AfriLabs, a network of over 50 technology innovation hubs on the continent, has announced the addition of 11 new incubators and accelerators.
In an announcement last week AfriLabs head secretariat Anna Ekeledo said the organisation is constantly looking to partner with tech hubs and other stakeholders of technology-related businesses to develop better-enabling policies, access to the right tools, environment and finance to scale in Africa.
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A key aim of AfriLabs, which was set up in 2011, is to create an ecosystem of major hubs to support the development of startups across the African continent.
The 11 new hubs joining the AfriLabs network are:
- nHub (Nigeria) — According to the incubator the hub is one of the first technology centres in northern Nigeria. The hub features various mentorship programmes, outsourcing facilities, and training sessions.
- inCUBE8 (Malawi) — Which was founded last year was established to solve the issue of youth unemployment and startup failures.
- iBridge (Nigeria) — Francis Madojemu, the founder of iBridge set up the hub for young entrepreneurs and innovators to bring their ideas to life within the city of Ibadan. The hubs various programmes include monthly fireside chats, internet marketing classes (offline and on site), ICT and IT training among many others.
- Lumumba Labs (Democratic Republic of Congo) — The first space opened up in Kinshasa is intended to not only launch digital innovations but to also support them during every stage of the project.
- Wenak Labs (Chad) — This hub brings together many professions who share a passion for ICT and social innovation.
- Sote Hub (Kenya) — Born out of the Sote ICT project in 2010, the hub aims to implement a holistic approach combining ICT integration and training with business skills at 12 schools in Taita Taveta.
- The Innovation Village Kampala (Uganda) — The hub aims to bring together academia, the public as well as business and industry in one place to bring about social change and innovation through entrepreneurship.
- The Tech Villiage (Zimbabwe) — The village operates differently to the notion of “build it and the will come”, instead it believes in creating a hub to cater to the needs of the region. This hub currently features 36 startups, eight social ventures, 204 entrepreneurs and nine startup communities.
- BitHub (Kenya) — This hub focuses on innovative solutions revolutionising blockchain across Africa. A few of BitHub’s key focus areas include legal and governance services, data management and storage as well as payment gateways.
- dLab (Tanzania) — An open working space, this hub serves as an anchor for the Data Collaboratives for Local Impact (DCLI) programme which promotes big data and analytics.
- Startpreneurs (Nigeria) — Aside from being an accelerator, this hub also serves as a seed fund ecosystem for entrepreneurs. The aim of the hub is to speed up entrepreneurial development by combining financial support and hands-on guidance.
