Partner Africa has been acquired by LRQA, the leading global risk management partner, marking a big milestone in our long-standing mission to improve the lives of vulnerable workers and strengthen responsible business practices across Africa.
This acquisition joins Partner Africa’s deep regional expertise in social auditing, human rights due diligence and responsible business advisory with LRQA’s global infrastructure and extensive portfolio of risk management capabilities. For the organisations and workers we support, it represents a great expansion of what we are able to deliver.
Rosie Akester, Head of Responsible Business, Advisory at Partner Africa, said:
“Joining LRQA allows us to scale the impact of our work across Africa while bringing new capabilities to the organisations we support. Our focus has always been on improving working conditions and strengthening responsible business practices, and this partnership gives us a much larger platform to deliver that.”
Kathy O’Grady, Head of Audit at Partner Africa, added:
“By combining our audit teams and LRQA’s global infrastructure, we are better positioned to meet increasing demand for credible, high-quality social audits at scale, while maintaining the depth and rigour our clients expect.”
The role that Africa plays in global supply chains continues to become more important and with it also the need for trustworthy assurance and responsible business advisory based on local knowledge that reflect the very real realities of workers and businesses. Partner Africa has spent years building the relationships, expertise and reputation needed to meet that need and by joining LRQA this gives us a significantly larger platform to do so.
For our clients and partners, the acquisition also opens access to LRQA’s broader service portfolio spanning quality assurance, cyber security, climate performance, safety, and its supply chain intelligence software, EiQ.
Ian Spaulding, CEO of LRQA, said:
“Partner Africa brings outstanding expertise in social auditing and responsible sourcing, along with advisory services on labour standards and human rights, in a region where demand for these capabilities is growing rapidly. Africa is an important emerging market for LRQA, and this acquisition strengthens our ability to support clients building transparent and resilient supply chains.”