CoLab Kaduna: Growing a community of IT Experts
CoLab is Kaduna’s first innovation hub and co-working space. The goal at CoLab is to grow a collaborative community of programmers, developers, designers, bloggers, graphic designers, photographers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups and tech enthusiasts generally. CoLab organizes some weekly and monthly events and programs to achieve these goals. Some of them include: [bctt tweet=”We want to attract attention back to Kaduna through technology – @CoLab_kd” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Code School Code School is CoLab’s introduction to computer programming initiative that immerses users into the world of programming for the web with an introduction to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The whole course takes 5-7 weeks to complete and students are able to build simple sites upon completion. Code School is built around the hypotheses that: It is much easier to learn as a group as against learning as an individual. It is important to learn how to code as part of a team. (This is a critical skill-set that employers look for.) CoLab for Women CoLab for Women is a platform that serves as a means to drive the adoption of technology by women and will also be a safe space for any sort of discussion among women. This particular initiative is organized and run by women only. It has its meet ups once every month. CoLab Elite This is CoLab’s talent accelerator program which has been designed to fast-track intermediate developers into world-class talent. If you already write code but keep wondering how to build projects, work with teams or follow global best practices, then CoLab Elite just might be what you need. CoLab Weekly meetups Meetups happen every weekend at CoLab where we cover topics that range from basic to very technical. They are usually free for all to attend. If you want to learn about business, web or app development, machine learning, digital marketing, network or just play video and board games, you should attend one of our CoLab meetups. If you would love to be a part of the awesome CoLab community, you can connect with CoLab on social media. Everyone and anyone is welcome to take a tour of the facilities anytime or attend any of the meetups. Three things inspired CoLab: 1. Kaduna is ideal for a startup/technology hub. On the average, there is the better power supply in Kaduna than anywhere else in the country. The cost of living is low and basic infrastructure is available. Another good thing about that region is that fast internet is esily accesible. Kaduna has a lot of talented young people. The state also has a number of tertiary institutions (which are an important factor in creating a pipeline for talent). It is also in close proximity to two key markets (Kano and Abuja) and can access a third, Lagos via air and train (for people and goods respectively). 2. Over time, the best IT people we had come across – programmers, network engineers, big data scientists, Internet of Things (IoT) hobbyists etc have been from around Kaduna. However, very few of them understood the value of the skill(s) they had or had ever tried to apply it to solving actual problems. 3. Technology is the single biggest vehicle for taking people out of poverty and poverty in these part of the country is rampant. CoLab intends to make this push by aiming to achieve 5 things: 1. Provide an environment that allows natural curiosity, fosters learning, and inspires creativity and innovation. CoLab has gone all out to make the space as aesthetically motivating as possible within budget constraints. [bctt tweet=”Given the right environment, smart people interacting with each other naturally tend to create cool stuff -@CoLab_kd” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Currently, CoLab’s facilities include two open indoor workspaces, a private meeting room, a conference room, two Outdoor workspaces (in view), internet, constant power supply and a modern library with paper books and kindles. 2. Offer high-level mentorship from both national and international mentors who have made an impact globally. The founders of CoLab believe a well-rounded education is a key to building a successful company. They want to double down on not just ICT knowledge, but also everything required to succeed. We currently have the ex-Director of Global Search at Yahoo as one of our international mentors, also the former Vice President of an Investment bank in the UK as another. Some of these mentorships and one on one sessions with mentors outside the country will take place virtually. 3. Train anyone interested in the ICT skills that are necessary to compete at an international level. We’re talking Code, UI & UX Design, Blogging, Content Creation, Digital Marketing, IoT etc. CoLab will cover recent tech languages and global best practices. There is a high demand for these specific skills across the world, yet we have many who could easily fit into such positions, with some training. Most of these roles can be filled remotely, i.e having people work for companies across the world from CoLab… However, we are not pushy about them remaining domiciled here. 4. Beyond training, CoLab intends to go a step further by linking its community members with jobs and opportunities, both remote and physical from across the country and globally. The best way to break the mentality that the only way to earn a living is via a structured, salaried job (civil service, banks, etc.) which is prevalent in this region is to actually link people up with an alternate means to earn a living. 5. Lastly, CoLab wants to build an in-house team of the best brains to tackle national and global problems. We want to attract attention back to Kaduna and show people how to be profitable through technology. Our subscription fees were decided by the public and have no bearing on what it’ll cost to set up fully. The long-term goal is to make Kaduna as a whole, an IT hub, the go-to place in Nigeria when there is an IT need. Who knows? It may be the next India.
