I won’t bother going into the details of how CcHUB decided to settle in Yaba as against the option back in 2011; Marina. However, I’ll shed light on a vision I shared with then CommTech Minister; Omobola Johnson, Tomi Davies and Funke Opeke of Mainone back in December 2012/January 2013. To help communicate the vision, CcHUB engaged Clive Anyonye in designing this 2min web tour: http://cchubnigeria.com/i-HQ/. The vision was simple, “We are stronger together”. Yaba wasn’t a model of any other location, just an initiative based on the principle of clustering.

The driver of the vision was simply rooted in the fact that the new and emerging technology industry requires a strong root to allow it attract resources and build strength. This was to be a long and intentional exercise with multiple players independently and collectively driving the growth of the industry.

Without much argument, Yaba has been a success and perhaps the only organic technology cluster on the continent. The vision started around the same time as Konza (Kenya) and Hope City (Ghana). Yaba is the ONLY active cluster amongst the three that has been rooted and alive. Over the years, Yaba has attracted interests, resources and commanded respect for technology & start-ups in Nigeria. From about 6 active technology players in the cluster in 2011/2012 to over 50, we’ll be wasteful to discard the strides we have made as an industry.

In our quest for change and result, we should be careful not to be destructive. Yaba needs further investment, strategic input and engagement; and a lack of it shouldn’t be mistaken for “failure”. As against efforts like Tinapa, no other location in Nigeria and perhaps Africa, can boast of the qualities that make Yaba a unique destination. From proximity to Unilag, YabaTech (Nigeria’s first higher institution), a Vocational Training School, Medical Research Institute and several primary and secondary schools (largest education cluster in Lagos state), close proximity to the Central Business Districts in Ikeja and on the Island…and many more, you won’t find many Yabas.

The below infographics produced after the successful execution of the fibre initiative by MainOne Cable Company, which was led by CcHUB & TechnoVision with immense support from LASG, sheds some light on possible next steps and some key considerations.

The fibre project alone is one we should actively celebrate and leverage to drive missing ingredients to strengthen the cluster. For an organic cluster, which came to life just about 4 years ago, I am seriously saddened to see how many of us think ‘short-term’. Yaba needs more players stepping up to improve it and we don’t need to do so by first declaring it a failure. A lot is going good for Yaba and the seemingly strong case for the failure of the cluster is unfounded. Konga and Andela left Yaba for the same reason, ‘Bigger Office Space’ — this should be a strong business case for smart people to build real estate portfolio in the area. The quality of real estate in the neighbourhood is weak but there is hardly any single affordable neighbourhood in Lagos that meets that same need.

We anticipated this challenge long ago and started conversations at different levels and with different organisations to build solutions to it. Andela — led by Iyin Aboyeji worked extensively on the possibility of a campus in Yaba, CcHUB is still actively putting together a deal for its 10 storey innovation centre to cater for some of the real estate challenges but also inspire others to invest in the neighbourhood. LASG to the best of my knowledge is also working on one while Federal Government also just converted a part of the Library to support the growth of the cluster. Space is not the challenge; it is the investment in real estate, that needs to happen. This investment needs to be approached as a multi-stakeholder effort for it to be sustainable and achievable considering the uniqueness of Yaba.

Yaba is a community initiative that requires effort from diverse stakeholders. The more organisations like Cafe Neo and EasyWash we attract to the neighbourhood, the stronger it becomes. This however isn’t a 4 year project but a lifetime endeavour we should all be proud to contribute to.

I have been intentional about how much information I included in this post to allow us engage through a more constructive platform. It is an important conversation and on behalf of CcHUB, I’d like to invite you to a town hall meeting on the 26th of June to discuss Yaba and how best to move it forward. Invitation will be going out shortly to key players in the cluster including those with strong opinion on its future. The outcome will be for us to collectively agree actions to accelerate the growth of the sector/cluster. In addition, this will be a celebration of the strides we’ve made with barbecue and live performance.

You’re invited! RSVP Here.

The energy and creativity associated with Nigeria are characteristics touted by local players to eventually propel the country to become a leading light within the global technology space. Despite the obvious lack of a coherent innovation system/policy, a handful of industry leaders have been consistently betting on a renewed role for the industry in the development of the nation. The investment in our work at Co-Creation Hub by Omidyar Network, MainOne Cable Company, Sainsbury Family Trust, Google and support by Lagos State Government amongst others; all account for the tremendous contribution we have made in building a vibrant local ecosystem.

