Africa’s Missing Seat at the Global Public Relations Table

David Olajide (00:01):

Before we hear from today's guest, let's start with a story, A story about a voice, a map, and a truth. Long left unheard, a story no one ever told you. Until now.

Farzana Baduel (00:21):

In 1569, Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator crafted a world map that would dominate classrooms and boardrooms For centuries, his Mercator projection enlarged Europe and North America. While shrinking continents near the equator and Africa suffered the greatest distortion. Greenland looks as big as Africa, but in reality, Africa is nearly 14 times larger. Yet on the map it appears much smaller. Fast forward to today and the same bias persist not just in print but in pixels. Google maps and countless web maps still rely on that projection. Embedding a subconscious message, the global North holds more weight, but Africa isn't small. It's vast home to 2 billion people. Thousands of languages and economies that are growing faster than many western nations. From Mali's, medieval libraries to the bustling tech hubs of Lagos Africa's history and innovation are as grand as its true size. Yet a distorted map tells a different story.

(01:28):

Boston Public Schools recognized this in 2017. They swapped the Mercator for the Gall-Peters projection. An equal area map created by Arno Peters in 1974. It accurately portrays the real sizes of continents. No shrinking, no exaggeration for students of colour. This change wasn't just cartography, it was reclaiming identity and truth. Every journey begins with a map. If your map shrinks your past, it risks diminishing your future. When global brands write strategies for Africa but base them on distorted views, they miss the complexity and scale of opportunity. When tech platforms ignore African languages or markets, it's because their mental map left them feeling small. In truth, Africa has been underestimated. It's time to move from for Africa to by Africa. Today on stories and strategies, we ask what changes when Africa not only has a voice but uses it as Chino Cevi once said, until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

(02:58):

My name is Farzana Baduel

Doug Downs (03:00):

And my name is Doug Downs. Just as we get started, I've got a thank you to Carlin who left us a note on Spotify Farzana about our episode that we did with Lauren Passel about authenticity. Carlin is authentic saying this is a great episode. Authenticity will always trump perfection and ai. I think he's right. Our guest this week is Ayeni Adekunle Samwuel joining today of course from Edinburgh in Scotland.

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (03:27):

Happy Sunny is beautiful in Edinburgh today. Is

Doug Downs (03:31):

It really? You're in that like the heat wave all through?

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (03:34):

No, no, no. I'm used to this sample in Nigeria, so I love it. We don't get to see many months of so burg, so we're making the best of it.

Doug Downs (03:44):

Ayeni, you're a pioneering Nigerian entrepreneur and the founder of Black House Media, one of Africa's fastest growing and most influential PR firms. You're a passionate advocate for Africans owning their narrative on the global stage, challenging stereotypes and pushing for authentic representation in communications. You've built a Pan-African and international business without outside investment. Good on you. Proving that African expertise belongs at the center of global conversations.

Farzana Baduel (04:15):

Now I'm going to jump in with a question a e about global brands and agencies when they're thinking, right, we want our product or our service to go and make a big impact in Africa across the 54 countries or perhaps a part of Africa. What do you think they get wrong? Because I see a lot of global brands and agencies and they all have the Africa strategy from the inside out. How do they do market access for Africa? What do they get? What do they get wrong? Where's the opportunities for the people who are listening and they're thinking that here we have an expert who understands it better than any other PR person that they would have access to. What would be your takeaways?

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (05:14):

Thanks Farzana. Thanks for the great work. Thanks guys for having me. I think that there are two categories of people that you've mentioned. There are those who are getting it right and there are so many others who are not getting it right. Unfortunately in my view, there are more organizations and governments and individuals who have not getting it right. I'll explain those who are getting it right. Understand that Africa is a continent. It's 2 billion people summing diverse cultures, diverse styles, diverse history, economies are of that and they approach it from that point of view and they work with deep expertise, local expertise, boots on the ground and all of that. And greatly, I'm seeing a lot deliberate organizations do that. I get to try, but there's so many other organizations due to lack of information due to misinformation, due to mal information, due to whatever you want to blame it on who just sit in New York and Amsterdam and London, think Africa is feels dry spoke or escape out or who don't have the opportunity, the bandwidth, the time, the resources to go and internal get the continent so they can approach it from the point of view of knowledge.

(06:33):

So what we find is that they lose up because Africa is a beast.

