Edinburgh-based media agency launching African offices on back of new tie-up

A Scottish agency that matches students with businesses looking for help with social media is planning to open five offices in Africa under a new partnership deal.

Edinburgh-headquartered Today has struck a deal with The Challenges Group, an independent Scottish development agency that works with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK and overseas.

The partnership will see Today open offices in Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.

Jack Allan, founder at Today, said the partnership came after two years of working with the Challenges team and was the first step in an ambition to become a global student-driven media agency.

Eoghan Mackie of The Challenges Group (left) and Jack Allan of Today have joined forces to work on projects in Africa. Picture: contributed.

“We want to work in dynamic markets with innovative and exciting businesses to offer ambitious students and young people paid, commercial opportunities to kickstart their careers,” he said.

Eoghan Mackie, founder and chief executive at The Challenges Group, said. “Our experience in the Southern Hemisphere tells us that the business has the opportunity to offer commercial experience to thousands of young people whilst adding value to over 3,000 SMEs.”

As well as its Edinburgh base, Today has offices in Manchester and Newcastle, with plans to open in Glasgow in the coming months.

It was founded in 2017 when Mr Allan was still a student and aims to offer young people the opportunity to work with businesses and gain paid, practical experience in return for their skills in social media management and content creation at affordable rates.

The Challenges Group has significant experience of working in Africa, leading initiatives in rural communities such as in Rwanda where it is enabling coffee co-operatives to access global markets.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven’t already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription: www.scotsman.com/subscriptions