Franco-Gabonese self-made entrepreneur Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard is the
Founder, chairman and 100% owner of APO Group, the premier award-winning Pan-African communications consultancy and press release distribution service.
Nicolas is:
- An Advisory Board member of the African Energy Chamber (AEC).
- A Strategic Advisor to the CEO of the Royal African Society of the United Kingdom.
- A Strategic Advisor of the EU-Africa Chamber of Commerce (EUACC).
- A Senior Advisory Board member of The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business.
- An Advisory Board member of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), the premier hotel investment conference in Africa.
- A founding Advisory Board member of the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa.
- An Advisory Board member of the World Football Summit.
- A Special Advisor to the President of Rugby Africa, the governing body of rugby in Africa.
- An International Committee member of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) – the biggest music awards event in Africa.
In 2022, FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura appointed Nicolas as a member of the FIFA-CAF Task Force for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
APO Group is:
- The Pan-African public relations agency of the NBA.
- The Pan-African public relations agency of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
- The Pan-African public relations agency of the World Football Summit, the world’s largest convention on the football industry.
- The Official Public Relations Partner and Sport Marketing Agency of World Rugby’s African association, Rugby Africa, the governing body of rugby in Africa.
- The Official Partner of iconic French Football Club Olympique de Marseille’s African program “OM Africa”.
- The Strategic Partner of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), the governing body of the Olympic Movement in Africa.
- The Pan-African public relations agency of Afro Nation, the world’s biggest Afrobeats Music festival.
- The Principal Partner to the Africa Women Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum (AWIEF).
- The Official Sponsor of SEED Project (Sports for Education and Economic Development).
- The Partner of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).
APO Group was the Pan-African public relations agency for FIFA, the governing body of football/soccer, from 2020 to 2024.
APO Group’s year over year revenue growth was 40% in 2021 and 60% in 2022.
In 2023, APO Group and its clients have won a total of 5 African SABRE Awards, more than any other firm in this year’s competition. The SABRE Awards are the world’s biggest PR awards programme.
APO Group works with more than 300 clients, ranging from governments to international institutions, prominent personalities, and companies active in Africa. Some of APO Group’s prestigious clients include Nestlé, Coca Cola, TikTok, NBA, FIFA, Canon, DHL, Marriott Group, Ecobank, Siemens, Orange, Jack Ma Foundation, African Development Bank, World Health Organization, Islamic Development Bank, Liquid Intelligent Technology, Rotary International, Kaspersky, Greenpeace…
APO Group has established partnerships with the African Union of Broadcasting, Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, CNBC Africa and SABC (South Africa).
APO Group is a also member of the UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition, of the UNESCO-led Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy, and has established partnerships with the World Health Organization (WHO), the African Union Commission, Invest Africa, Venture Capitalism for Africa (VC4A), and The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business.
APO Group is a Partner of the Roman Catholic Church in Africa (Holy See); and was the Official Strategic Public Relations Partner of the African Union at the Expo 2020 Dubai.
As Chairman of APO Group, Nicolas is focusing on delivering high-level counsel for the company’s clients and developing his investment fund dedicated to Africa.
Nicolas has been named among the 100 Most Influential Africans 2023. The New African Most Influential Africans list is the most eagerly anticipated and talked-about annual compilation on the continent, having firmly established itself as the most authoritative, respected, and consulted list in both Africa and the diaspora. Other names on the list of the 100 most influential Africans include the President of the Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, the President of the Republic of Kenya, William Ruto, the President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, the President of Afreximbank, Benedict Oramah, Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote, and Afrobeats megastar Burna Boy.
The list of the 100 Most Influential Africans, published by New African Magazine, credits Nicolas as an entrepreneur who is “dominating the African Public Relations landscape” and acknowledges “his mastery of Africa’s media landscape, which has earned him the trust of many prominent business and political leaders globally, making him a key agenda driver on the continent. He is particularly interested in using his influence to transform sports and create opportunities for youth in Africa”.
In 2023, Nicolas moderated the panel discussion featuring FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus at the World Football Summit. Nicolas has spoken or has been a moderator at several high-profile events, including the Bloomberg Africa Business Media Innovators Forum 2019 and the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) 2019, the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) in 2019 and 2022, as well as at AHIF’s Africa Tomorrow Conference in 2020.
Nicolas created APO Group in 2007 while he was a journalist for online Gabonese media Gabonews and Deputy President of the Pan African Press Organization in France (APPA – Association de la Presse Panafricaine). He founded the company with a savings of €10,000, as start-up capital. The objective was to provide international and African media access to reliable news about the continent’s economy, businesses, and investment. Since then, APO Group has helped communicators relay compelling, uniquely African stories to audiences, enabling a change in the African narrative to a more positive tone.
Nicolas’ success story has been featured on CNN, in Forbes, in Forbes Africa, and on CNBC Africa.
Nicolas enjoys motorcycling and has a Triumph Rocket 3 R that takes pride of place in his home garage. He is also a proud owner of a “cruzado portugues” show horse.
Prior to founding APO Group in 2007, Nicolas served successively as correspondent in Europe of the Gabonese press agency, Gabonews, and Deputy- President of the Panafrican Press Association in France (APPA). Pompigne-Mognard studied law at the Université de Lille (France) and speaks English and French. He is married with three children and lives in Lisbon, Portugal.
NICOLAS AT A GLANCE
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