Zinc Network

What Zinc Network does

Zinc Network is a London-headquartered, full-service communications agency that operates as a trading division of the UK-incorporated private limited company Breakthrough Media Network Ltd. Founded in 2016, the firm designs and delivers behavioral science-informed programs addressing complex social issues including disinformation and violent extremism, governance and democratic renewal, online safety and child sexual exploitation, gender-based violence, animal welfare, and environmental protection. Its primary customers are government agencies and international organizations, most prominently USAID, the U.S. Department of State, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UN agencies and missions, and the European Commission; civil society organizations and select private-sector clients form secondary segments.

The company's core offering is a unified professional-services model spanning five in-house capabilities: research (quantitative, qualitative, and OSINT), strategy development, media development, communications and digital marketing, and training and capacity building. These are organized around a proprietary eight-stage methodology covering problem mapping, audience understanding, diagnosis, design, ideation, co-creation, delivery, and sustainability. The firm employs approximately 80 staff distributed across offices in London, Washington D.C., Tbilisi, and Riga, with a planned Warsaw location, and supports an owned-media Facebook channel that has reached over 1.7 billion people globally on environmental and animal welfare themes.

Zinc generates revenue through project-based professional services contracts awarded via competitive procurement and direct engagement with institutional clients. Pricing is not publicly disclosed as engagement is structured through government and multilateral procurement mechanisms. The firm is B-Corp certified and holds ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications, both of which are prerequisites for bidding on its core government and supranational contract set; it also complies with US Government Anti-Trafficking Provisions and the UK Modern Slavery Act. No external funding rounds, M&A activity, or revenue figures are disclosed in the available data.

Name

Zinc Network

Legal name

Breakthrough Media Network Ltd

Website

https://zincnetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Zinc Network is a London-based full-service communications agency serving governments, international organizations, and NGOs with behavioral science-informed programs on complex social issues including disinformation, extremism, governance, and online safety.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government and International Organization Contracts: Project-based contracts with government agencies and international organizations (USAID, U.S. Department of State, UK FCDO, UN agencies, European Commission) to deliver social change programs. Revenue is generated through competitive procurement and direct award mechanisms for development and communications projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Zinc Network is a full-service communications agency that delivers social change programs by combining research (quantitative, qualitative, and OSINT), behavioral science, strategy, media development, communications and digital marketing, and training and capacity building. It works primarily for government agencies, international organizations, and NGOs on issues such as governance, information integrity, countering extremism, online harms prevention, and animal and environmental welfare, using a proprietary eight-stage project methodology.

Product overview

Zinc Network is an international development company offering a portfolio of professional services centered on behavioral science-informed interventions. Their core offering is a unified service model combining research (quantitative, qualitative, and OSINT), strategy development, media development, communications (including digital marketing), and training and capacity building. They work across six thematic areas: fostering good governance and democratic renewal, promoting information integrity and media freedom, countering extremism and radicalisation, preventing online harms including child sexual abuse, championing animal and environmental welfare, and building civil society organisation capacity. Their methodology follows an eight-stage approach: map the problem, understand the audience, diagnose, design, ideate, co-create, deliver, and sustain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Services
• Strategy Development
• Media Development
• Communications Services
• Training and Capacity Building

Quantifiable outcome

• Global reach of over 1.7 billion people through Zinc Facebook channel for environmental campaigns
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• UN agencies and missionsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with United Nations agencies for delivery of social change programs and development initiatives globally.
• Civil Society OrganizationsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with civil society organizations for program delivery, capacity building, and grassroots engagement on social issues.
• The DPO Centre Europe LtdminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEU Representative appointed to help facilitate data protection rights for data subjects located in the EU, based in Riga, Latvia.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BBC Media Action: BBC's international development communications arm, focused on using media and research to drive social and behavioral change in low- and middle-income countries. Directly comparable to Zinc in combining research, media production, and behavior-change programs for government donors.
• Internews: International nonprofit supporting independent media and information integrity globally, including misinformation and governance themes. Highly comparable to Zinc on information integrity, media development, and donor-funded program delivery.
• Search for Common Ground: International conflict-prevention NGO running media-driven peacebuilding, extremism, and governance programs funded by Western governments. Overlaps with Zinc on countering extremism, governance, and communications-for-change programs.
• Equal Access International: Communications-for-development nonprofit using media, mobile, and behavior-change programs in fragile states. Comparable to Zinc in donor mix, methodology, and thematic focus on information integrity and governance.

Broad incumbents

• FHI 360: Large international development organization implementing social and behavior change communication, governance, and education programs funded by USAID and other donors. Overlaps with Zinc on behavior-change communications and research-driven program delivery.
• Chemonics International: Global sustainable development consultancy implementing large-scale USAID and FCDO-funded programs. Comparable on the buyer side and program delivery model, though far larger and broader in scope than Zinc's communications-only focus.
• Palladium: International development consultancy delivering donor-funded programs with strong behavior-change, governance, and communications capabilities. Competes with Zinc for similar institutional donor contracts at a larger scale.
• Dai Global: International development company implementing donor-funded programs across governance, economic growth, and social sectors. Comparable buyer base and contracting model with USAID/FCDO, though broader scope than Zinc.

Emerging players

• Pact: International nonprofit focused on capacity building of civil society and community organizations. Overlaps with Zinc on civil society capacity building and donor-funded program delivery.
• The Manoff Group: Boutique social and behavior change communication consultancy focused on health, nutrition, and development. Comparable to Zinc in niche SBC focus and donor-funded delivery model, though thematically narrower.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/This_Is_Zinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zinc-network
• Facebookfacebook.com/ThisIsZinc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zinc Network