WS INSIGHT LIMITED – COMPANY PROFILE

WS Insight Limited: A Responsible Risk Manager & Security Provider in East Africa

Joined ICoCA in August 2015

ICoCA Certified Member since August 2021

Integrated Risk Solutions in East and Central Africa

WS Insight Limited is a risk management and private security company operating in East and Central Africa with regional offices in Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The organisation currently employs over 7,000 local staff and has remained a leading provider of integrated risk solutions since its founding in 2006. WS Insight’s three-pronged approach helps guide the company’s services, which include surveillance, information gathering, crisis management, and technical and physical security solutions.

The company services a large clientele base, including international and regional organisations, investors, and governments. “Our clients appreciate our intelligent approach to problem solving and solution design rooted in a granular understanding of the operating environment and a shared enthusiasm for their ambitions,” explains Ashton Towler, CEO of WS Insight. “Each solution we design is informed by relevant insights and delivered by world-class people.”

In 2015, WS Insight joined ICoCA, emphasising its dedication to human rights compliance in the private security sector. Additionally, the company adheres to its own Code of Ethics and is a signatory member of the UN Global Impact.

“We are committed to sustainable and responsible behaviour,” Mr. Towler continues, “and this is endorsed through our Certified Membership of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA). Being a Member of ICoCA compelled us to measure ourselves against the highest standards.”

An Evolving Private Security Frontier

WS Insight has attributed several recent changes in African human rights initiatives to the emerging relevance of legislation for prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, modern slavery, and anti-trafficking across the continent. According to Mr. Towler, heightened sensitivity to human rights compliance throughout WS Insight’s areas of operation has resulted in higher expectations for humanitarian practises.

However, executives at WS Insight believe that ICoCA Members are already prepared for the shift. “Through ICoCA, the Certified Members have moved ahead of the market. We are no longer catching up, but actually setting the standard,” Mr. Towler claims. With the rising influence of the Code and Member organisations such as WS Insight, “the market is starting to take seriously these standards and values in their own supply chains.”

WS Insight is determined not only to improve its own understanding of human rights compliance, but to challenge the ethical standards and operations of adjacent private security companies. “Our mission is to change the way security is done in Africa”, Mr. Towler says. “We seek to make a difference in everything that we do, and we take responsibility for our actions.”

Recognising the Value of Human Rights Compliance in Private Security

Despite the positive impact the International Code of Conduct has had on private security companies worldwide, the value of adhering to the highest human rights standards is not always recognised. “The market is strengthening its sustainable and ethical practices in the supply chain, which is an area increasingly under scrutiny by those that regulate our clients,” Mr. Towler summarises. “The challenge for the Association is to ensure that the market improves its understanding of the value that ICoCA brings to our clients and to find measurable ways of capturing that value.”

Learn more about WS Insight by visiting their website.