In 2016, the global tech press viewed the African continent through a predictable, often reductive lens: a place of “leapfrogging” and “social impact” stories that rarely delved into the gritty mechanics of venture capital or scale.
Jessica Hope, an alumna of the Nollywood streaming pioneer IROKO, saw a massive delta between the reality of the builders on the ground and the stories being told in London, New York, and San Francisco.
Ten years later, the gap has been bridged, and Hope’s firm, Wimbart, is the primary architect of that bridge.
Marking its 10-year anniversary today, Wimbart isn’t just celebrating the longevity of a PR agency; it’s celebrating a decade-long transformation of a narrative.
Since its launch, the firm has navigated the communications for over 230 clients across 20 countries, becoming the de facto gatekeeper for African tech’s global reputation.
“What has consistently defined us is simple,” says Hope, Founder and CEO. “Our energy, ambition, and intensity matches our clients’. Wimbart only works because the people building Africa’s tech ecosystem have continuously trusted us to tell their stories.”
Middleware of Trust
The numbers tell a story of explosive, if occasionally volatile, growth.
Since 2015, African startups have raised more than $20 billion. Wimbart has been the “middleware” for much of that capital flow, handling the messaging for some of the continent’s most recognizable heavyweights, including M-KOPA, Andela, and Ventures Platform.
Operating from a dual-base strategy in London and Lagos, the 15-person team has managed the full spectrum of the corporate lifecycle—from the euphoria of unicorn-minting funding rounds to the high-stakes friction of acquisitions and crisis management.
In a sector where perception often dictates valuation, Wimbart’s influence hasn’t just been about writing press releases; it’s been about institutionalizing the African tech story.
In 2016, they launched Wimbart Lite, a specialized arm led by Maria Adediran designed to give early-stage founders the same narrative polish as the big-ticket scale-ups.
Beyond The Press Release
As the ecosystem matures, Wimbart is shifting from being a megaphone to becoming a platform in its own right. In 2025, the firm launched The Wimbart Way, a podcast featuring deep-dives with the ecosystem’s power players—names like Omobola Johnson and Iyin Aboyeji.
The project signals a move toward archival storytelling, capturing the institutional memory of a decade that redefined African commerce.
For many in the industry, Wimbart’s 10-year milestone reflects the broader trajectory of the “Big Four” markets—Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt. The firm’s growth mirrors a shift from speculative interest to structural permanence.
As Wimbart enters its second decade, the challenge will no longer be proving that African tech exists—it will be explaining where it goes next in an era of AI integration and tightening global markets.