Anisa Mpungwe: Now clothing brands are offering a lifestyle
[bctt tweet=”I am African so that aesthetic cannot disappear, it will always be there – Anisa Mpungwe” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Anisa Mpungwe is a Tanzanian born, South African raised fashion marvel. She started her career at age 19 working for various fashion houses, magazines, and apparel factories within Africa, America, and the UK. Not a stranger on international runways, Anisa has showcased her work in fashion weeks in South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Italy, Sweden and New York. You might have spotted this Motherland Mogul’s garments on stars like Solange Knowles, Anele Mdoda, Lira, Simphiwe Dana, Amel Larrieux, Sharon Smith, and Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon. The former US first lady Michelle Obama donned Anisa’s clothing on her first visit to Johannesburg. Anisa has won the African Fashion International Emerging Designer Award 2013 and was the MTV Transform Today Award nominee. She has collaborated with brands such as LG, SPREE, Samsung, Maserati, Converse, Nestle, BET and Bobbi Brown. You can find Anisa between Johannesburg, Pretoria and Dar es Salaam studios. SLA contributor, Kutlwano Mokgojwa, checks in with the humble and spirited Motherland Mogul to get the lowdown on celebrating 5 years in business, creating a lifestyle brand and shipping worldwide. It has been 5 years since you opened the door to your flagship store, what would you say you owe to still being in business today? I think consistency is important in any business and across everything that you do. There are certain things that you must always do and always take care of. Another important thing is having a good team. There are days when you will not feel so great and you do not want to deal with customers, you can always pass the responsibility along when you have a good team and in my experience, getting a good team together takes a while. Your brand is described as having a strong African influence, prints and modern tribal. Do you think this description limits the brand or does it open the right doors? I think it is all of the above. People always need to relate your brand to something, whether it is an experience in their lives or something they have seen. I am African so that aesthetic cannot disappear, it will always be there. Our aesthetic will always be around the African heritage but I am also really interested in sportswear for example. I have travelled and moved around a lot and because of that, I am able to come back and tell a story through the garments. The change in the design is not that I am trying to target a specific person but it is just where the LoinCloth and Ashes (LCA) story is. You have paired up with vibrant talk show host and radio personality Anele Mdoda as your brand ambassador, how does she embody the LCA brand? Anele is quite a complex woman and that is an LCA girl – somebody who is strong and vulnerable. Somebody who has something to say wants to elevate and fully enjoy her life. Anele is all those things and she is crazy too, she is completely nuts and I love her for that. I identify the LCA girl in her; she really aspires for better in all areas. You are known to feature on a lot of runways. How do you come up with inspiration for each collection? How do you incorporate your brands aesthetic to ensure your collections are true to the LCA brand whilst still being fresh and relevant? It has to do with what is happening for us at that time but also keeping in mind who our audience is. For example, if you do something like New York Fashion Week, what they would expect is a whole lot of bead work and when you show something else it creates a kind of shock wave. When you take African print somewhere like Stockholm where they are known for being minimalist you will blow their mind with so much colour. Same goes for Germany or Berlin. I know we have one of the biggest client bases in Berlin and they love the print because they don’t have that sort of thing there. So when we create collections it is about flying the flag but doing so in a manner that is relevant to the audience and to the brand. [bctt tweet=”When we create collections it is about flying the flag in a manner that is relevant to the audience” via=”no”] Since your establishment as a women’s wear brand, you have ventured into quite a number of things such as your junior wear, home décor, giving industry talks and consultations. What motivated you to head in that direction and how has that contributed to LCA being such a big brand in the fashion industry? There was a time when you went into a clothing store and it only offered clothing but now many brands are offering a lifestyle. So if I can’t afford the dress, I can maybe afford to buy a napkin or to buy my little baby a dress. I wanted LCA to also follow that suit because we don’t only talk about women’s wear when we are in the studio, we talk about everything else. I am not known to hide my experiences so that is where consulting and mentoring comes into play. [bctt tweet=”We are looking to celebrate feminism and rediscovering the word sexy – Anisa Mpungwe” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] You have a new collection coming up, can you tell us more about that? Well, I cannot say much but it is a summer/spring collection. We are looking to celebrate feminism and rediscovering the word sexy. What does it mean for LCA? It means there will be lower necklines and high hems. You started shipping your clothes worldwide this February, how would you advise a small business owner who wants to extend their distribution in the same way? Firstly, I think it is important for one to evaluate their international client base. A lot
Help a sista out! Answer this quick 3 minute survey
Starting a business is tough and can be pretty scary when you’re going from just an idea to actually putting yourself out there. You have a vision and a dream and no clue if it will actually work out. We always encourage fresh entrepreneurs to get out of their heads, off their laptops and into the streets to survey potential customers and see if their ideas make sense to the people who might actually buy from there. We’re always happy when people actually listen to us and then of course come to SLA for help. Two young women are working on a business concept that will provide a global audience access to the freshest and most creative beauty and fashion products that Africa has to offer. Their brand will focus on high-quality tailoring, textiles, luxury and accessibility for an international market while celebrating the best of African talent beyond patterned prints. They have big dreams but need your help to get there. Basically they need you to be the Beyonce to their Nicki. Help a sista out and fill out this quick 3 minute survey below. As a special thank you, we’re offering one lucky person who answers the survey the opportunity get featured on our Facebook page and be seen by our 45,000+ community. [typeform_embed url=”https://sheleadsafrica.typeform.com/to/BsOxOK” type=”embed”] Sponsored Post