Development Communication & Consulting Services
Transformative communication for development initiatives that want to convey purposeful messaging through strategic campaigns that create change.
Content Development that empowers
Africa is at a turning point. We have a historic opportunity to change the world for the better and launch a new era of sustainability.
The successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals calls for conscious co-creation, sharing and reapplication of knowledge to open up learning and innovation.
We tell your stories to inspire others.
Communication is vital to address the socio-economic challenges on the continent and should be at the centre of your development plan. Are you using information to catalyse change?
The truth is, you need to communicate well to foster ownership and sustainable support for your interventions. Communication creates a shared understanding of your approach, what you hope to achieve, and how this relates to your partners and beneficiary communities.
Our development communication services provide a brand new experience of content development. We write purpose-driven narratives and capture impact stories that inspire greater support and ignite change. In a spirit of innovation, we harvest information for knowledge products that tell stories of development, social impact and the people that make it happen. Our in-house creative team and a global network of partners know how to strategise, execute, and evaluate campaigns that create change.
Let us help you and your project partners achieve your development goals by strengthening your capacity to utilise communication effectively.
Services
Knowledge Management
Using our harvesting approach to Knowledge Management, we help consolidate and prepare documentation of your project results and activity outcomes for presentation as good practices; lessons learnt or viable project processes as a reference for future learning, promotion of methodologies, strategies, and processes or simply as tools for marketing and funding. All products are delivered to a high standard to help profile your work.
Content Strategy
We help you convert great concepts into brilliant content using a collaborative approach. Combining planning and analysis with innovation, we develop creative answers to content briefs in a timely and budget efficient manner. Our creative approach, processes and products communicate your best advantages, seamlessly transitioning into content that connects with your desired audience across different media channels.
Writing & Editing
We write and edit technical and creative information clearly and effectively, adapting to different tones and purposes. Using a deep editing technique, we ensure quality is embedded into each pore of the writing. We check for punctuation, typos, grammar, spelling, and readability, fine-tuning the content, structure, style, and presentation of the document so that the final product shines.
Capacity Development
We ensure that team members and partners have improved understanding and skills to deliver and monitor impactful communications. We also offer training for practitioners looking to upskill. Our experts are handpicked and have extensive industry knowledge and experience.
Testimonials
The Concept Afrika team have an exceptionally quick understanding of a situation. They try not to dwell on problems but quickly find new solutions. This makes them very effective in their work approach. They are determined to provide a good service to their clients and provide additional services to ensure that the product and service are brought to completion. I call this exceptional engagement with clients. They are always quick in completing tasks and use many different and very effective communication channels to provide updates.
Chengetai from Concept Afrika has supported a team of 25 colleagues from 12 African countries to develop 24 innovative knowledge products on skills development in agriculture. She managed to motivate and guide the colleagues to engage in this important exercise of harvesting their experiences and organising them into analogue and digital knowledge products for dissemination on the African continent. Through her hands-on approach and her engaging personality, the colleagues were surprised that together they managed to develop high-quality products in such a short time.
Meet our Experts
Chengetai Chikadaya
Qualifications
MA Applied Media Studies
BA Media Communication and Culture
Chengetai offers 10 years of experience in the communication, media & civil society sectors & 6 years as a consultant. She is an analytical & conceptual thinker partnering with clients to assess opportunities, facilitate strategic decisions, & drive successful communication activities. Chengetai supports transformative content development using a unique approach that encourages social change, in a way that is easily understood & accessible. She writes & edits excellently.
Trevor Mazhandu
Qualifications
Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
Bachelor’s of Social Sciences
As a marketing practitioner, Trevor offers years of experience covering diverse industries. He is motivated by and enjoys the challenges and multi-sectoral immersion brought by the marketing and communication industry, always taking a 360-degree approach to communication marketing needs. Trevor delivers results on the most complex assignments and implements sound marketing-oriented strategies that are backed by quality research and brought to life by creativity.
Rebecca Oloo
Qualifications
Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration
BA Media, Communications and Culture
Rebecca is a visual designer and creative, with a broad set of skills including a phenomenal design approach and Creative and Art Direction. She has always had a keen eye for structure, strategy and art. She believes design should do more than just look beautiful, it has to speak life into a project. She loves what she does and has the ability to translate a simple conversation from an idea, into an actionable product.
Melissa King
Qualifications
Master of Arts in English Literature
BA Honours in English
Bachelor of Arts
Melissa King has worked with teams on a number of projects, in capacities such as researcher, evaluator, curriculum specialist, qualifications developer, materials writer and knowledge manager. She has worked with both Public and Private sector agencies and a range of non-profit organisations.
Organisations we have worked with
Development Communications Work we’ve Done
Job Fair Handbooks for HR and TVET Managers
The Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) aims to promote occupational prospects of young Africans, through the support of innovative skills development programs and close cooperation with the private sector as an integral partner in the creation of jobs. In alignment with their purpose, SIFA tasked us to produce a series of Guides to assist Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges and Human Resources Managers in hosting jobs fairs/career days.
The objective of the Guides was to make it as easy as possible for interested institutions (TVET Colleges) and companies/organisations to organise/plan, execute and evaluate Job Fairs.
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We produced four Guides: “Job Fair Handbook for HR Managers”, “Job Fair Handbook for TVET Managers”, “Taking your Job Fair Virtual” for HR and TVET Managers and “Level-Up and Crush it: A Job Seekers Guide to Job Fairs”.
