Techpoint Innovation Tour Day 3: A Discovery of the Amazing!

·
November 12, 2016
·
5 min read

The Techpoint Innovation Tour (Northern Nigeria Edition) is made possible by our primary sponsors — iROKOtv.com and GIGM.com, location partners Ventures Platform Abuja, CoLab Kaduna and nHub Jos, and coverage partners — xteamstudios and Shutterbug Creative Media.


On Wednesday morning, we woke up to the news that Donald Trump has been elected as the president of the United States of America. During breakfast, everyone agreed that something interesting would happen because Muyiwa smiled in the morning (trust me, that doesn’t happen often).

4
A selfie, while awaiting breakfast

On our hour-long bus ride to Skarabrand, one of the startups that attended the meetup session the day before, we argued back and forth on the significance of Trump’s election to Nigeria. Situated at Dei Dei, the outskirts of Abuja is the Skarabrand factory, where furniture is made from scratch. The team was welcomed by Raymond Umeh, the CEO. He showed us round the factory and answered our numerous questions.

Raymond Umeh shows Team Techpoint around the Skarabrand factory

techpoint-tour-abuja-skarabrand-23
techpoint-tour-abuja-skarabrand-52
techpoint-tour-abuja-skarabrand-58
techpoint-tour-abuja-skarabrand-101
techpoint-tour-abuja-skarabrand-149
techpoint-tour-abuja-skarabrand-232
techpoint-tour-abuja-skarabrand-237
Something new, something old
techpoint-tour-abuja-skarabrand-240
techpoint-tour-abuja-skarabrand-261
Raymond bids us farewell

Next stop was the TD4PAI at Pasali, Kuje. That was when the interesting happened. We had to walk to the hub and the sun tremendously blessed us with its presence. We tried to shield our sweaty faces from the sun as bodies ‘roasted’ in it.

Advertisement
techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-sun-1
techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-20
techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-18
techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-61

But the journey was worth it. Welcome to the non-governmental, non-profit technology incubator, accelerator, training and R&D hub that fosters innovative ideas. We met with a lot of young folks who specialise in embedded systems and hardware programming.

techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-55

techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-72
An automated fish pond built by the TD4PAI residents

techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-111
Hardware testing room

techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-127
A TD4PAI incubate displays his robotic arm prototype
techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-125
techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-153
techpoint-tour-abuja-td4pai-184

Soon after we were on our way to Projaro, a community of developers.

techpoint-tour-abuja-projaro-batch2-5
techpoint-tour-abuja-projaro-batch2-6
A smart mirror developed by a female Projaro Fellow
9
10
techpoint-tour-abuja-projaro-batch2-17

Then we proceeded to BD Hub, whose founders spoke about the programmes in the pipeline for a more vibrant Northern tech ecosystem.

techpoint-tour-abuja-labour-room-1

By the time we got to the Stonebricks hub, our final stop for the day, it was dark. However, we were graciously received by the founder, Ayo Sotinrin and Omotola, the Business Development Executive. We were given a tour of the state of the art facility.

Let the best of tech news come to you

Join 30,000 subscribers who receive Techpoint Digest, a fun week-daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in your inbox, hours before everyone else.
Digest Subscription

Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.

techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-8
techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-3
techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-26
techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-18
techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-54
techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-68
techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-82
techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-49
techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-86
Ayo Sotinrin - Founder and CEO, Stonebricks Group.
techpoint-tour-abuja-stonebricks-hub-91

That was our last day in Abuja. We had an amazing time. Kaduna, here we come!

READ MORE   OyaNow ready to deliver convenience at your doorstep
Writer. Photographer. Interested in African culture, history, politics and policies.
Writer. Photographer. Interested in African culture, history, politics and policies.
Subscribe To Techpoint Digest
Join thousands of subscribers to receive our fun week-daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in your inbox, hours before everyone else.
This is A daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, sent directly to your email inbox, between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m (WAT) every week day! 
Digest Subscription

Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.

Writer. Photographer. Interested in African culture, history, politics and policies.

Other Stories

43b, Emina Cres, Allen, Ikeja.

 Techpremier Media Limited. All rights reserved
magnifier