A new technology hub is springing
up in Kaduna. Great coders of Kaduna are rising and they are young, vibrant and
fresh with ideas. The first Kaduna Startup weekend, a forum for technoprenerus to
connect with each other, mentors, get tools and be exposed to world of techies
is trying to wake Kaduna up and move investors and innovators to find a newer
and bubbling local startup ecosystem outside of Lagos and Abuja.
Dream
Home for Big Techs
From outside, CoLab lies flat in
morning sun like a dull presence, in sync with other residential houses flanking
it. Step a foot inside and it is a bowl of colours, wall art and techies. Energy
radiating from white walls, reflecting on green, blue and yellow chairs, to
maroon paintings on murals and sofas decorated in Ankara fabrics. Kaduna’s
first emerging co-working space and innovation hub for technology enthusiasts
hosted Kaduna Startup Weekend. Bankole Oloruntoba, co-founder of Network of
Incubators and Innovators in Nigeria facilitated the idea-pitching session. Mr.
Bankole on shaping Kaduna’s tech hub says: “People will not recognise Kaduna
Tech Space unless you in Kaduna recognise it first.” Sanusi Ismail founder of CoLab and an IT
consutant who does most of his work in Lagos but lives in Kaduna, on what
Kaduna provides that is different from Lagos and Abuja, he shrugs a shoulder
and says “I was at Yaba, where CC Hub and other techs are located, and for a
whole week, we only had light for 45 minutes. The rest of the days we were on
generator. Throughout this program today, we have been on NEPA (public light
provided by distribution companies).” He adds with visible scorn in his voice.
“And that’s what Kaduna gives you. Cheap rent and almost free electricity.”
Ideas
and Frameworks
Prototyping and presentation of
frameworks session was moderated by Ahmed Mukoshy, CEO and founder of Gigalayer,
a world-class web hosting business. Mohammed Ibrahim, director VoguePay, a
user-friendly online payment processor described as Africa’s biggest payment
processor, also collaborated to provide inputs during wire framework session. Ideas were hustling and flying high. I was
submerged in these sparks blinking bright, from an app to gather exclusive
comedy skits and watch on the go; to connecting menial jobs, house helps and
artisans to potential customers and homeowners; ideas on how to help small and
menial job owners save money with dial of a code on a phone; to a school
management system that will employ artificial intelligence to predict students
performance and attitudes. Bold ideas and visions. Young minds clumped around
tables discussing ideas and plotting algorithms. Imagining what Kaduna can do.
Silent
Visibility
As these group of coders,
developers and content creators numbering almost hundred, pitched ideas and
prototyped, they were interrupted by an august visitor, the Executive Secretary
of Kaduna State Investment and Promotion Agency (KADIPA) in his white kaftan
and peddling glasses. Gambo Hamza, a jovial man, seemed to be in his fifties
clearly in tune with technology and social media, and had tracked the event,
without invitation, from publicity material spread on social media platforms. Mr. Hamza’s visit was peculiar
with absence of hullabaloo and large entourages common with politicians in this
country. He presented a gift parcel: “Mark Zuckerberg was in Lagos, we promise
you within one year we will be bringing you Bill Gates”. Kaduna State Government
from a safe distance seemed to be involved with burgeoning techies, attracted
by huge economic and job potentials of these startups, particularly to its
increasing young population. The problem though from developers’ angle is that state
initiatives like Kaduna Startup & Entrepreneurship Program (KAD-STEP) from
their scope of applications do not seem to cater for these budding technopreneurs,
and rather concentrate more on traditional manufacturing, production and allied
services. As such a huge pool of talented innovators do not get to access opportunities
by state government. But lack of government support is not the only fear and
obstacle in the face of a number of these techies. Educational level and technological
empowerment in Kaduna is far lower than that of Lagos and fears expressed of
problem of community acceptance echoed around during the facilitation workshop.
Their kind are troubled daily, and labeled irresponsible. “Most people don’t
even know what we are doing. And when you talk of technology they only assume
its limited to phones, TV and laptop.” “Some will even tell you to stop wasting
your time and go find a real job”. Uneasy laughter to that statement spread
across the room, but within the laughter was an overarching problem that
radiated universally with all participants.
A
Steve Jobs Reincarnation
Lights dimmed, walls became presentation
screens, and in Steve Jobs-esque style, Aminu Bakori stepped forward into the
light for the final workshop of the day. A techie storyteller wearing his enthusiasm
for this latest innovation: CloudioraOS. Bakori, founder of Friendstie Concept,
an innovative technology company in a blossoming presentation introduced CloudioraOS,
a brand new operating system reimagined and built based on web technology. A cross
platform that runs across various devices including smartphones, tablets, TVs
and PCs and can be assessed remotely from any part of the world.
Coding
Kaduna
It is dusk and drizzling as we
leave CoLab. There is energy of technology buzzing. Kaduna has found a new
rhythm. Unemployables, techies, software nerds, creators, designers, students. All
this and stretching. Farmers, engineers, doctors, pharmacists, bankers, artists.
Kaduna’s newest creations. Faces of technology, poster-children of Kaduna
startups. Life continues in Kaduna, people oblivious of giant brains in their
spaces, coding, programming, developing, waiting, to burst out into an
ecosystem. And in some room, laptop in front, eyes groggy, Aminu Bakori is fine-tuning
his brand new Operating System, readying to storm the world through Kaduna. I
will no doubt be watching, and so should you, to see how Kaduna will endure with
this coding generation, and how the economy will shift and make a niche for
their explosive brains and talents.
Sada Malumfashi is a writer and content creator, you can reach him here.
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