LONDON - africapractice - the communications group dedicated to supporting investment and development in Africa - has recruited two new Directors in its London office. Allan Kamau and James Laing join the group as Associate Directors, reporting to Marcus Courage, Managing Director.

Speaking to CSRwire, Courage said: "Allan and James are well placed to help us to maintain and grow our portfolio of clients. The emphasis which Prime Minister Blair's Commission for Africa, the UN, G8, EU and the AU will place next year on the attainment of the MDGs in Africa will necessitate reciprocal commitments from the private sector and development organisations. We are well placed to support both groups with the design and delivery of these commitments."

Allan has responsibility for business development and commercial operations, while James is charged with managing the consultancy's Citizenship Centre.

Focussed on providing private sector clients and development organisations with advice on governance, reporting and capacity-building, africapractice's Citizenship Centre designs and implements communications and business strategies for large blue chip organisations and development agencies in Africa, including reports to shareholders.

James joins from The CSR Group, offering strategic advice and programme implementation for global corporations and non-profit organisations to meet the growing demand for sustainable responsible business practices. Prior to this, he was working with The Coca-Cola Company, where he co-ordinated the company's workplace HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programmes across Africa. He has a proven track record in programme management and marketing in both social and commercial contexts.

Allan has worked extensively in PR, media and marketing in Africa with leading companies including Exxon Mobil, the Nation Media Group and TV Africa. He was responsible for brand management at the Nation Media Group, the largest multi-media organisation in East Africa, where he managed the development of the group's publications and the launch of their broadcast portfolio. He holds an MBA in strategic planning and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Allan has commercial responsibility for africapractice's flagship investment brand, Africa investor (www.africa-investor), which provides a forum for business, governments, multilateral organisations and development institutions to tackle investment issues in Africa. He is also responsible for co-ordinating the activities of Africa investor's (Ai) advisory board, which comprises representatives of some of the largest investors in Africa, including Visa, Coca-Cola, Oracle, African Development Bank, African Business Round Table and the World Bank.

Speaking to CSRwire, Hubert Danso, vice chairman of africapractice and managing editor of Ai, said: "The meteoric expansion of our business is testimony to the growing importance of business in development. Tri-sector partnerships offer the only sustainable solution to African development. Our unique status at the intersect of business, government and international development organisations makes us an essential partner for African development."

africapractice has a growing network of clients across Africa serviced from country hubs in Kenya, Lagos and Johannesburg and coordinated out of London. The group offers clients consistent quality of service across each of these territories and representation in Brussels, Washington and Cairo.

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