Facebook Partners 8 Nigerian Satellite Hubs in its New Incubation Programme

Facebook has made known its plans to unveil a new incubation programme, in partnership with Nigerian satellite hubs to help local start-ups and upcoming entrepreneurs realise their business goals.

According to Facebook’s  Developer Programme Manager, Kendra Nnachi, the programme is in continuation of Facebook’s desire to empower and promote the spirit of entrepreneurship among young people in Nigeria.

Participating hubs in the 8-week programme include Colab, Roar Nigeria, nHub, Ken Saro Wiwa Innovation Hub, Ventures Platform, Di-Hub, Start Innovation Hub and NG_Hub, Also, according to Nnachi, the programme would be officially launched on Monday, February 4, 2019, adding that the social platform had begun accepting applications from interested candidates.

“Designed and run in collaboration with the satellite hubs spread across Nigeria, the programme also aimed to help new start-ups and entrepreneurs-to-be take their respective solutions from ideation stage to prototype. The programme would be done through mentorship with industry experts and practical training sessions, providing foundational skills necessary for building a successful business. Our aim for this kind of initiative is to empower entrepreneurs. We believe that this programme will increase the quality and longevity of the Nigerian startup scene. It will not only provide specialist knowledge and mentoring to the participants, but also create a community that gives them room to share and grow,” says Kendra.

The Partnership Director of Ventures Platform, Mimshach Obioha, at the event that held in Lagos today Wednesday, January 23, commended Facebook for its commitment to the growth and development of startups across the continent.

Obioha said that the collaboration and essence of the programme coincided with the objectives of the hub.

Also speaking at the event, was the Chief Executive Officer of Di-hub, Alhaji Idris Dangana, who said with the programme, more young people would be given the opportunity to showcase their ideas.

”Young people, especially in Nigeria, are known to be bursting with the entrepreneurial spirit and we are only too glad to provide the needed boost with this workshop’ he said.

It is also pertinent to note that this isn’t the first time Facebook would be partnering with the local hub, as it has also partnered with Nigerian CC Hub in 2017 to launch a community tech hub dubbed NG_HUB. Hence we look forward to more partnership within the coming years.