Who we are?

AfriLabs was founded in 2011 to build a community around rapidly emerging tech hubs―innovation spaces that serve as meeting points and communities for developers, entrepreneurs, and investors.

We believe that supporting the development of the African technology and innovation ecosystem enables Africa to participate in the global knowledge and innovation market place thereby stimulating economic growth.

VISION

A thriving innovation economy in Africa, driven by the power of our community.

MISSION

To support innovation hubs and their communities to raise high potential entrepreneurs that will stimulate economic growth and social development in Africa. We achieve this through capacity building, financing, networking, policy advocacy, and providing insightful, reliable data

Our Values

UBUNTU

We believe in shared experience and collaboration. Our work is made possible and better through the strength of our community and partners, and our combined desire to see a thriving innovation economy in Africa driven by the power of our community. Our impact is only felt because it feeds into the impact of those we work with. We participate where we can make a significant contribution.

WE EXPERIMENT AND WE ARE CURIOUS

We relentlessly try and test solutions in a quest to serve our ecosystem better. Many times we succeed, but sometimes we fail. When we fail, we learn and move forward with an evidence base that makes us better.

WE ARE PAN AFRICAN

We are dedicated to the dignity of the people of Africa on the African continent and in the diaspora. Our primary interest is in the prosperity of our people. Our reach is far and wide. We are working towards an Africa whose leadership, resources and resilience work towards a flourishing continent and economically empowered citizens.

OUR HUBS COME FIRST

If it does not work for our community we won’t do it. Our community is at the heart of everything we do. The way we work, the people and organisations we interact with and the programmes we design are all primarily to strengthen the communities in our hubs.

WE DO THE RIGHT THING

We are committed to achieving our mission by always doing the right thing. We believe that by infusing professionalism, excellence, transparency and integrity into all our offerings, we ensure high-quality products and services, attract the right talent and impact society with the right organisations.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME

We believe that great ideas can come from anywhere. We pride ourselves in being a neutral space that serves as a nexus point for all technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship ecosystem members like governments, development agencies, academic institutions, entrepreneurs, and investors to interact directly with hubs.

WE DRIVE IMPACT

While putting our hubs first and embracing an open innovation culture, we work to ensure that our work is measurable and drives change at scale. If we impact our hubs positively then they impact their innovators positively and these innovators impact their communities. Our work only means as much as the positive change it drives.

WE ARE A COMMUNITY

We are committed to achieving our mission by always doing the right thing. We believe that by infusing professionalism, excellence, transparency and integrity into all our offerings, we ensure high-quality products and services, attract the right talent and impact society with the right organisations.

What we do?

Capacity Building

Over the years, AfriLabs has carried out research on African hub needs, capacity gaps and best practices. Based on this research, AfriLabs designs and runs a series of initiatives targeting hubs. We have carried out Capacity Building activities for hubs and startups in partnership with organisations such as Microsoft4Afrika, the African Development Bank, The African Union, IBM, IMC, GIZ and other organisations. Currently, the AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme (ACBP), a 2 million euro capacity building project, is being implemented thanks to Agence Française de Développement (AFD)’s support through the Digital Africa seed fund. We are confident that strengthening hubs will have a multiplier effect and contribute to growing the African innovation ecosystem while increasing the percentage of successful and investment-ready startups on the continent. From peer to peer learning, coaching and mentoring to funding, AfriLabs is committed to supporting innovation hubs in Africa to improve the quality of startups on the continent. Learn more about AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme.

Programmes and Events

As a network, AfriLabs has a handful of core competencies—things we do really well. But we maximize our impact by partnering with others who are committed to fostering African tech, entrepreneurship and innovation. For example, AfriLabs has organised the AfriLabs Annual Gathering for over 4 years with partners like Making All Voices Count (MAVC), Microsoft 4Afrika, Facebook, Hivos, African Union, Liquid Telecom, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNCTAD, Africa Development Bank Group, Mozilla, Google, etc. AfriLabs has also organised ecosystem events like the 1% Club ‘Supersize The Valley’ Conference, Virtual Dialogues on COVID-19, the Swedish Programme for ICT in Developing Regions (SPIDER) ICT4SI West Africa Workshop etc. Learn more about our programmes and events.

Policy Advocacy

AfriLabs supports its community members to partner with national governments, regional bodies and local & international non-governmental policy advocates to seed policies that help nurture the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. AfriLabs as part of its policy advocacy drive supports the i4Policy​'s foundation which is a not-for-profit organisation that supports public policy co-creation and multi-stakeholder dialogues at scale.

Research

We leverage our reach to undertake relevant researches on several aspects of the African Innovation Ecosystem. These studies help us develop reports that give guidance to our programme interventions and those of other support organisations, and they also influence policymaking by governments. Learn more about our ecosystem researches.

Consulting Services

AfriLabs deploys world-class Affiliate Consultants sourced from across its network of African innovation and technology organisations to deliver expert knowledge and services to organisations looking to gain valuable insights, craft strategies or deliver projects on a country, regional and global scale, in key sectors. Our involvement in the consulting value chain guarantees access to verified talents only and compliance with project quality and timeline. Furthermore, clients gain access to exclusive discounts across supporting services and facilities offered by us and partner organisations. Learn more about our consulting services.

Management Team

ANNA EKELEDO

Executive Director

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AJIBOLA ODUKOYA

Chief Operating Officer

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NEKESA WERE

Director of Strategy

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NANKO MADU

Director of Programmes

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RAHEL CHUKWU

Operations, Human Resources & Francophone Engagement Manager

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JENNIFER OKEKE-OJIUDU​

Ecosystem Events Manager

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KENECHUKWU CHUKWU

Member Services Manager

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WILSON WOKO NNANYERE

Finance Manager

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JOSHUA OMENA .A.