(06:41):

If you approach it wrongly, wrongly, it's going to tear you apart. But we also lose out because Africa presents such huge opportunities for countries and companies for all sorts of reasons. My advice is always should not be all from a point of knowledge and assume that we knew I am in the uk. I came to the UK to learn and to know and amass myself and I've learned so much in almost 10 years. I spent time in New York, I spent time in America. I pick consultants, I hire professionals just because I didn't know America. So increasingly I'm doing America or I'm doing Europe more. So my advice is just whether you have a PhD or you have four MBAs, no matter what you're being taught in school, you must take a step back and understand. But Nigeria is not Rwanda and Egypt or MoCo is not South Africa or Otto. We all benefit if we approach this conversation from that point of view,

Farzana Baduel (07:41):

You've obviously built a business across Africa and then you set up an agency in New York and agency in London and you brought in local advisors because you understood that you needed to understand these nuances. You didn't have the arrogance to come to another continent and think, well actually I know how to do this. I've done it in Ghana, I've done it in Nigeria, I've done it in Kenya, I can do it in New York. I can do it in Edinburgh or London. So that's really interesting how actually the other way around when Europeans or Americans go off to Africa, they don't always get the local council. That's really important for them. And the second I think takeaway is perhaps not appreciating the diversity in Africa. And I think one could argue also about North America because people don't appreciate that. They think the United States is just one country and it's so diverse and I think people thinking that a continent like Africa, 54 countries has this homogenous block of languages and values and faiths and demographic and psychographic similarities. It's madness actually when you think about it.

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (08:53):

The world is unfortunately increasingly polarized, but the world is also getting smaller. Africa needs Euro, Asia needs Africa, America needs euro. I'm very desperate for an opportunity for the knowledge across the board to be around the table so that we all can benefit from it.

Doug Downs (09:12):

So a, you've talked about PR firms, if they want to do work in Africa, you've got to understand it's a continent with a lot of layers of sophistication and cultural identities. But what about for you because you're global. You've lived in New York, you're in Edinburgh, you want to bring African ideas to other places, but what's the cost personally and professionally for you doing that? I mean it's great if you can do it professionally, but is there a cost to you personally? Are you regarded in Nigeria as having sold out?

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (09:48):

My therapist said to me a yield or two ago that I take myself too seriously and I'm not that important. I'm just one guy that will live here for a minute and be gone forever and I need to take a step back and consider what's important to me and my family because for the past 25 years of my life, I've been trying to show the world what Africa can do and what can come from nothing. My company's name is from a Nigerian parable, meaning that from nothing can come. The greatest ideas in the world, whether you're Martin Luther King or you're civil people will change the world. We're not born no one need. They will change the world. You just have a dream, you have a vision, you have an opportunity, and it does cost you a lot. It's cost me everything because I bootstrap my business. I've spent every couple that has coming back in the business trying to incorporate in other countries, trying to hire, arrive, trying to pay consultants have been in debt to o people. It's a total mess. But when you succeed, nobody remembers

(10:52):

And I'm willing to fail. I always think that when Bernard Obama was elected as the first black president of America, I said, as far as I'm concerned, all the black men before him never failed. But Luther King did not fail all the black people because the journey they started, it's like a marathon. There wouldn't be a Barack Obama. Those guys did not leave the conversation around grace the conversation. So I feel like we have to play our part when we are here and if that means you're going to make some sacrifices, then I mean from our point of view, it's insignificant given the sacrifices that people who actually abuse nations have had to make. I'm so grateful for the support we've had from Nigeria, from our clients and our staff and our friends because people call me all the time. Yesterday was what? PR day. I think we created that a few years ago. My phone did not stop ringing. People just say, I can't believe that in Nigeria woke up one day and say we want to celebrate PR in one day. So we've nothing but long and support from people on the continent.

Doug Downs (11:56):

Yeah, and you got the name now. So when you bid on a contract that's in the us, you got the name, but before you had the name, what kind of prejudice did you face? African PR firm. What the

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (12:08):

We still face that. We still face that it's the

Farzana Baduel (12:12):

One, but do you still face it even you've been mentioned twice. I've read articles in the Financial Times, one of the fastest growing companies. So even with the brand adjacency of the financial times, not once but twice, kind of calling you out as one of the fastest growing companies across Africa, do you still face it or do you just, before you even meet someone, you're just like, here's the FT link, read it and then call me.

