JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, April 30, 2026/APO Group/ –APO Group (www.APO-opa.com), the pan-African communications consultancy integrating advisory, execution, and proprietary news distribution, today was named the winner of a Gold Stevie® Award in the Most Innovative Public Relations Agency of the Year category in the seventh annual Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, sponsored by the RAK Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards are the only business awards programme to recognise innovation in the workplace in 18 nations in the Middle East and North Africa.  The Stevie Awards are widely considered to be the world’s premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in programmes such as The International Business Awards® for 24 years.

More than 1,400 nominations from organisations across the Middle East and North Africa were considered this year in categories such as Award for Excellence in Innovation in Products & Services, Award for Innovative Management, and Award for Innovation in Corporate Websites, among many others.  APO Group won in the Most Innovative Public Relations Agency of the Year category.

APO Group’s winning submission presented a body of work spanning major international brands, humanitarian organisations, and global technology and business investment platforms, collectively generating over USD1.2 billion in PR value, more than 1,500 media features and interviews, and over 20 million social media impressions. Together, these results reflect a communications model built on integration: strategy, on-ground PR, and guaranteed visibility operating as one high-impact system.

These campaigns, executed for organisations such as Africa’s Business Heroes, Canon, Mercy Ships, The Basketball Africa League (BAL), GITEX Africa, and the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI), demonstrate APO Group’s ability to operate at scale across sectors and markets, delivering innovative strategic communication with measurable results.

“This award recognises something specific: a communications model that treats consultancy, execution, and distribution as one system rather than three separate disciplines. The MENA Stevie® Awards reflect APO Group’s commitment to delivering PR and communications strategies that match the realities of operating across Africa,” said Bas Wijne, Chief Executive Officer at APO Group. “Effective pan-African work requires deep knowledge of how individual markets function, how media ecosystems differ, and how audiences in each context connect with a narrative. We’re proud to help African and MENA organisations engage with impact across one of the world’s most complex and rewarding media landscapes.”

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 150 executives around the world acting as judges on six juries.

“We are delighted to recognise the achievements of such a diverse group of organisations across the MENA region in the 2026 edition of the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards,” said Stevie Awards president Maggie Miller.  “We look forward to celebrating Stevie winners during our gala event on 11 September at the InterContinental Hotel, Istanbul, Türkiye.  The quality of nominations received this year was exceptional. The programme has grown every year, showing the vast amount of innovation in the MENA region.”

APO Group has received multiple major industry honours over the past year, including consecutive Gold Sabre Awards and Gold at the Davos Communications Awards for excellence in strategic communications and campaign execution. The company was also named Africa’s Leading PR Agency – 2025 by Brands Review Magazine and Best Public Relations & Media Consultancy Agency of the Year – 2025 by World Business Outlook.

Operating across 54 African countries, APO Group provides communications advisory services, public relations, and media distribution through its proprietary newswire, Africa Newsroom, which places content on more than 250 Africa-focused news platforms worldwide.

This latest accolade adds to APO Group’s growing record at these prestigious awards. In 2025, Rania El-Rafie, Vice President, Public Relations and Strategic Communications, was awarded a Bronze Stevie® Award in the ‘Most Innovative Woman of the Year’ category. El Rafie also chaired the Public Sector & Thought Leadership Awards Judging Committee at this year’s competition.

Details about the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards and the list of Stevie Award winners are available at https://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

FAIRFAX, United States of America, May 4, 2026/APO Group/ –Winners in the seventh annual Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, the only awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace throughout 18 nations in the Middle East and North Africa, have been announced. The awards are sponsored by RAK Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The list of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners is available at https://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

The 2026 Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 15 nations including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Türkiye and United Arab Emirates. More than 1,400 nominations in Arabic and English were evaluated in this year’s competition. Winners were determined by the average scores of 155 professionals worldwide (https://apo-opa.co/4cMbWRI), acting as judges on five juries to recognize innovative apps, achievements, entire organizations, public relations, customer service, human resources, individual professionals, live and virtual events, management, sustainability, technology, thought leadership, and more.

