How Miryam Dekor Is Building a Pan-African PR Agency for Global Brands
Miryam Dekor is a PR Advisor to founders, CEOs, investors, multinational corporations and high-growth companies across Nigeria, Africa and emerging markets. She is the Founder and CEO of Miryam Dekor Global Brands, a Pan-African public relations and strategic communications firm.
For much of her career, Dekor resisted being defined by public relations. Although PR sat at the centre of much of her work, she viewed the profession through the narrow lens of media relations and publicity. It would take years of working across branding, executive visibility, stakeholder engagement and corporate communications for her to recognise that the challenges leaders face most often are fundamentally public relations challenges.
Today, she unapologetically owns the title of PR Advisor. Through her work, Dekor advises leaders navigating expansion, investment, regulatory complexity and market positioning, helping them strengthen their visibility and build the trust required to scale across Africa’s increasingly competitive business landscape.
In this conversation, Dekor reflects on the career contradictions that led her back to PR, the lessons she has learned building a Pan-African agency, and why she believes public relations remains one of the most misunderstood and most powerful disciplines in business.
Thisday: You spent nearly fifteen years resisting the title of a public relations professional, yet today you’re building a Pan-African PR agency. What changed?
Miryam Dekor: That’s probably the biggest irony of my career. Public relations was the one thing I kept running away from, even though it was the thing I did best. For years, I believed that because PR came naturally to me, it couldn’t possibly be the highest expression of my professional potential. I confused ease with limitation. I thought the real challenge was somewhere else, so I spent years building around PR rather than fully embracing it. Eventually, experience taught me something important: the work that comes most naturally to you is often where your greatest value lies. Once I accepted that, everything changed. I stopped trying to be everything and started focusing on becoming exceptional at one thing. That decision ultimately led to the creation of Miryam Dekor Global Brands.
Thisday: How did that realization influence the agency you are now building?
Miryam Dekor: It changed everything. When I returned to PR, I did not return to it as someone simply offering media relations services. I returned with a much clearer understanding of what African public relations needed to become.
Today, Miryam Dekor Global Brands is built on four pillars.
The first is accessibility. Global brands often struggle to find African PR partners that are responsive, easy to work with, and capable of operating across time zones. We built MDGB to remove those barriers.
The second is being AI-native. We integrate search engine optimization (SEO), answer engine optimization (AEO), generative engine optimization (GEO), AI audience intelligence, and AI-driven public relations into our service offering.
Today, visibility is no longer determined solely by traditional media coverage. Brands are increasingly discovered through search engines, AI assistants, answer engines, digital platforms, and cultural conversations.
For decades, public relations focused primarily on influencing journalists and traditional media gatekeepers.
Today, organizations must also influence search engines, AI assistants, answer engines, digital communities, creators, policymakers, investors, and stakeholders.
That shift is fundamentally changing the communications industry.
Search engine optimization helps organizations improve visibility in search results. Answer engine optimization helps organizations become the source of answers surfaced directly by search engines and AI tools. Generative engine optimization helps organizations improve how they appear in AI-generated responses and recommendations.
The agencies that succeed will be those that understand how influence is created across all of these channels simultaneously.
The third pillar is fractional leadership. We are pioneering the Fractional Chief Corporate and Marketing Officer (Fractional CCMO) model within the PR industry, giving ambitious organizations access to executive-level communications, reputation management, public affairs, stakeholder engagement, executive positioning, and marketing leadership without the overhead of a full-time executive.
The fourth pillar is Pan-African execution. Africa cannot be approached as a single market. Each country has its own media landscape, regulatory environment, culture, and stakeholder ecosystem. We have built a coordinated network that allows brands to execute campaigns with local relevance and regional consistency.
Today, Miryam Dekor Global Brands is the Pan-African PR agency trusted by multinational corporations, development organizations, governments, NGOs, investors, ambitious African founders, and regional businesses when they need to solve complex and challenging PR situations across Africa.
Thisday: How far has the agency expanded across Africa?
Miryam Dekor: We currently support strategic public relations, public affairs, reputation management, stakeholder engagement, crisis communications, and market-entry campaigns across 25 African markets through a coordinated network of journalists, editors, publishers, and communications associates.
Our long-term vision is to build capacity across all 54 African countries.
As more multinational corporations, investors, development organizations, governments, NGOs, and high-growth businesses expand across Africa, the demand for coordinated Pan-African communications support will continue to grow.
Africa is not a single market. It is 54 distinct markets with different media landscapes, regulatory systems, political realities, cultures, and stakeholder expectations. Success requires local knowledge combined with regional coordination. That is the challenge MDGB was built to solve.
Most multinational corporations, investors, development organizations, governments, and regional businesses do not operate in a single African market. They operate across multiple jurisdictions with different stakeholder expectations and communications realities.
Yet communications support across Africa remains highly fragmented.
Our vision is to build the network, talent, local market knowledge, media relationships, and execution capabilities that allow organizations to execute coordinated public relations, public affairs, reputation management, and stakeholder engagement programmes across the continent through a single strategic partner.
