LAGOS — Pan-African public relations agency LSF PR has expanded to the UK, in its first move outside the continent.

The agency plans to target three kinds of clients: African businesses seeking seamless integration into the UK and European market for enhanced visibility and success; UK and European businesses aiming to engage with diverse stakeholder networks across Africa; and UK-based companies wanting to establish connections within the local African diaspora.

LSF founder and CEO Bidemi Zakariyau Akande (pictured), who set up the firm 10 years ago and was on PRovoke Media’s Innovator 25 listing for EMEA in 2022, will lead the London office.

She told PRovoke Media the move was a natural progression for her and the business: “I grew up in the UK, and my whole family is British – I’m the only Nigerian – so it’s almost like home to me. When I moved back to Nigeria and started the company at 23, it was always my dream to have an office in the UK.

“We now reach almost everywhere across the African continent, as well as UAE, India and sometimes the US. We have local partners across the African regions, and we’ve also worked as a partner to UK agencies on briefs where they don’t have a presence in Africa.

“I appointed a managing director [Tolulope Akinbamiyorin] in Nigeria this year, and it was a question of what next. We noticed that sometimes there is a disconnect when brands are trying to connect with African consumers, maybe because they aren’t using agencies that deeply understand the nuances of that demographic and the intricacies of the African market and media landscape. I felt it was time to fill that gap.”

LSF PR currently has a full-time team of 20, plus associates and partners, and specialises in corporate communications and technology and consumer brands. Its clients include Siemens, L’Oréal Professional, computing firm Inq. Group, pan-African private equity firm Convergence Partners, cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Bic and African online shopping platform Jumia.