Welcome back to our Community Showcase. Community Showcase is part of our contribution supporting tech communities in Nigeria by showcasing tech communities in Oyo State. We believe that the community feature will not only be useful for promoting the activities of tech and startup communities, it will also allow people trying to get into communities to find communities that suit their interests. our featured Startup community is the Oyo Startup Ecosystem.
So What exactly is the Oyo Startup Ecosystem Community?
The Oyo Startup ecosystem community is a group of founders, businessmen, and people in tech from across Oyo State working together to build a tech and startup network in Oyo State. The vision of the community is for businesses and brands to interact with a view to building a tech and startup network that is capable of collaborating with other tech ecosystems in the other Southwest States and creating an even more impactful Southwest Nigeria ecosystem.
Founded as a WhatsApp community in 2016 by a group of young techies who saw a space to be filled in the lack of strong business and tech communities in Oyo State, the community now has over 100 members spread across the different cities in Oyo State and also different areas of business, startups, and tech.
Why does this community exist?
One of the beliefs of the community from when it was founded is that government has a major role to play in a startup ecosystem, and thus the Oyo tech and startup ecosystem should be a formidable force that can collaborate with government officials, starting from Oyo State, and who can iterate ideas as to how the government can support and create a viable startup culture in Nigeria.
The community continues to evolve into a structured community that will be able to identify the needs of startups in Ibadan and Oyo State and solve those needs. Members routinely collaborate on projects to create think tanks of capable individuals that tackle different aspects of startup issues (such as funding, skills, and talent development).
The community also hopes to be a strong force that will be on the front lines of creating a talent pipeline in Oyo State and support initiatives by members who are interested in training home-grown skilled professionals to build useful solutions.
The community is also hoping to push for a change in the Oyo State media narrative. It does this by hoping to support creatives who are interested in using storytelling to take charge of creating a positive perception of Oyo State and to push the state as a destination for tech and business.
It also hopes to be at the forefront of documenting the Oyo tech and startup roadmap so that startup founders, even beyond the community, can see what has been done and what needs to be done.
But most importantly, members of the group routinely support one another with skills and resources, and events by individual members become ecosystem events. As such, every member of the community feels like they are part of something bigger than themselves and is encouraged to innovate more.
So what has the community been able to achieve?
So far, members of the Oyo Startup Ecosystem community have been able to convene and support city-wide events and ventures within the state, such as TechJam Ibadan, Ibadan Tech Expo, Ibadan Startup Fest, Ogbomoso Tech Summit, Oyo Tech Hub, Pacesetter Techxhibition, and CMX Founder’s Connect, among several others.
However, beyond organizing events, various members of the community are getting recognition within and outside Nigeria for building solutions in different areas of technology. As more founders, businesspeople, and techies continue to join, The community has become a more fertile land for ideas and collaboration, and so there is more to come.
Moving forward…?
In the long term, the Oyo Startup Ecosystem community’s goal is to continue to engage with the stakeholders within the state that can build a tech ecosystem. So if you are a businessman, creative, or startup founder, if you are connected within the academic community (a student leader, an academic, or a decision-maker in a university or tertiary institution), you are in the private sector within the Ibadan and Oyo communities, or in the media, both traditional and digital, then there is space within the community to showcase your unique solutions. Also, at the moment, the community is dominated by Ibadan-based members. So if you are building a solution in any other city apart from Ibadan, you are especially welcome to join.
Sweet! How can I be a part of this community?
You can join the community of founders changing the face of tech and startup culture in Oyo State on WhatsApp.
The community showcase feature is open to tech communities in Oyo State and beyond. lead a community whose activities you wish to be seen? reach out to 08060799806 or oyostartupnewsletter@gmail.com. Watch out for our content development academy, that is changing content strategy development for brands and businesses.
