Journal.

June brought people together in all sorts of places: around a breakfast table in Nairobi, on the trails of Karura Forest, inside Buckingham Palace and, despite the heat, in a packed room at Woodrow HQ. Some conversations were about influence. Others were about climate, health, grief or Somalia’s future. All of them were reminders that the right room, with the right people in it, can still move things forward.

The first half of 2026 has kept the Kenya team moving. Here is a look back at everything the team has been up to. In January, Bupa Global brought together over 30 senior leaders in healthcare at the UK-Kenya Business Forum in Nairobi.

May brought celebration, but it also brought plenty of work. And the two rarely travel separately at Woodrow. We helped PROPER SNACKS ride the "fibremaxxing" wave, a wellness trend clocking 160 million TikTok views. The fibre conversation was already building pace. The gap between what it deserved and how it was being told was wide open. We helped PROPER step into it, landing coverage in Campaign and The Grocer.

Woodrow has been named Africa Agency of the Year 2026 by PRovoke Media. What makes it special is not just the recognition, but what sits behind it. The campaigns, late nights, difficult conversations, launches, crises, ideas, strategy sessions and big bets we have had the privilege to work on together across the continent.

The campaigns cutting through right now speak the national mood plainly. Here is why that matters. The UK feels heavy right now. Chaos after the local elections. The cost of living still dominating headlines. Trust in public institutions at a low. It is a lot.

April had an accidental theme: the gap between how systems should work and how they actually do. April had a theme, even if we did not plan one. A cow that outwitted a government licensing system. A funding movement asking who gets to decide where money flows.