The African Public Relations Association (APRA) has signed a communications skilling Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Node Group aimed at training 10,000 communicators across Africa through the PR Fundi Masterclass programme over the next five years.
The initiative comes at a time when the communications profession across Africa is experiencing rapid growth, yet access to affordable and relevant professional training remains limited. Historically, communications and public relations training on the continent has been expensive, concentrated in major cities, and often delivered through programmes that do not fully reflect African realities and challenges.
According to the 2025 State of the African PR Industry Report published by APRA, only 34 percent of practising communications professionals on the continent hold formal qualifications directly related to public relations or strategic communication. Many practitioners have entered the profession from journalism, marketing, political science, and related disciplines, acquiring skills through experience rather than structured training.
At the same time, Africa’s public relations industry is expanding at an estimated annual rate of 9.2 percent, making it the fastest-growing PR market globally. However, the infrastructure required to train practitioners at scale has struggled to keep pace with this growth.
The partnership seeks to address this gap by training 10,000 communications professionals over five years, with an initial target of 2,400 participants in the first year alone. This translates to approximately 200 professionals participating in the programme every month.
The collaboration aligns with Node Group’s 10th anniversary theme, “Transforming What Is Next.”
“Building on the 2025 partnership, at Node, we are serious about raising the standard of communication practice on this continent; cost cannot be a barrier. The decision to make the masterclass series completely free was deliberate and is rooted in a straightforward SDG of not leaving anyone behind.”
— Ian Rumanyika
Under the agreement, APRA and Node Group will jointly deliver structured, accessible, and industry-relevant virtual training opportunities for communications professionals across Africa. The programme will feature monthly high-level masterclasses bringing together industry leaders, practitioners, and subject-matter experts to share knowledge, discuss emerging trends, and exchange best practices in public relations and strategic communications.
APRA will take the lead in identifying and sourcing facilitators for each session, ensuring that participants gain access to some of the continent’s most experienced communications professionals.
“For APRA, the partnership represents the largest free skilling programme the association has ever offered. A government press secretary in Lusaka, a nonprofit communications officer in Accra, a junior PR executive in Dar es Salaam and a senior corporate affairs director in Lagos will all find topics that are directly relevant to their work.”
— Arik Karani
The need for such interventions is significant. The same APRA industry report found that 61 percent of communications professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa have not attended a structured professional development programme within the past three years, largely due to cost and logistical barriers rather than a lack of interest.
Further highlighting the challenge, the Global Communication Report, produced in partnership with the University of Southern California Annenberg School, identified Africa as the region with the widest gap between communications industry growth and professional skills development.
Beyond individual career advancement, the initiative is expected to have broader implications for the communications ecosystem across the continent. As more practitioners gain access to professional training, standards in government communications, corporate affairs, crisis management, media relations, and public engagement are expected to improve.
“There is a generation of African communicators who learned on the job, built real instincts and genuine skill, but never had the credentials or the structured framework to back it up. This masterclass series is for them.”
— Arik Karani
Karani noted that the programme is designed to support communicators at every stage of their careers, from entry-level professionals to senior executives, while creating a stronger and more connected communications community across Africa.
“For too long, the gap between the communicators we have and those we need in Africa has been widening every year. We want to close that gap from the inside. This partnership is not instant coffee, but 10,000 trained practitioners across the continent in five years is not a small thing. It is a beginning.”
— Arik Karani
The APRA–Node Group partnership represents one of the largest free professional communications training initiatives on the continent and reflects a growing commitment by African industry leaders to build local capacity, strengthen professional standards, and prepare communications practitioners for the evolving demands of the modern media and public relations landscape.
