INSIGN Africa will soon be opening an office in Côte d'Ivoire. Can you tell us about your areas of activity and your current location?
We are an agency with a presence on three continents: France, the United States, and West Africa. We started out as a digital marketing agency. We support companies in the design and implementation of cross-channel marketing and communication strategies. Today, the group has 250 experts and we are a team of 25 people based in Senegal.
The agency was originally called AK-Project and has been operating in West Africa since 2004. In 2019, we decided to join forces with the Insign group to open Insign Africa.
Today, we are positioned at the intersection of digital communication and consulting.
Who are your main clients?
Our client base is mainly composed of B2B clients, but we also work extensively with large West African companies in the retail sector, such as Orca, Kirène, and Les Câbleries du Sénégal, whom we support in the digitalization of their customer experience.
We also have multinationals among our clients and have been working for several years on development projects with NGOs and international institutions (UNESCO, UNICEF, etc.). For example, we are currently handling part of the European Commission's communications in Senegal and working with the NGO RAES, which produces the WARA series.
The Insign Group chose Senegal as its gateway to African markets. What were its ambitions?
The Insign Group chose to set up in West Africa, starting with Senegal. Historically, the country is very advanced in terms of connectivity, with many startups being created and fintechs developing. The group chose to enter African markets without imposing its methods or vision of business. The group has established itself with a focus on understanding the specificities of the market and expertise, and with a focus on discovery and sharing. We are convinced that the solutions to the needs of African markets will come from Africa, and we want to contribute to their emergence.
How can you contribute to this? What values do you uphold?
We are very focused on the business of our clients, with whom we address issues of growth and sustainable business development. We have a very broad vision of how we will support our clients. We often propose to co-develop strategies with them on the basis of workshops. We also believe that companies have an impact on their social environment. Consumers are increasingly interested in the company behind the product. We support our clients in committing to a positive impact approach.
In terms of digitalization, how has the pandemic affected you and other Senegalese companies?
The Covid-19 crisis has accelerated the digitalization of players.
Health measures have also created a need to digitize sales processes. As a result, we have helped our clients reorient their budgets towards digital. Major brands have taken the plunge into digital.
During the lockdown period, we provided training to our clients on best practices for using digital technology and tools that are widely used for remote working and ensuring productivity.
You have announced the launch of your activities in Côte d'Ivoire. Can you tell us more about this?
We will be opening our agency in the country at the end of February, and to do so, we need to build up our workforce. We are currently looking for our next Deputy CEO
.
We know Côte d'Ivoire well, and many of our clients are developing activities in the country. This location is therefore an opportunity for our agency. The idea is to enter the market with our expertise to carry out digitization projects with a focus on performance.