Nigeria is notorious for her poor rating on the ‘ease of doing business’ ranking and a stifling regulatory environment for investment. Yet the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians and its sheer market size have seen it re-engineer and grow a few competitive industries in the last decade; notably entertainment (music and Nollywood) and now technology. Our entertainment sector not only serves local demand but has also attracted regional and global audiences and consumers. This without doubt is a trajectory the technology industry is already taking.

Mark’s visit, at the least, is a much-needed recognition and a sign that the nation is on a path to becoming a contributor to technology advancement. The visit is a signal of the readiness of Nigerian tech start-ups to absorb further investments and resources. Heading straight to Yaba (Africa’s fastest growing tech cluster) within minutes of arriving on the continent took the world by surprise and will inspire a lot more interest from both local and foreign backers.

Without gainsaying, a strong innovation system and long-term outlook are crucial determinants of a nation’s ability to create superior value with technology. However, advancements in technology provide us the opportunity to create products that connect our teeming population to vital services and public infrastructure. To harness this rare opportunity, the private sector, backed by the government, must be strategic about our focus on technology innovation and entrepreneurship. At a time when the country is sliding into recession, this visit should act as further evidence that greater support for and investment in the emerging tech sector could be a valuable contribution to economic recovery and future development.

However, there are three major challenges that we need to overcome:

Focus on education and talent development – there is an urgent need for us to invest in technical know-how to back our creativity and help harness this unprecedented opportunity. Building value with technology requires technical capability which we currently lack at depth. Initiatives like the Talent Gap Analysis by CcHUB (supported by NITDA) aimed at assessing the technical skills gap in Nigeria’s IT workforce, alongside ‘TENT by Paradigm Initiative’, ‘re:learn by CcHUB’ and Andela provide good starting points. These initiatives provide the opportunity to explore:

• immediate to medium term programmes to bridge the talent demands by the industry
• a progressive and sustainable programme to strengthen STEM education in Primary and Secondary Schools across the nation and
• a revamp of computer science, engineering and entrepreneurship courses in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Grow local funding for early & growth stage ventures – despite the obvious increase in foreign investment in the sector, there is still a dearth of funding for early and growth stage start-ups. There is an urgent need to encourage more local funds such as Growth Capital by CcHUB, Greenhouse Capital, Spark and the efforts of the Lagos Angel Network while making it attractive for foreign funds and investors to invest in the sector.

Beyond funding for existing start-ups, we also need strategic programmes aimed at building pipeline and backing experimentation (boiling the ocean). Impact funds led by government and developmental partners can improve the attractiveness of the sector while building a case for further private sector investment.

Invest in the infrastructure that will enable technology and other sectors to thrive and grow – we need to aggressively identify and fix soft infrastructure that hinders ease of doing business, ease of attracting investment and support for spurring growth of start-ups and SMEs in general.

We should also collectively double down on increasing the penetration of Internet across the country. We need to support creative programmes and products aimed at accelerating last mile across the country.

Working with business support organisations, government should invest in repurposing poorly used/redundant public spaces (e.g. Libraries) across the country to serve as resource centres for entrepreneurs and creatives.

A purposefully supported technology industry in Nigeria will yield multiple benefits of diversifying our economy while enabling superior value creation and competitiveness of many other sectors. We have the human capital and market upon which these value can be built, the missing piece of the puzzle is committed leadership with razor-sharp focus.

The cynics will water down the significance of Mark Zuckerberg’s visit but I am convinced it will yield dividends. The scale of these dividends, is what industry leaders, partners and government need to orchestrate for our common good!

With a deep sense of responsibility, we took on the challenge of building a platform capable of spotting and supporting smart Nigerians to build the future we collectively desire. Albeit our experience of working in social innovation and innovation consulting respectively, Femi Longe and I set out on the journey knowing we were betting against odds in an attempt to create something. That ‘something’ was to simply build a ‘movement’, a renewed social fabric for enabling creativity despite the countless barriers to it in Nigeria.

