Facebook, CcHub Launch Africa’s First Hub Space in Lagos

By Dipo Olowookere

As part of its commitment and ongoing investment in Africa, Facebook has unveiled in Lagos its first flagship community hub space called NG_Hub.

This initiative was put in place by Facebook in partnership with CcHub.

In a week-long celebration which will bring together developers, start-ups, and the wider tech community across Lagos and Nigeria, the launch will showcase the new multi-faceted space which aims to bring together communities to collaborate, learn, and exchange ideas.

With creativity and excellence existing across all of Nigeria, Facebook also announced partnerships with seven other hubs across the country including in Abuja (Ventures Platform), Jos (nHub), Kaduna (Colab Hub), Kano (DI Hub), Uyo (Start Innovation Hub), Enugu (Roar Hub) and Port Harcourt (Ken Saro Wiwa Hub).

These will serve as centres of excellence and will feature dedicated Facebook spaces, where many of Facebook’s training sessions will take place, and a space where creatives and developers can book to help them advance their skills.

Featuring bespoke works of art from local artists in Nigeria, the NG_Hub space, which includes workspaces, meeting rooms, games and chill out room, an event space and a well catered café, will also be the focal point for a number of training programmes.

Aimed at attracting the best talent and driving innovation in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, these are all designed to equip Nigerian SMEs, tech entrepreneurs and the next generation of leaders to better understand and utilise the power of digital tools for economic growth.

Training programmes include the Fb Start Accelerator programme, a research and mentorship-driven programme aimed at empowering start-ups and students with technical & business support and funding to optimize their product for growth–focused on those building solutions using advanced technology, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR); and Digify Pro Nigeria, a two-month intensive boot camp where 20 aspiring digital professionals will learn what it takes to have a career in digital marketing. The programme is designed to fit the specific needs of industry, covering a range of topics including community management, content and e-mail marketing, brand online reputation management, UX design and more.

Also is the Boost Your Business, which was made especially for micro, small and medium sized businesses owners, Boost Your Business is a one-day training that teaches digital marketing for business growth.

Another programme is the #SheMeansBusiness, the first to launch on the continent, #SheMeansBusiness is a one-day training workshop and networking experience for female entrepreneurs, offering a mix of business and digital marketing training for women led businesses, along with additional opportunities to network with fellow female entrepreneurs.

Speaking on the development, Facebook’s Vice President of Partnerships, Ime Archibong, stated that, “Technology provides expansive opportunities to engage young, creative and resourceful Nigerians, especially in delivering solutions to challenges across communities here in Nigeria.

“Our mission is to build community and bring the world closer together, NG_Hub provides that physical space that will serve as a centre of learning and skills development in Lagos, and I’m excited about the possibilities that this will create.”

Also commenting on the partnership, Founder/CEO of CcHub, Mr Bosun Tijani, added that, “Our aim has always been to provide a viable platform for creatives and innovators to express their talent and create solutions to the myriad of social and economic challenges faced by countries across the continent.

“Partnering with Facebook on NG_Hub enables us to achieve our objectives at scale and make the desired impact in the tech ecosystem here in Lagos.”

As part of a week-long of celebrations, Facebook will host a number of events from May 21 – 25, 2018 aimed at engaging the different communities in Lagos, and across Nigeria.

This includes community roundtable aimed at bringing together Community Groups from across Lagos; DevC meetup – with Nigeria being home to the largest number of Developer Circles across Sub-Saharan Africa (over 8,800), this event will bring together DevC members in an afternoon of networking; VC & Policy Roundtable – aimed at spearheading vital conversations and helping to bridge the gap between tech entrepreneurs and VCs and policy makers in Nigeria; She Means Business/Women in Tech – a special SheMeansBusiness training offered especially for female entrepreneurs working in Lagos’ technology ecosystem; SMB Boost Your Business Training – a four-hour training session for SMBs aimed at equipping them with vital digital skills to help grow their businesses; Facebook and Instagram for Creatives – an inspirational hands-on session led by Creative Shop for Creatives building for Facebook and Instagram; and Fintech SMB Training –  a training session for SMBs in Fintech.

“The NG_Hub highlights our ongoing commitment to supporting local talent in Nigeria. We’re delighted to be partnering with CcHub here in Lagos, as well as with many other hubs across Nigeria to deepen our engagement, increase skills development and support the next set of innovators, tech entrepreneurs, start-ups, and others in our collective bid to change the face of technology and grow the economy,” said Ebele Okobi, Director of Public Policy, Africa.