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (12:36):

It is systemic. It's systemic. The human beings you interact with, believe in your vision, believe in your dream, they want to help. The system is designed to frustrat you and throw you out. It is like a foreign object in your body. The reason we fall sick is that there's something that doesn't belong in our body that has found its way there, whether it's America or the uk, I face it every day. I'm not British, I'm Nigerian. There are things, there are opportunities we want to access that You spend weeks trying to go through the process and get to the last stage and they say, oh, sorry, we thought you were British. You're not British, sorry, it's not going to happen. So my lawyer said to me one day, we can fight this. Do you want to spend your energy fighting all of this to change the system or do you want to run your business and succeed?

(13:19):

And then when you are in a position of privilege, we can go backwards and try and solve that forward. That's coming behind. So I'm not angry, I'm not upset, I understand and I encourage more business plan from Africa to come out here and try and fight this and get it done. People need to come out. I can choose to wait in Africa and say, well anyway, when they come and all of that same way I advise from this in Europe, America say, go and figure it out In Africa, it looks like the jungle to you. It is not the jungle. Some of the best parties, some of the best people, some of the best opportunities I experienced you will have is on the African continent. I was in Tanzania last year. I had the time of my life. So when you don't understand something and you look at it from the outside, it looks Africa is a beast. If you pay attention and you go in there, oh my god. So I'm not upset, but we still were a bit privileged. We're better today than when I set up in the uk. The bank did not even open a bank account for me.

Farzana Baduel (14:13):

Just touching upon the fact that you have worked across Africa and the US and the uk, how have you seen PR play out differently in these three different continents? What similarities, what differences or is it much the same?

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (14:34):

I think I like America. I like Europe,

Farzana Baduel (14:40):

I like America. Yeah,

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (14:41):

I love the

Farzana Baduel (14:42):

Optimism.

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (14:43):

Yes, yes, yes.

Farzana Baduel (14:44):

I love it.

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (14:45):

The budgets are great. There's a lot of

(14:48):

Cooperation. There's a lot of can-do as you said is very diverse. Washington is different from San Francisco, from New York. There's so much that we can do. I get to America and I think I can change the world. I'm like, why didn't I discover this country when I was 19, when I was 20? Right? Why didn't I get into New York at 17? So I like America and the media is international, so the New York Times has a global influence. So if you learn New York Times, correct for your client or if you're trying to raise funds and you're advising them around an investment. So it's huge. The UK is a bit conservative. It is a bit clannish. It looks like you have to find out to belong where

Doug Downs (15:30):

To in.

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (15:31):

Yeah, I'm trying to be appropriate, but in terms of ethics and best practice is the same thing across both. What I must say is that on the continent, I can speak for South Africa, South Africa, I can speak for Nigeria and Ghana and Kenya. That way we've done business is that I wish the world would see the quality of talent, the extent of skill, extremely talented people who chose to not have the right opportunities. The clients don't have the budget of North America, the media, the newspapers and blog magazines are struggling. You don't have the big media empires, you don't have the ruper Moogs, you don't have all of that. So what I see in Africa is the passion of America, the scale of America, but the lack of opportunity because you can't have perform the economy within which you operate unfortunately. So I'm one participant, one tiny inconsequential participant.

(16:30):

I'm trying to inspire and encourage Andres and thousands of people to save. Take this as a challenge through everything that you have. I've encouraged a lot of my friends to incorporate in the UK, in North America to slow down. I have friends who are much more successful than I have, and I'm like, don't be afraid. Let's try it. What's the worst? If you lose the money, it's money for a gwa. It's money for a house. You can afford to lose it and I'm not afraid to risk my money as long as it's not an investor's money because you've got to return investors' money yet. So

Doug Downs (17:01):

I really appreciate your time today, Ayeni. Thank you.

Farzana Baduel (17:04):

Now Ayeni, in our last episode, our guest David Gallagher left a question for you.

David Gallagher (17:10):

If you could change one thing about communication to move forward, what would it be?

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (17:16):

I think it will be to use the resources that we have today that

(17:21):

Technology and globalization brings to rethink the whole model of communications. It's broken. It still is archaic and we're not alone. You don't feel back. Education is broken. The classroom was designed for a world without computers and the internet and we're still forcing that same model banking. So a lot of industry need to take a step back and say, this was designed for a different world of work for different industrial era. We're entering this era, what the world will look like in the next 10 years. We've never been there. I'm so happy that I'm getting old. I probably won't live in it for too many years. I'm scared because our grandchildren are going to live in the world that if somebody told them that a day I have to come to sit, to rush to my office to sit front of an iPad and take this card, they would say really same way. I tell my kids there was a time that they were lose smartphones or that there was no torturing. They can't imagine it. There'll be a work where also we need to take a step back and use the resources that technology and globalization provides for us to reimagine what communications could look like. We're stuck in this is how it was done, this is how we've been, and I don't think it's working. If we're not careful,

