senior members of the Wimbart team, where each company will deep dive into their communications challenges and ask questions that are specific to their business needs in order to help them attract customers, investments and talent.
Speaking on the launch of the third edition of Wimbart Office Hours, founder and CEO, Jessica Hope says, “It has been a challenging period for technology start-ups and we see that now, more than ever, honing and refining strong communications skills and weaving PR into marketing activities, whether it is for growing customer base or connecting with investors, is more crucial than ever when building and scaling a business on the continent”.
Kola Aina, founder and general partner of Venture Platform says, “We are looking forward to working with early-stage tech start-ups to equip them with communications strategies they require at investor level. There is incredible talent within the African tech space breaking through and we are privileged to be on this journey with them”.
Múyìwá Mátùlúkò, CEO of Techpoint Africa says, “Techpoint is very happy to be a part of Wimbart Office Hours for the second time running. We have no doubt that, at the end of the programme, all participating startup founders will leave with valuable insights around brand awareness, building reputation and scaling their company through media.”
Tech start-ups interested in applying for the third edition of Wimbart Office Hours can find out more and apply for the programme via the Wimbart website. Applications close at 12pm BST on Monday 12 July and successful companies will be notified by Tuesday 20th July.