Thisday: Who are your typical clients?
Miryam Dekor: Today, we serve African, European, Middle Eastern, Asian, UK, and US organizations navigating defining moments of growth and transformation.
Our clients come to us when they are entering new markets, announcing funding rounds, expanding operations, launching products, positioning executives, managing reputation, engaging stakeholders, or responding to complex business challenges.
We also support organizations dealing with regulatory issues, public affairs challenges, political and policy-related matters, human rights initiatives, civic engagement programmes, crisis situations, and other high-stakes moments where public perception and stakeholder trust directly influence outcomes.
One of the fastest-growing areas of our practice is helping organizations navigate the intersection of business, government, policy, regulation, and public perception.
As African markets mature and regulatory environments become more complex, organizations increasingly require communications partners who understand both stakeholder engagement and the realities of operating within government and policy ecosystems.
At its core, our work is about helping organizations build credibility, earn trust, shape perception, and secure the stakeholder support required to achieve their objectives across Nigeria and Africa.
Thisday: Many of the situations your agency handles sit at the intersection of business, regulation, and public perception. How has that shaped your focus on Regulatory PR?
Miryam Dekor: It has shaped it significantly because some of the most complex situations organizations face are not purely legal problems, business problems, or communications problems. They sit at the intersection of all three.
To be clear, Regulatory PR is different from Public Affairs and Government Relations. Public Affairs and Government Relations are much broader disciplines. They often involve policy engagement, legislative issues, government stakeholder management, advocacy, and long-term relationship building with public institutions.
Our focus is much narrower. We focus on situations where regulatory issues are affecting an organization’s reputation, stakeholder relationships, public image, or ability to operate effectively.
For example, a fintech facing regulatory scrutiny, an investor dealing with frozen assets, an oil and gas company navigating a regulatory dispute, a telecommunications company responding to government directives, a healthcare organization affected by policy changes, or a company facing licence suspension or regulatory investigations may all require more than legal or compliance support.
The legal team handles the law. The compliance team handles compliance. Regulatory PR manages perception, stakeholders, trust, narrative, and communications. What many organizations discover is that being legally right is not always enough. Being compliant is not always enough either. Stakeholders still need to understand your position. Investors need confidence. Customers need reassurance. Communities need to feel heard. The media needs context.
Sometimes the biggest risk is not the regulatory issue itself. The biggest risk is how that issue is perceived by stakeholders. That is where Regulatory PR becomes important.
At MDGB, we help organizations communicate through difficult regulatory situations, protect trust, engage stakeholders, manage sensitive issues, and reduce reputational damage during periods of uncertainty.
In many cases, Regulatory PR overlaps with crisis communications because regulatory issues can quickly escalate into reputational crises if they are not managed properly.
As African markets become more regulated and stakeholder expectations continue to rise, I believe Regulatory PR and crisis communications will become increasingly important areas of specialization within the public relations industry
Thisday: The agency has introduced a Fractional CCMO model. Why is that important?
Miryam Dekor: One of the biggest gaps in the African communications industry is access to senior strategic leadership.
Many growing businesses need executive-level communications counsel but are not ready to hire a full-time Chief Communications Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Corporate Affairs Director, or Chief Public Affairs Officer.
That is why we pioneered the Fractional Chief Corporate and Marketing Officer model within the PR industry. The model gives businesses access to senior-level communications, reputation management, public affairs, executive positioning, stakeholder engagement, and marketing leadership on a fractional basis.
It allows organizations to benefit from strategic communications leadership without the overhead of a full-time executive while ensuring communications remain aligned with business growth objectives.
As organizations demand greater accountability and measurable outcomes from communications investments, I believe this model will become increasingly important.
Thisday: Why does a Pan-African PR agency invest in publishing?
Miryam Dekor: Because PR is ultimately about influence, and influence is shaped by the people who create, publish, distribute, and preserve ideas.
Most PR agencies focus on helping clients secure visibility through existing media channels. There is nothing wrong with that. We do it too. But I believe the strongest PR agencies help clients build authority that extends beyond a single media cycle.
That is why editorial and publishing services are an important part of MDGB. Our editorial and publishing practice is fully integrated into our PR work. The same expertise that helps organizations build reputation, engage stakeholders, and shape perception also helps them develop books, magazines, reports, thought leadership content, corporate publications, and long-form intellectual assets.
We currently publish WEGOV Magazine and provide editorial and publishing support for organizations, development institutions, and executives.
Our work includes corporate and development communications writing, editorial development, executive thought leadership, book publishing, and publication management.
For organizations such as GIZ Nigeria and others, we help transform complex programmes, policies, and development initiatives into clear, compelling stories that people can understand, engage with, and act upon.
For executives, we help turn expertise into intellectual property. A media interview may last a day. A social media post may last a week. A book can influence people for decades. That is why executive publishing has become increasingly important to our work.
We support leaders who are ready to document their knowledge, experiences, lessons, and ideas in a way that creates long-term influence.