(18:34):

Those who use our service will turn to other people. It happened in the days of digital marketing where agencies were companies, clients was probably to navigate MySpace and Facebook and Twitter, and we were stocking presses and pitching and the new industry came out of that and we lost out. So that's how I see what AI is doing and so on and so forth. We need to rethink how we deliver the service and the product, and I think it's easier than ever. The second thing I want to add, I know you said one. The second thing is that I think we all should be communicators. I want the curriculum from primary school. I want every human being to go through the training that a PR and comm person would go through. Because I think if people became presidents and CEOs and all of that went through that, they would understand ethics and a lot of things that we do that guide the advice that we give them. So even when there's no PR person in the room that I've seen too many press, I'm like, no, this is lack of peer training. This is lack of country, this is lack of this and so on and so forth. I think we all should be communicators.

Farzana Baduel (19:37):

I love that.

Doug Downs (19:38):

Yeah. I said this once in a talk I was giving and it didn't go well. Was not received well. I said sometimes the best practices are the worst practices and that was not accepted universally. But you're calling for more disruption.

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (19:53):

Yes, yes, yes,

Doug Downs (19:55):

We need it. Okay, your turn. What question would you like to leave for the next guest?

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (19:58):

I'd like to know, and I don't know who this guest is, right? I have no idea.

Doug Downs (20:03):

That's right. Yeah, no idea.

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel (20:05):

I like that. That's fun. I had like to know what they would do if the users of PR comes to tomorrow were to find a way to no longer need agency partners. What would the world look like? What would they do? Imagine PR as a service. Think of Wood Suite, think of software as a service. Think of the work that manuals and deep and chat cloud and all of them doing now. Look at how they're transforming how we use software engineers and coders. If I was a client asking them, what should I do? I own agency today, what should I do if in another five or 10 years in new industry images that makes my current business model today obsolete?

Doug Downs (20:58):

Oh my God, that'd be a great episode. Is the agency model dying? How provocative would that? That's awesome. Thanks again for your time, Mayi. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Doug. Thanks, Farzana

Farzana Baduel (21:13):

Here are the top three things that we got from Ayeni. Number one, respect Africa's diversity. Ayeni stresses that Africa is not one market. It is 54 unique countries and success requires local expertise, not a one size fits all. Strategy number two, invest personally, lead boldly. He shares that bringing African ideas global has come at a personal cost, but he believes real change takes sacrifice, vision, and the courage to risk failure. Number three, reimagine communication models. Ayeni calls on the PR world to rethink outdated practices, embrace tech and globalization and push for a communication approach that works for the future. Doug, what do you think of his top three?

Doug Downs (22:02):

Absolutely. Well, we need to adopt ideas from everywhere and especially in the West, we have these preconceived stereotypes that we think about different countries and we tend to close off, right? It's from there. It can't be any good. We do it. We do it whether we say it or we don't. We do it.

Farzana Baduel (22:20):

Do you know what? A friend of mine asked me the other day, how many countries in Africa? And I got it completely wrong and I was absolutely flawed to hear that.

Doug Downs (22:27):

Is it 54?

Farzana Baduel (22:28):

Yeah, 54. And this friend of mine said to me, name me 20. I was just struggling. And then they were also saying the same thing about Ayni that listen, there is huge diversity. I mean, you also think about the fact that a lot of countries in Africa were former colonies of the French or the Brits. So you've got the Francos fare, you've got the Anglosphere, you've got all these different layers and layers and layers of complexity. And the fact that the lines that were drawn down the map, they weren't necessarily drawn along ethnic lines. And so you've got these countries with multiple ethnicities and languages.

Doug Downs (23:10):

Absolutely.

Farzana Baduel (23:11):

Just absolutely fascinating. I really took away the importance of understanding Africa not as a homogenous block, but as 54 country stories, which in each country has a plethora of thousands and millions in some cases, unique stories.

Doug Downs (23:35):

If you'd like to send a message to our guest, a Ayeni Samuel, we've got his contact information in the show notes, stories and strategies is a co-production of Curzon Public Relations, JGR communications and Stories and Strategies, podcasts. Find either me or Farzana on LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the podcast. Tag us in the post. Thank you to producers, David Olajide and Emily Page. Lastly, do us a favour forward this episode to one friend. Thanks for listening.