Three years of Reneé: What we’ve built, learnt, and what comes next

A few years ago, Reneé started with a simple idea: there was a gap in how African innovators were being seen, understood, and trusted, and we had a strong conviction that storytelling could fill it.

So, in February 2022, that idea started to take shape. By March, we onboarded our first client (partner), and in April, we got to work.

It didn’t feel like a “launch” at the time; Reneé started with a lot of experimentation. Figuring out how to position startups that were doing complex, often misunderstood work. Combing through technical products for non-technical narratives that people could actually connect with. Navigating media landscapes and finding ways to make those stories land.

We’ve worked with founders who started off relatively unknown, building quietly, without much external attention. And over time, through consistent storytelling and intentional visibility, we’ve seen that shift from being overlooked to being part of the conversation, and from being questioned to being trusted. 

Much of the impact we’ve had hasn’t come from a single headline or project, but from sustained visibility, over time. And that’s probably been the biggest lesson we’ve learned over the last three years.

Visibility requires commitment, and when done properly, it compounds. 

It influences how investors perceive you, how customers understand your product, how the ecosystem positions you and even how opportunities find you — sometimes before you even go looking for them.

We’ve also seen the other side. What happens when PR is reactive? What happens when founders wait until they have “big news” before communicating, when there’s no clear narrative holding everything together? It creates gaps. And in those gaps, other people define the story for you. 

A big part of our work over the last three years has been closing those gaps. Helping founders get ahead of their own story. Helping them articulate not just what they’re building, but why it matters, in a way that makes sense within the realities of African markets.

So the work has never just been about visibility for visibility’s sake. It’s been about building the right kind of visibility that actually moves things forward.

Internally, the journey has been just as defining. We have evolved.

We’ve built a team that understands this nuance. People who think beyond “getting coverage” and care about how a story lands, who it reaches, and what it does for the business long-term.

We’ve learned to be more intentional with our partnerships, our approach, and the impact we want to have. We’ve built a way of working that prioritises credibility and long-term visibility over short-term noise.

We’ve also become more honest about what PR can and cannot do. PR alone won’t fix a broken product or inconsistency. It won’t replace strategy, and it won’t manufacture substance where there isn’t any. 

But when the foundation is strong, PR can accelerate everything. It can open doors and position a founder or a company in ways that would have taken significantly longer to happen organically. 

Some of the founders we've worked with came to us with new products and solid visions, but no external presence and no way for the world to understand what they were building or why it mattered. Over time, that changed. 

We've helped brands go from completely unknown to having investors and enterprise-level prospects reach out to them unprompted, off the back of the foundation we helped lay. And more often than not, it wasn’t because of one big placement or press announcement, but sustained, intentional visibility – the kind that gets the right people paying attention long before anyone has to ask.

We can't share the specifics, as that's not our story to tell. But the pattern has been consistent enough that we're certain of one thing: when the foundation is right, visibility doesn't just make you more seen. It changes the trajectory.

I’m thankful to everyone who has been part of this small but mighty gang. I’m especially thankful to you, Susan, Mofi, Emeka, Toyosi, Wendy, Oluchukwu, Ifeoma, Aisha, Abdulbasit, Aminah, David, Kenny, Alex, Paul, Oge, Valerie, Andrew, Hannatu, Toluwalase, and Amarachi. 

Everything we’ve accomplished has been a collective effort by everyone who has been part of the gang; whether you were here for a long time or a short one, you’ve shaped what Reneé is today.

And just as importantly, none of this happens in isolation. Thank you to our clients — our partners. The builders who trust us with their stories and bring us into their journeys. Without you, there’s no impact to shape, no visibility to build, and no real work to point to. You are at the centre of everything we do.

And to the journalists, our media partners, and the content creators across the ecosystem who are on a similar mission to amplify voices — thank you. For the conversations, the curiosity, the willingness to engage, and the role you play in shaping how these stories are told and understood.

What comes next?

Three years in, we’re more certain of what we stand for, and more intentional about where we’re going.

We want to work more closely with founders who are building with intention. People who understand the value of clarity, consistency, and long-term thinking in how they show up. Founders who are not just building for today, but are thinking about the role they want to play in shaping their industries.

We’re also leaning further into innovative startups — the ones pushing boundaries, solving critical problems, and building things that deserve to be seen, understood, and taken seriously on a global stage. Part of that means expanding our media horizon. Not just telling African stories within African media, but pushing for more global visibility and recognition.

We’re also thinking about impact more broadly. We want to create more pathways for people to get into PR and communications — helping more people gain real experience, build practical skills, and find their footing in the industry.

And with that comes creating more job opportunities. Because if we’re serious about shaping narratives, we also have to be serious about building the people who will carry that work forward.

Until then, our mission still hinges on helping African innovators become more confident in how they communicate, more intentional in how they show up, and more trusted by the people who matter to their growth.

If you want to be part of what we’re building, click here to start.