For nearly ten years London-based entrepreneur Jessica Hope has been gathering lucrative PR contracts in the thriving tech business of Africa with her company Wimbart. This year, she is battening down the hatches.
Zuckerberg is a shareholder in Nigeria
Fintech companies like Andela – the Lagos outfit with Mark Zuckerberg as a shareholder – and Flutterwave have been riding the crest of a wave in Africa. They overcome infrastructure gaps to help people transfer money across borders. The market is vast as a huge African diaspora sends home millions of dollars every year.
“It’s currently experiencing a tough market to deal with, but probably a bit of course correction. Probably too much money was going into the continent last year without enough companies focusing on profitability. This scale at all costs idea; I don’t think it was ever going to work,”
Budgets going to be tight
“Budgets are going to be tighter for the next six to 12 months because the tech space is struggling.”
Hope started out as a journalist, with a university friend Jason Njoku, on a lifestyle magazine that soon folded. She moved into PR, in Manchester, before heading down to London and working briefly doing publicity for a museum.
PR for TV in Lagos
Then came a call from her friend Njoku, a British businessman with Nigerian roots, who was starting up a TV station in Lagos called IROKOtv. It was set up as a platform for so -called Nollywood movies – these are, cheap, quick turn around, movies shot on the streets of Nigeria that draw vast audiences.
Hope shuttled between Lagos and London doing the PR for the station. When some of the customers suggested that Hope sub-contract her skills, Njoku suggested she start her own business.
No capital and an old laptop
“I started Wimbart when I was seven months pregnant, in 2014. Originally, I wanted to freelance , but started hiring people. I was just going to be a freelancer, have Iroko and maybe one or two other clients. My first hire was in 2015. I had an IROKOtv contract, no capital and an old laptop working from home. Dad put £3,000 into the company and it is still there.”
The watershed for Wimbart came with the lucrative Andela contract. It took a bit of unpaid work and that great African asset – patience.
368 days for a deal
It took 368 days from the first meeting to inking the Andela contract.
“I made sure I kept in touch and then when they were ready to make their decision I was there. They are now one of the biggest clients we have ever had.”
Not long after, there was a bidding war between companies for Wimbart’s services.
“That really changed the game, it was a really big serious player. Able to increase prices.”
A profitable bidding war
“Then two competitors got into a bidding war and it ended with one of them paying six months in advance. The retainer doubled overnight. Then, we could start investing in talent and a larger office as well.”
It paved the way for more than 20 retainers in a 120-strong client list. Working in Africa is not for everyone and Hope admits it can be tough.
“Currency fluctuations are problematic. In Nigeria, we have to do Naira conversions and we come across as quite expensive.”
You have got to be nimble
“Having face-to-face engagements over the last 10 years has set me in good stead. People have very good memories and having that on the ground in person network has helped the business. The challenge is being nimble. You know, in tech, there is a process of scaling and making everything mechanical – we have to be ready for a client with a three to six months lead time, we also have to be ready for a client ready to spend money now.”
“I love it.”
Has Hope ever thought of throwing in the towel?
“ No. It is really hard work; I am not going to lie and every day I wake up it is roses . It is really hard. But I love it.”
