I once chatted with the founder of a small but promising tech start-up. He was bright, ambitious and full of ideas, but also weary. He asked me a simple question: "How do we get noticed?" I smiled because the answer seemed obvious, but it isn’t.
In Africa, particularly Tanzania, startups often believe public relations is reserved for big corporations with lots of money. That’s wrong.
Start-ups aren’t just smaller versions of big companies. They are fragile sparks in a storm.
If those sparks aren’t carefully tended to, they flicker out before anyone notices. For start-ups, PR is a matter of survival.
The first challenge is simple: attention. Everyone is shouting. Everyone wants to be seen. Start-ups can’t afford to yell into a void.
They don’t have the luxury of multimillion-dollar ad campaigns or the safety net to make mistakes. A single misstep, a poorly timed announcement or a missed launch can stop growth before it even begins.
This is where PR comes in. Strategic storytelling, well-placed media coverage and timely messaging create visibility without emptying the bank. When a respected newspaper, trade magazine or even a popular blog features your start-up, it sends a powerful message: "This start-up matters."
Investors notice. Customers notice. Suddenly you’re no longer invisible.
Visibility is one thing. Credibility is another — people don’t just buy products, they buy confidence. They buy the assurance that someone they trust, someone outside your company, believes in what you’re doing. That’s the magic of PR.
Unlike ads, which people often ignore or see as self-promotion, PR relies on earned media.
A positive feature story, an industry endorsement or a respected influencer sharing your idea builds trust that no ad can match. Research from AirPR shows that conversion rates through PR can be 10 to 50 times higher than traditional advertising.
For a start-up, trust isn’t optional, it’s vital.
PR doesn’t just raise your profile; it fuels growth. When investors see that your start-up is attracting attention and building credibility, funding rounds become easier.
When top talent notices your start-up making waves, they want to join you. When the market starts to pay attention, new customers, new markets and new opportunities open up.
PR enhances all of this without requiring your start-up to become a marketing giant overnight. One smart story, one well-placed feature, one carefully crafted press release can create momentum that feels larger than your actual resources.
A start-up that can speak with authority in its industry gains significant power.
Thought leadership isn’t about sounding smart, it’s about showing that your company is shaping the conversation, defining trends and setting standards. Consistently doing this makes competitors fade, forms partnerships and links your brand to expertise.
Start-ups that ignore this risk being invisible or, worse, irrelevant.
Let me be clear: African start-ups will fail without PR. You can have the best tech, the brightest team or the most disruptive idea, but if no-one knows about it or trusts it, you won’t scale. PR builds a bridge between innovation and opportunity. It is the spark that turns a small fire into a blaze.
As Matias Rodsevich, CEO of PRLab, states: "PR builds trust, establishes credibility and opens communication with key audiences.
Beyond getting noticed, creating a compelling narrative drives growth, secures investors and sets up long-term success."
From October 3 to 5, I will attend the Zanzibar Innovation Day hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras Zanzibar, a unique event connecting Africa’s entrepreneurial energy with India’s deep-tech expertise. Start-ups like Rifaly, Adflow Africa and Winvo will pitch their ideas to the world. This is precisely the kind of visibility and credibility that PR can create.
Start-ups, take note: PR is not a luxury. It is the difference between being a spark in the dark and being a fire everyone sees.
• Makuza is a communications strategist and a former president of the Public Relations Society of Tanzania
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