Our fascination and excitement for technology innovation and social capital was largely disconnected from the start-up movement sweeping the world at the point. While we drew inspiration from the work being done by many innovation hubs across the world, we were adamant on our goal of creating a movement around addressing social issues in Nigeria with technology. Our motivation hinged on the single fact that Nigerians are aspirational and as such desire better – the future without doubt belongs to entrepreneurs who are able to address social challenges in commercially sustainable ways.

To achieve our objective, we would be required to work with start-ups, enable civil society organisations and ultimately inspire PPPs that will strengthen our ability to support innovation as a nation. Without doubt, we have managed to do a lot of good while being commercially viable. Yes, we are one of the few financially sustainable innovation hubs in Africa.

I have been incredibly lucky to work with some exceptional and deeply committed young Nigerians to whom I owe a lot of gratitude. We have collectively created an incredible platform that is about to unleash our talent further and empower us to support the amazing community that we serve.

As we look ahead into a future with promises, I look back at the catalytic role played by Indigo Trust, Omidyar Network and MainOne Cable Company with a heart full of appreciation. These are three unique organisations that took a bet on us even when we had no business plan. Without your investment, there won’t be CcHUB.

Our commitments for the next 5 years will again be on working with a handful of new and established organisations to deepen the innovation ecosystem in Nigeria. We’ll seek to create ways to develop talent, fund both early and growth stage businesses and accelerate the development of smart infrastructure for economic prosperity in Nigeria.

Wish us well!

- ‘Bosun Tijani

This weekend, Nigeria will experience its first Santa Dash fun run/walk!

Thousands of people across 8 different cities in Nigeria will either run or walk wearing the Santa Dash shirts and hats. The event is an opportunity to end the year with a colourful fitness activity and also for a noble cause; putting a smile on the faces of vulnerable children in the community. Participants will get Santa shirts and hats for #1,500 and bring donations to the event where participants will get to choose what charity organisation gets the proceeds from the fitness event.

Kids of participants will get to enjoy from this event as they will also run or walk along side their guardian dressed as Santa or an Elf and get their faces painted for the event.

To be part of this fun event you can sign up ww2.truppr.com/santadash or send an email to info@truppr.com for more information

I derive immense joy in seeing the continuous value we are able to add to Nigeria through our work at the CcHUB. It is a privilege to be in a position where we can create and appropriate value with the hope that collectively, we can shape our nation into a more prosperous and inclusive society. The destination isn’t in sight but our individual positive actions will collectively get us there!

Dreams do come true – as we set out to enable the next generation infrastructures in Nigeria through this fund, I encourage ‘you’ my friends to continue to dream. Our nation is blessed but lack critical mass of visionary fearless dreamers who are willing to put the good of all ahead of self.

Join me in raising a glass to a new chapter in the life of CcHUB

Share a pic of you raising a glass and win a surprise “Growth Capital by CcHUB” gift.

Download pdf

Let’s face it, fitness can be daunting – being disciplined enough to follow a strict regime amidst other demands of our fast paced world isn’t as fun as many would like. Beyond discipline, a few of the popular means of staying fit can be boring – running alone in the park or around your neighborhood aren’t the most interesting use of time for so many of us.

However, I realized that I get excited about team sports because of their social nature and if given the chance, I’ll play football, lawn tennis, squash or badminton everyday. The determinants of whether I do sports are however controlled by a few variables out of my control i.e. venues, who to play with, my current location (am I home or on the road) and in certain cases, cost. I decided these barriers wouldn’t get in my way and founded Truppr (www.truppr.com) – a social tool that helps sport lovers organize and find teammates for their favorite sports. Truppr is currently in Alpha and slated to launch formally in March 2014. I’ll write about it in a separate post (in the meantime, give it a go – use it to organize your favorite sports).

After all said and done, this is 2014 and I am desperate to keep my weight below 90 from 111kg . I needed to find the motivation to exercise up to 3-5 times a week and that’s where I once again turned to technology. The regime is not the goal but a means of achieving my desired state of health – I figured I’d stay put with the regime if I were able to monitor my progress on a daily basis. Perhaps not the weight loss but a change in life style as a result of the regime. The Nike Fuel Band seems to be one incredible device that may just rescue my New Year resolution. The FuelBand is “an activity tracker that is worn on the wrist as part of quantified self movement. The band allows its wearers to track their physical activity, steps taken daily, and amount of calories burned. The information from the wristband is integrated into a Nike+ online community and phone app, allowing wearers to set their own fitness goals, monitor their progression, and compare themselves to others”.

