the industry leading pan African international government and public affairs firm headquartered in South Africa, has been named one of Africa’s Top 10 Best Agencies by PRovoke Media – the global authority on the strategic communications, public affairs and reputation management.
The prestigious global ranking marks a major milestone for ETHICORE in its 15th anniversary year since its founding in 2009.
From its origins in Cape Town, the firm has grown into a leading force operating in 29 African countries across 5 Africa sub-regions, comprising key GDP economies and frontier markets, with strategic reach into the Arabian Gulf and Near East.
Ranking in Africa’s Top 10 list by PRovoke Media, underscores ETHICORE’s ethics-first deep expertise and thought leadership in government and public affairs. It places the firm among an authoritative selection of premier and strongly reputable merit based firms across EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), based on one or more of five key criteria, namely: Rapid growth and financial performance; Track record of exceptional work; Outstanding workplace culture; Thought leadership and development of new knowledge; or Innovation in the technology and tools of the profession.
This affirms ETHICORE as a trusted market leader on the African continent at the highest levels of government relations, public policy, regulatory and political risk intelligence, advocacy, advisory and communications.
Speaking on the accolade, ETHICORE CEO and Founder Abdul Waheed Patel expressed deep appreciation:
“We are humbled and privileged to be recognised at the pinnacle of excellence in our niche on the African continent. It was symbolically significant to have received this accolade upon concluding Africa month in May. Since our founding, over the past decade and a half, we have been dedicated to the pursuit of building and leading best-in-class pan African excellence and ethics in our craft. This recognition belongs to our exceptional teams across the continent, and to the clients and partners who implicitly trust us with the responsibility of working to advance positive and impactful solutions to some of the most critical issues confronting African economies, governments and societies.”
Confirming the ranking, Paul Holmes, CEO of PRovoke Media stated:
“Most of the top firms in Africa are generalists, equally adept at the corporate and consumer sides of the business, which is what you might expect in a still emerging market. But there is a growing market for specialization, and ETHICORE has carved out a nicely lucrative niche for itself in the public affairs space, drawing on a deep understanding of the complex political landscapes across Africa, and an approach that emphasizes global standards of governance and ethics.”
As one of the continent’s few independent, African-owned firms in its niche, ETHICORE works to support the private sector, governments and multilateral institutions in responsible public policy and regulatory advocacy and engagement in Africa, at the nexus of trade, investment, market access and sustainability.
“This accolade is not just a celebration of our journey,” Patel added. “It’s a call to action for the future — to continue championing our ethics-first, values-driven approach to public policy and regulatory advocacy, empowering private and public institutions to transform governance, economies and societies. All of which are critical to attaining and sustaining rising levels of inclusive economic growth, trade, investment and development for and between African and global economies. It is an affirmation of the role that African-founded and African-led firms can and must play in shaping the African continent’s present and future, within the continent and with the global marketplace.”
About ETHICORE Political Lobbying
ETHICORE is a leading independent international pan-African firm, specialising in government and public affairs, policy and political intelligence, advisory, advocacy, lobbying and communications. With co-located headquarters in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, the firm’s footprint spans 29 African countries across Southern, Eastern, Central, West and North Africa and strategic markets in the Arabian Gulf and Near East.
ETHICORE delivers ethically-focused strategic public policy, regulatory and government relations solutions to private sector, governments, multilateral institutions and civil society clientele, to support trade, investment, market access, inclusive growth, good governance and sustainable development across the African continent.
Since 2021, ETHICORE is the only African firm and among a select few globally, invited to join the OECD’s “Trusted Dialogue Group on Getting Influence Right”. This forms part of a multiyear Global Program to Galvanize the Private Sector as Partners to Combat Corruption across OECD member states and country partners, including in Africa. For the past six years ETHICORE has been actively engaged in the review and formulation of new OECD Guidelines on Responsible Corporate Political Engagement and the OECD Council Recommendations on Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying Influence. Recently this saw its inclusion in the B20 Task Force on Integrity and Compliance, under South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
In 2020, the firm won the Political Influence Brand Category Award at the Africa Brand Summit.
