Labspace, a new tech innovation hub, has opened in Minna, the Niger State Capital, with a focus on providing a favorable environment for startups to thrive.

At the 2-day event held recently to launch the hub, the founder of Labspace, Abdulkadir Suleiman Lapai, explained that the idea behind the initiative was inspired by the need to provide a supportive community and a conducive environment to boost innovation and creativity among youths as well as promote the inclusion and participation of women in tech.

The founder of the hub believes all these initiatives would help create supportive communities for starters and track their growth.

Lapai noted that Labspace was determined to boost startups in Niger State.

Activities of the Event and Panels Held.

Day 1 featured a session between the Minna Tech Community and stakeholders as well as a panel discussion on the future of tech in Northern Nigeria.

The session saw some participants within and outside Niger State pitch start-up ideas through various presentations.

Participating startups included Dairy of Hackers, a cyber security community focused on cyber protection; Bridge-Pay, a payment platform that enables cross-border payment for goods and services in other currencies; and Cendam, a platform that integrates logistics companies, serves as a mediator between users and companies, tracks goods, and does last-mile delivery.

The panel discussion on "The Future of Tech in Northern Nigeria" had Mallam Aminu Muhammad, a tech entrepreneur and writer, and Hamza Yunusa, founder of Hydronamics, a water-focused technology company.

The discussion identified some of the challenges startups and founders face in the region, including a negative perception of startup business models, a lack of adoption of tech to enable small and medium-scale businesses to scale faster, and an absence of venture capital funding and investments, which are all elements of the weak Northern Nigeria startup ecosystem.

Also in attendance was the team lead of the Salma Attah Foundation, Amrah Aliyu, who spoke on the need for the inclusion of young women in tech.

The panel and other contributors suggested solutions that include strong advocacy to Northern state governments and the business class North for increased government support and venture capital investments in startups.

The second day of the event involved a series of activities such as discussions centered on multimedia storytelling to innovation in education, tours around Labspace facilities, and networking with tech founders and enthusiasts.

Labspace Plans.

The hub’s activities are expected to cover physical events such as community festivals, ideation training for entrepreneurs on how to use tech to grow businesses, virtual programs, and social media interactions through social media communities.

Highlights

Highlights of the event were a discussion with Honorable Muhammad Bago, the Governor-elect of Niger State, who was represented by Mustapha Ndajiwo, a member of the Niger State Transition Council Committee and Founder of Astound Innovation Hub and ACTG Africa, where baseline challenges startups face were highlighted with a pledge to create a conducive ecosystem that will enable startups and businesses to thrive in the state.