Integrating a fitness regime into my life style is one massive advantage of the Fuel Band in my opinion. It is no longer a 3-5 day affair but strands of efforts I make on a daily basis that contributes to moving me towards my goal. My options are now limitless – walk to work, dance to my favorite Nigerian songs, play football, run in the park and Wii Tennis. I have had my Fuel Band for 22 days amassing a total of 107,592 Nike Fuel with an average of 4,800 Fuel per day from a combination of activities. Here below are some of my activities, time taken and Nike Fuel earned.

This may just be another “long thing” but time will tell. I have lost 5kg to the last 22 days burning an average of 1564 calories per day (33, 408 for the entire period) – with minor changes in diet and lifestyle.

Follow me as I share my journey and experience with the Fuel Band on a monthly basis. However, don’t wait till it is too late before finding your own regime and motivation. It is the biggest gift you can give yourself.

Over the past two (2) years, CcHUB (www.cchubnigeria.com) has worked with aspiring tech entrepreneurs who are finding interesting ways to address social issues in Nigeria in areas such as Governance, Education, Trade, Entertainment, Health and Financial Literacy. It has become clear that once these tools are created, the next critical step towards scalability is to connect with end users (especially in an environment where the vast majority is still not ‘tech savvy’). Resigning the engagement of end-users to post development is becoming costly and perhaps a source of early demise for most tech ventures in Nigeria.

In our usual style, we created a first of its kind Mobile Experience Lab from the necessity to bridge the gap between users and digital service providers in Nigeria. The aim of MX Lab is to help enhance the quality of local digital solutions; improve customer satisfaction; and accelerate smart application of technology.

We plan to achieve these through:

1. Research: to generate, process and disseminate extensive knowledge and data to aid better understanding of the end-users by our community members
2. Usability Testing: to provide usability testing with real users to help developers avoid poor user experience which can inherently ruin a product
3. Evangelism: to sensitise and enlighten the community on the importance of usability and user experience in product development.

For the everyday Nigerians, the lab is a place where they can experience digital tools, applications and devices from multiple OEMs without feeling the pressure to buy. We’ll like to attract over 120 end-users into the space everyday to play with products, make informed decisions and give feedbacks to our community members. If you’re developing a new tool/product, the MXLab is your friend – perfect for testing and product launch.

It is one thing to have a dream – but completely another to have the resources to make it happen. Our sincere appreciation goes to The Schmidt Family Foundation and MTN Nigeria for their invaluable support and investment in the lab.

If you’re reading this post and didn’t receive the formal invite from CcHUB for the opening ceremony, please accept this as a personal invitation from me. Join us to celebrate yet another milestone. See details below:

Date: Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Time: 12 – 1pm

Venue: Co-creation Hub. Ground Floor, 294 Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo, Yaba, Lagos

See you there!

2013 witnessed the arrival of our daughter; Ademide Thea Tijani – who joined us in style on the 17^th of May bringing with her promises, re-assurance and a deep family bond that I’ve promised to forever protect.

Professionally, this is one hell of an elegant year where assumptions got affirmed and partly redefined. I write knowing that the decision to ditch a lot of things for Co-Creation Hub in 2010 is one I’ll forever be glad I took. With lots learned and proven, CcHUB this year quietly pivoted and in my opinion positioned to accelerate its objective of contributing to economic growth in Nigeria by empowering social entrepreneurs to deliver us from some of our shackles.

This post is an attempt to share the highlights of the year and how they contribute to a stronger CcHUB. It isn’t about stock taking but a part of my diary that shares my excitement for 2014.

a). i-HQ – Innovation City: albeit cliché, it is unique in its own way. We conceptualised the i-HQ as part of our overall goal to accelerate the application of social capital (gains from collaboration amongst citizens) and technology for social good. A virtual tour was launched early 2013 http://cchubnigeria.com/i-HQ/ giving us the chance to sample the community’s opinion and engage key stakeholders.