Winners of multiple Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie®  Awards include Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority, UAE; Abu Dhabi Housing Authority, UAE; ADNEC Services, UAE; ADNOC Drilling, UAE; Al Dhafra Region Municipality, UAE; Byrne Equipment Rental, UAE; Capital 360 Event Experiences, UAE; CarrefourSA, Türkiye; Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, UAE; Dubai Customs, UAE; Eastern Health Cluster, Saudi Arabia; Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE), UAE; Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, UAE; FLO Group, Türkiye; GSTC, Saudi Arabia; Hail Region Municipality, Saudi Arabia; Samsung Saudi; Le Chene, UAE; National Partnerships and Capacity Development Agency, Ministry of Culture, Saudi Arabia; NEOVA KATILIM SİGORTA, Türkiye; NMDC Energy, UAE; Ooredoo Kuwait, Kuwait; Qatar Foundation, Qatar; Qatar Vision Production Company, Qatar; QNET, Hong Kong; Quill Communications, UAE; Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON), Saudi Arabia; Saudi German Health UAE, UAE; TCS Dubai, UAE; Tosyalı Holding, Türkiye; Türkiye Sigorta, Türkiye; Ülker Bisküvi Sanayi A.Ş., Türkiye; and VakıfBank, Türkiye, among others.

Stevie winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet at the InterContinental Hotel, Istanbul, Türkiye on Friday, 11 September.  Tickets for the event will be on sale this summer.

“We are delighted to recognize the achievements of such a diverse group of organizations across the MENA region in the 2026 edition of the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards,” said Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller. “We look forward to celebrating Stevie winners during our gala event on 11 September in Istanbul, Türkiye. The quality of nominations received this year was exceptional. The program has grown considerably every year, showing the vast amount of innovation in the MENA region.”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, May 4, 2026/APO Group/ –As Egypt increases mining’s contribution to GDP from about 1% today to 6% by 2030, the country is revamping its policies and infrastructure to create attractive opportunities for global partners. In line with this strategy, the upcoming African Mining Week (AMW) conference and exhibition – The Most Influential Mining Conference in Africa, scheduled for October 14–16, 2026 in Cape Town – will highlight emerging investment and partnership opportunities across Egypt’s mining value chain.

 

A country spotlight at AMW 2026 will bring together Egyptian regulators, project developers and international investors for discussions on the future of the sector while facilitating deal signings, partnerships and new project development opportunities.

Speaking to the event organizers ahead of the event in February 2026, Yasser Ramadan, Chairman of the Egyptian Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA), said Egypt intends to showcase opportunities in legislative reform, investment incentives, government–investor collaboration and mineral beneficiation during the conference.

National Geomapping Anchors Egypt’s Exploration Expansion Strategy

AMW 2026 will showcase investment opportunities within Egypt’s upstream sector as the country focuses on improving its geological insights to unlock untapped mineral resources. In March 2026, the country approved the rollout of a national geomapping initiative in partnership with Xcalibur Smart Mapping, marking the country’s first comprehensive aerial geological survey in more than 40 years.

While Egypt already holds estimated gold reserves exceeding 9 million ounces, along with approximately 660 million tons of iron oxide resources and extensive phosphate deposits, the geomapping exercise is expected to unlock new mineral deposits and position the country as an emerging exploration hotspot in North Africa.

Efforts are underway to unlock Egypt’s new drilling hotspots, with exploration activity – particularly in gold and silver – already accelerating investment flows into Egypt’s upstream mining sector. Companies including Barrick Gold, Shalateen Mineral Resources Company and Lotus Gold Corporation are advancing gold exploration across the Arabian-Nubian Shield, supporting the country’s strategy to expand gold output and capitalize on strong demand and prices in 2026. The government’s approval of 53 exploration and exploitation licenses in late 2025 further highlights its commitment to unlocking new investment opportunities in the exploration segment.

Digital Mining Platform to Accelerate Investment

Another major initiative expected to be showcased at AMW 2026 and aimed at strengthening Egypt’s investment climate is the launch of a digital mining platform and cadastre system, expected in the first half of 2026. The platform will enable investors to access geological data, evaluate exploration prospects and submit permit applications through a streamlined digital process, reducing administrative bottlenecks and accelerating project development timelines.

Building a Downstream Minerals Processing Industry

Beyond exploration and extraction, Egypt is prioritizing the development of downstream mineral processing infrastructure to capture greater value from its resources. Several projects are already underway, including a financing agreement with the African Export-Import Bank to establish an integrated gold value chain that supports domestic gold processing. MRMIA and mining companies Phosphate Misr and WADICO, together with China’s Xingfa Group, are evaluating phosphate ore, quartz and silica sand resources while studying the development of an industrial processing project in the Golden Triangle mining region. These projects and many other emerging opportunities within the downstream sector will be unpacked at AMW 2026.

AMW to Catalyze the Next Phase of Growth

As Egypt positions itself as a regional mining hub through regulatory reform, geological surveys, digital licensing systems and international partnerships, AMW 2026 will play an important role in advancing this progress. The event will connect global investors with Egyptian regulators and project developers, helping unlock new investment flows and partnerships that can drive the next phase of growth for Egypt’s evolving mining sector.