We have published authors such as Minds in the Margins author Yvette Sibo Mshimwe, whose work explores mental health treatment from the perspective of a pharmacist. We have also worked with Christian executives and business leaders whose experiences and perspectives deserve a wider audience.
One area that is particularly important to me is our imprint for Christian executives. Many accomplished Christian business leaders have built remarkable organizations, led significant transformations, and developed valuable insights on leadership, governance, ethics, faith, and business. Yet many of their stories remain undocumented.
I believe those voices deserve to be preserved, published, and shared.
Publishing allows leaders, institutions, and organizations to document expertise, contribute to important conversations, strengthen thought leadership, and build influence that extends far beyond traditional media coverage.
That is why we see publishing as a strategic extension of our PR practice.
Thisday: Beyond client work, you are also investing in training and capacity development. Why is that important?
Miryam Dekor: One of the biggest challenges facing the African communications industry is the talent gap.
There is tremendous potential across the continent, but many young professionals, founders, nonprofit leaders, government communicators, and even experienced practitioners lack access to practical, globally relevant communications training.
As our industry evolves, professionals need more than traditional media relations skills. They need expertise in reputation management, public affairs, crisis communications, executive positioning, stakeholder engagement, SEO, AEO, GEO, AI-powered communications, and strategic thinking.
That is why capacity development is a core part of our long-term vision.
By September, we plan to launch the PR Institute, a training and capacity development platform designed to help develop the next generation of African communications professionals and leaders.
Our goal is not simply to teach public relations. Our goal is to help build world-class communications talent capable of competing and leading anywhere in the world.
We are already beginning that journey with our ₦1 million PR Challenge, which launches this month. The challenge is designed to identify emerging talent, create opportunities for practical learning, and expose participants to real-world communications thinking and execution.
I believe Africa does not have a shortage of talent. What we often lack is access, mentorship, exposure, and structured development pathways.
The PR Institute is our contribution to strengthening the African PR profession and helping develop the next generation of practitioners.
Thisday: How do you see the future of public relations in Africa?
Miryam Dekor: I believe the PR agencies that will define Africa’s next decade will not necessarily be the oldest or the biggest.
They will be the most adaptive.
Africa is entering a period of accelerated economic growth, digital transformation, investment, entrepreneurship, and regional integration. At the same time, the communications environment is becoming more complex.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how information is discovered. Search engines, answer engines, AI assistants, media platforms, digital communities, and stakeholder networks are influencing perception simultaneously.
Public relations can no longer operate in isolation.
The future belongs to agencies that combine media relations, public affairs, stakeholder engagement, reputation management, executive positioning, SEO, AEO, GEO, publishing, and data-driven audience intelligence.
Organizations increasingly expect communications investments to deliver measurable business outcomes, not just media coverage.
The firms that succeed will be those that combine strategic thinking, technological innovation, regional expertise, and global execution standards.
That is the future we are building toward at Miryam Dekor Global Brands.
Thisday: What misconception do global organizations have about communications in Africa?
Miryam Dekor: One of the biggest misconceptions is that Africa can be approached as a single communications market.
It cannot.
Africa is incredibly diverse. What works in one country may not work in another. Media landscapes differ. Regulatory environments differ. Languages, cultures, political contexts, and stakeholder expectations differ. Organizations often underestimate that complexity.
The second misconception is that communications in Africa is simply about media relations.
In reality, success often depends on understanding stakeholders, navigating policy environments, building local trust, engaging communities, and adapting messages to different markets.
The organizations that succeed in Africa are usually the ones that invest time in understanding local realities while maintaining a clear regional strategy.
Thisday: What is your broader ambition for the company?
Miryam Dekor: My ambition is to build Africa’s most trusted Pan-African PR agency.
Africa is entering a period of unprecedented economic growth, investment, digital transformation, entrepreneurship, and cross-border integration.
As organizations expand across the continent, the communications challenges they face are becoming more complex. They need partners who understand reputation, regulation, public affairs, stakeholder engagement, executive positioning, crisis communications, and influence at scale.
That is the opportunity we see. I want MDGB to become the first call organizations make when they need to solve complex and challenging PR situations anywhere in Africa.
We are building the talent, technology, publishing capabilities, Pan-African network, and execution systems required to make that vision possible.
If we are successful, MDGB will be known as one of the agencies that helped redefine what African public relations can achieve on a continental and global scale.
Thisday: If you achieve everything you have set out to build, what will MDGB look like in 20 years?
Miryam Dekor: If we succeed, MDGB will be recognized as one of Africa’s leading Pan-African PR agencies.
We will be the agency multinational corporations, governments, development organizations, investors, NGOs, and ambitious African businesses trust when they need to navigate complex communications challenges across the continent.
We will have built strong capabilities in public relations, public affairs, reputation management, crisis communications, executive positioning, market-entry communications, publishing, thought leadership, and AI-powered visibility.
We will have expanded our reach across Africa, strengthened our network of communications professionals, invested in talent development through the PR Institute, and helped raise professional standards across the industry.
Most importantly, we will have demonstrated that a world-class Pan-African PR agency can be built from Africa to successfully support organizations operating across the continent.