Why i-HQ? Simple actually, we strongly believe a smart way to jump start an industry is to build an aggregation (cluster) of businesses in that industry and empower them with resources and a platform to collaborate. i-HQ isn’t Silicon Valley but an attempt to limit the numerous barriers in the way of technology innovation in Nigeria. After several presentations, including one to the Minister of CT and the LASG Exco, the year ended with:

1. Approval being granted by LASG to MainOne to lay Fibre Optic Cable in Yaba and its environ
2. Agreement by the Minister to situate the IDEA Hub in Yaba thus building a stronger tech community in the area
3. Most importantly, Fibre is now in Yaba. I have been the happiest kid in town for the last months seeing Main One lay cable in nooks and crannies of the neighbourhood.

i-HQ is real so expect to see the other elements of the project come to life in 2014 (see the tour for info). However, this isn’t about CcHUB but the community. Projects of this nature present us a platform to leapfrog growth of tech in Nigeria – it is up to us all to make it count!

b). TEF/CcHUB Innovation Grant: blindly bashed this year, this initiative lived up to the reason it was setup and set to change the game significantly in 2014. The idea was simple; how to do we empower aspiring entrepreneurs to have a go at their ideas, demonstrate viability and ultimately their ability to lead a business? We all hear stories of how friends and families wrote the first cheque or how co-founders maxed credit cards to kick-start their ideas – however, how many families in Nigeria can write a 5,000$ cheque? Credit Card is certainly out of the question anyway.

In simple terms, TEF’s 5kUSD is your family, friends and fools. 18 “start-ups” have taken advantage of the scheme with over 10 moving into revenue generation, raised angel rounds or in the process of doing so. For others, it was an opportunity to fail quickly and learn about own limitations. I know some entrepreneurs claim to disagree with “grants” being on the balance sheet of start-ups – let’s not be deceived, it is a commonly used tool to spur and grow deal pipeline in high-risk industries. Very well used in almost all developed nations on earth.

TEF has agreed to do 50 grants in 2014, get in touch if you have a great idea but no dad, mum, uncle, girl/boy friend or friends to write you 5k$ cheque.

c). CcHUB Incubation: pre-incubation was planned to be our forte – we identified a huge gap in people being able to move from idea to prototype and thought we’d focus on bridging this gap. We wanted to create a pipeline of angel worthy ventures and attract other players to contribute to building a stronger ecosystem. We however quickly realized that:

1. There wasn’t anyone else at the time interested in incubating social tech ventures (this is still the case to the best of my knowledge)
2. Incubation isn’t particularly attractive or easy to sustain in Nigeria. So there wasn’t any one in the market able to absorb ventures coming out of CcHUB (Spark came few months after we decided to establish our Incubation space – and yes, with a different philosophy)

The addition meant investing in a new floor pushing our capacity to 3 floors in less than 2 years. This is however already paying off with over 80% of the incubatees in income generation phase thus forming a desirable community on top of our traditional pool of early stage ideas.

In 2014, I expect us to support our work in this area with a well thought through mentorship programme that will leverage expertise from both local and foreign networks. Please get in touch if you can be of help.

d). MX Lab by CcHUB: yet another expansion in 2013, the MXLab was informed by the lack of attention to user experience amongst most efforts to apply technology in Nigeria. A new floor in addition to existing 3 that is all renovated and ready to launch in January 2014. The MXLab will bridge the gap between end-users and digital service producers by providing:

• a state-of-the-art facility for mobile app testing across all platforms
• open access for users to test and download mobile apps and experience devices from multiple OEMs (We have Samsung, Nokia, Microsoft and Tecno all signed up as part of the lab)
• pre-launch usability testing with real users to help developers avoid poor user experience which can inherently ruin a product

I am uber excited by the value this new platform will add to our community and the society at large. Activities in the lab will be categorised under Evangelism, Training & Support and Experience. The lab will also officially represent and retail Raspberry Pi in Nigeria (you can pre-order your kit now to enjoy a 10% discount http://cchubnigeria.com/rpi/).

e). Social Change Lab by CcHUB: finally and at the core of it all, we are consolidating all our channels for attracting social ventures into the Social Change Lab. Starting with Health come Q1 2014, the lab will act as a cross between a workshop and an accelerator for social change ideas. We’ll engage diverse people with interest, passion and capacity to tackle social challenges in Nigeria using technology.

The lab will source funding, expertise and networks to support innovators to experiment and deliver their innovation to attain impact. 2014 will witness efforts to support ideas in Health, Environment, Security and Governance. Join us!

It’s been a fantastic year for the entire team and a blog post certainly can’t express how pumped I am about 2014. This is a journey, not a sprint.

Happy New Year!