She Leads Africa

Innovation Growth Hub – Sparking Tech and Business Growth in Nigeria’s South East Region

Usually, great stories of Tech and Startups in Nigeria are set in Lagos, and that has been so for a while until the CEO and Co-Founder of Innovation growth Hub, Daniel Chinagozi decided to change the narrative. With that decision, InnovationGrowth Hub otherwise known as IGHub began its baby steps in 2015 by facilitating and enhancing an ecosystem for Tech and Business enthusiasts in its home state; Abia State. IGHub is dedicated to startups at various stages of maturing by providing Mentorship, Co-Working Space, Event Space, Business Support Services, Warm Community and Network for Entrepreneurs in order to increase the success rate of fresh startups within the region. In light of that, IGHub has been hosting and organizing Startup Weekends in Aba and Umuahia since 2015 till present. StartUp Weekends are the brainchild of TechStars Foundation, where anyone such as Tech and Business Enthusiasts pitch their ideas, form a team and create a Startup all within 54 hours. About 600 people have taken part in the 6 Startup weekends IGHUb has hosted so far; sparking a desire within a lot of people in the region to execute their problem-solving ideas and teams immediately. This year, the winning team at the Startup Weekend – Women Abia Emergency, a Healthcare Emergency solution went on to virtually pitch at the finals in Paris and are currently pivoting on the model and set to launch soon. IGHub has stayed true to the model of Hubs, which involves clusters and ecosystems for similarly-minded individuals. In recent times, the presence of the hub has given enthusiasts assurance on where to get consulting for any of their ideas. Providing solutions such as Digital Marketing, Web Development, and Android Development in form of training and rendered services, Abia and South East, in general, is gradually transforming to its version of Silicon Valley with tiny bursts of innovation sprouting from bright ideas. [bctt tweet=”@ighubafrica is set to begin an Incubation program featuring three startups from the just concluded 2018 #Abia Hackathon” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Interestingly, the number of Developers have increased since IGHub began operation with the majority of them admitting the presence of the Hub and the possibilities it opened them to inspired them to take on that path. Bearing in mind the importance of building transgenerational businesses, IGHub has held Basic Entrepreneurship Development Courses (BEDC) which are centered on equipping Individuals with relevant skills for building World Class Brands from their ideas. Going further on this initiative, IGHUb is set to begin an Incubation program by the third quarter of 2018 featuring three startups from the just concluded 2018 Abia Hackathon. The 12-weeks incubation program will provide Startup Teams with Business Development Training, Mentoring and Seed Funding to prepare them for the journey ahead. IGHub has embraced Social Media for broadcasting latest activities and opportunities among its ever-expanding community. It also relies on local media for its Tech Evangelism as it runs a regular radio program on Magic FM in Aba. This channel has served in converting the older demographic into believers of the Innovation Journey. Due to the nature of the clime and seeing a need for supporting Business that are not Tech-based but require tech services; IGHub has also started providing Technical support and Web Development Services to these Businesses in order to position them for Global advancement. Slowly but surely, IGHub is driving economic growth and competitiveness in South East of Nigeria. Located at the 5th Floor of the second tallest building in Aba, IGHub is set to continually ignite Tech and Business Success Stories in South East and Nigeria in general. Join the IGHub community, follow them on Instagram and Visit their website.  Sponsored Post.