All Handbooks included comprehensive templates and resources such as Legal Requirements templates, a Booth Map Guide, a Budget Planner, a Photographers and Videographers Content Guide, a Cost-Benefit Analysis Tool, a COVID-19 Event Checklist, a Debriefing Procedures template, an Employer Recruitment Letter and so many more. The final Handbooks, resources and templates will be available via the ASPYEE portal of AUDA-NEPAD in 2022.
Coordination & Development of Knowledge Products
Supported by the GIZ, this project operates in 12 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Togo, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia and South Africa. The project’s final phase initiated the consolidation and preparation of documentation of project results and activity outcome information from partner countries into good practices; lessons learnt and viable ATVET processes.
The aim was to bring together experiences from the countries to provide partners with quality knowledge products as a reference for future learning, promotion of methodologies, strategies and processes or simply as tools for marketing and funding. We supported a team of 25 colleagues to develop 24 innovative knowledge products on skills development in agriculture.
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We took them from the Concept stage to Clarity stage. The format was virtual coaching of 15 teams of +/- 5 people. Each team was responsible for producing a KP on a topic. Starting with a concept, we workshopped the overall content strategy. Clarity stage: At this stage, we workshopped the format, content, audience etc. Production stage: We closely facilitated the production of 34 KPs (videos, learning programmes, booklets) working with service providers. We facilitated reviews, inputs and any queries, focusing on the design, layout, and appropriateness for the intended user & relevance for marketing and dissemination and QA and in-depth technical editing.
Supporting the Development of a Programme Documentary
The Mandela Bay Development Agency SPUU Programme aimed to improve the quality of life for the residents of Helenvale in Port Elizabeth by increasing safety and reducing crime and violence. The € 5 million project was co-funded by the German Federal Republic and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. A 90-minute documentary was commissioned to contextualise the urban upgrade intervention’s challenges and achievements given systemic violence experienced in Helenvale.
The objective was to produce a documentary film on SPUU’s programming to provide insight through relevant and in-depth stories of the communities that the programme has impacted featuring best approaches, best practices, achievements and real impacts in the project components.
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Our role included: Content Strategy – Support for the development of documentary script and storyboard; Production Management – filming logistics (set, interview requests, time-sheets, consent); Drafting questions for, and interviewing selected persons who included Helenvale community members, stakeholders, government officials, implementing partners and key programme staff of SPUU; Editing.
The Key Outcome was an 8-minute Teaser, 12-minute overview of all components and five, 20-minute videos on key components.
Advocacy Communication Campaign
Towards a More Accountable South Africa (TAMASA) was a collaborative action between two Eastern Cape NGOs – Restless Development and the Eastern Cape Communication Forum.
The programme’s goal was to build an informed, unified and coordinated network of grassroots Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) focused on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR), linked to an empowered movement of young people in the Eastern Cape.
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They partnered with state actors to improve the implementation of ASRHR policies and effectively participate in core accountability structures relating to them.
Our role included: Media, communications and training support to the Programme; Media & advocacy capacity building for 24 CSOs & 48 Young Leaders; Content Strategy: Content Creation and documentation of innovative approaches to service delivery through print/broadcast and digital media.
The Key Outcomes included:
- Four pieces of training
- One content development session where we produced:
- Three radio dramas,
- 12 organisational profile videos, and
- Three advocacy videos
- Placement of radio dramas on community radio stations
- Strategy and production management of development media; radio dramas, newsletters, field case studies, short videos, posters etc.
- Management of Social Media platforms to drive engagement.
Online Training & Capacity Development
The communication teams at Chris Hani District Municipality & Amathole District Municipality are responsible for communication, marketing and media relations for the district’s operations. In addition, they manage the district local government communicators’ forum that includes communicators from all municipalities of the district.
Councillors and Traditional Leaders play a central role in considering the communities’ interest in decision-making on questions of disaster management and ongoing service delivery planning and implementation.
Objective: To capacitate Traditional Leaders and Government Communicators to utilise online communication platforms effectively.
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The portfolio and ward councillors need to ensure constant two-way communication with citizens and stakeholders and channel the received feedback into council discussions.
In partnership with Social Weaver, we designed a 2-days online training for 42 councillors, eight traditional leaders and some supporting officials on social media engagement and virtual meeting technology and etiquette.
We also delivered a 2-days online practice-oriented training on virtual content enhancement and impact analysis of their electronic communication for each of the two district communicator’s forums.
Developing Knowledge Products
GIZ project, Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET4W) and Employment for Sustainable Development in Africa (E4D) piloted a joint intervention called: Gender makes Business Sense (GmBS)©.
This joint pilot-tested learning material that integrates business and gender-transformative change elements.
The aim is to strive for change in gender-related and social perceptions to achieve efficient employment, relevant life-enriching skills and innovative development outcomes for agripreneurs and the agribusiness community.
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We were tasked to create a range of communication and marketing using a story/narrative approach, following the GmBS branding design elements and products inclusive of GIZ and respective project partners.
These products included an interactive and flat PDF programme narrative, roadmap (“How GmBS works”), field guides, country-specific case studies, a digitalisation case study (taking the physical training digital), factsheets, newsletters, posters, brochures, emailer banners, X-frame banners, google and newsletter Ad banner, WhatsApp posters.
We used storyboarding to convey key messages for the GmBS programme and the different stakeholders. We further considered and documented the unfolding of the pilot period and documented processes and lessons learned.
Image Copyright: Gender makes Business Sense (GmBS)©.
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