Yaba, Lagos (the movement, not necessarily the physical location) is the widely acclaimed technology hub of Nigeria and it's not difficult to see why. At the heart of the 'Yaba Movement' sits the Co-Creation Hub (CcHub). Founded by Bosun Tijani and Femi Longe in 2011, the CcHub is where many of the more notable industry personalities cut their entrepreneurial teeth.
Little wonder that the CcHub was Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg's first port of call during his recent visit to Nigeria. Every Nigerian digital entrepreneur worth their salt, it would appear, is based in, or has ties with Yaba. Indeed Techpoint.ng itself is located in Yaba. But that is about to change soon.
Introducing the Techpoint Innovation Tour
It is very easy to sit in Lagos assuming this is where it all happens, never mind that news of various tech innovations continually trickle out of other parts and regions of Nigeria.
Our most interesting tech discoveries in 2015 and 2016 -- Team Humane, NODA, Ayoola Olaoluwa among others -- originated outside Lagos. Some other innovations we have covered also did not originate from Lagos. There is obviously a trend here; a lot of great stuff is happening outside Lagos. This is why we have chosen to embark on the Techpoint Innovation Tour.
The Techpoint Innovation Tour will be an annual event rotated across every region of Nigeria. We are kicking off with Northern Nigeria with three primary objectives:
- Discover more innovation clusters and bring the spotlight on them.
- Engage developers, students and innovators.
- Visit various University campuses to motivate and foster technological awareness among the youth.
It is our strong belief that technological innovation is the next frontier of economic development in Africa. Our mission has always been to bring this technology closer to every class of Nigerians.
So for two weeks, starting November 7, we are moving the entire Techpoint.ng team to Northern Nigeria. Our tour will kick-off from Abuja, through (Southern) Kaduna and finally Jos (Plateau state). Thanks to our major tour partners -- Ventures Platform in Abuja, CoLab in Kaduna and nHub in Jos -- we will be able to fully run regular operations from these states, alongside our tour duties.
We also have Fabunmi Oluwaseyi Akin and Michael Onikoyi-Deckon -- two brilliant creatives -- on-board as our video coverage partners.
Aside our tour partners, the good people at iROKO Partners and GIGM are taking a huge chunk off the financial and operational burden for Techpoint.
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However, we still need all the help we can get to make this trip a success. So if you are a startup founder, innovator, technology student, or anyone with brilliant innovations, based in Abuja, (Southern) Kaduna or Jos, or you know anyone who is, reach out to us on Twitter @Techpointdotng; our DM is wide open.
While the reach of the Techpoint Innovation Tour might not extend to all corners of these 3 states, we will do our best to engage with the most brilliant innovations we come across.
Follow the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram #TechpointTours.