Ecosystem Creative Manager

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AJUMA MARY ABAH

PR & Communications Manager

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FELISTA AKU

Partnership Manager

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OMONE TESSY OKOLO

Senior Executive Officer to the Executive Director

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Our Board

Board Chair

MOETAZ HELMY

Co-Founder of kmt house, Egypt

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Board of Directors

LINDA KWAMBOKA

Board Secretary

Entrepreneur in-residence at Strathmore University and Manager at iBizAfrica, Kenya

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KUDZAI M.MUBAIWA

Board Treasurer

Founder of iZone Hub, Zimbabwe

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ELODIE NONGA

Francophone Representative

Founder of WeTech, Cameroon

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Dr Itoro Emembolo

Board Member

Director of TechQuest STEM Academy, Nigeria

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STEVE TCHOUMBA

Board Member

Executive Director of ActivSpaces, Cameroon

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DANIEL CHINAGOZI

Board Member

Founder and CEO of Innovation Growth Hub, Nigeria

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AfriLabs advisory roles

Member of Advisory board, Africa Europe Innovation Partner

The Africa-Europe Innovation Partnership aims to support and connect innovation and technology incubators and accelerators in tapping into new markets, find their trusted partner across the Mediterranean as well as build new perspectives, knowledge and networks. Incubators, accelerators and technology transfer offices play a key role in fostering the development of innovative enterprises.

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Founding Member, Digital Africa

Digital Africa brings together a community of partners in Africa’s tech ecosystem. This alliance of committed partners which AfriLabs is a part of has led to the emergence of a highly effective and collaborative ecosystem supporting Africa’s innovative entrepreneurs.

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Member of Strategy Group on Digital, Africa Europe Foundation - Friends of Europe

The Africa Europe Foundation Strategy Groups are mandated to build a commonality of purpose from the complexity of diverging perspectives and approaches across priority domains of partnership; enlarge the Africa-Europe partnership to new and diverse actors; unlock dormant opportunities; leverage joint partnership action; open up space for fresh policy thinking, strategic foresight and a holistic rethink of critical sectors for multilateral cooperation; and reinforce Africa-EU on the international stage.

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Consortium Member, LEAP-RE

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the UN for the 2015-2030 period intends to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda, Goal 7 is fully dedicated to energy, with the objective of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Yet, much remains to be done before renewable energy is the main source of power in Africa and Europe. For 5 years (2020-2025), the LEAP-RE programme will seek to create a long-term partnership of African and European stakeholders in a quadruple helix approach: government (programme owners and funding agencies), research and academia, private sector, and civil society.

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Member of African European Digital Innovation Bridge – AEDIB

African European Digital Innovation Bridge – AEDIB aims to connect and develop digital innovation ecosystems in Africa and Europe, thereby creating high-quality solutions for SDG challenges and boosting a resilient digital economy.

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Partners and supporters

The journey so far

Foundation

AfriLabs was founded with 5 Hubs. NaiLab Kenya, iHub Kenya, Hive Colab Uganda,Banta Labs Senegal, Activ Spaces Cameroun.

2011

1st Executive Director of AfriLabs

AfriLabs hired its first Executive Director.

2012

Partnership with Hivos and Indigo Trust

AfriLabs Partnered with Hivos & Indigo Trust.

2012

Registration

AfriLabs was formally registered as a foundation.

2012

World Bank InfoDev Virtual Incubation project

AfriLabs got involved with the World Bank InfoDev Virtual Incubation project.

2013

Partnership Microsoft for Africa & Rockefeller Foundation

AfriLabs partnered with Microsoft 4Afrika and The Rockefeller foundation.

2013

1st Berlin Meet-up

AfriLabs had its first global meet-up in Berlin supported by Global Innovation Gathering.

2013

AfriLabs launches Digital jobs challenge

AfriLabs collaborated with The Rockefeller Foundation to launch a Digital jobs challenge.

2014

2nd Global Meet-up in Berlin

AfriLabs held its 2nd global meetup in Berlin.

2014

AfriLabs & AfriHive

AfriLabs hosted the Hub sustainability series with AfriHive.

2014

AfriLabs initiated the Hub sustainability challenge: Hub in a Box.

AfriLabs initiated the Hub sustainability challenge: Hub in a Box.

2014

Launches new Partnership with OSIWA

AfriLabs website was created and branding was carried out.

AfriLabs launched a partnership with OSIWA to explore Hubs as creative spaces.

2015

1st Egypt Meet-up

AfriLabs held its first African meetup in Egypt.

2015

AfriLabs 1st Secretariat in Abuja

AfriLabs set up its first secretariat in Abuja, Nigeria headed by Anna Ekeledo.

2016

Launched corporate affiliate program with Facebook & Africa.com

AfriLabs set up its first secretariat in Abuja, Nigeria headed by Anna Ekeledo.

2016

Partnership with MAVC

2016

City meet ups in Nairobi, Lagos, Cairo, Johannesburg and Senegal.

2016

1st AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Accra, Ghana.

2016

AfriLabs Board Elections

2017

AfriLabs Hubs Learning week

2017

AfriLabs Annual Gathering

2017

AfriLabs & World Bank Open Innovation Training for Incubators

2018

AfriLabs & Amazon Web Services Love Startups Webinars

2018

AfriLabs Annual Gathering 2018

2018

AfriLabs launches the AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme (ACBP)

2019

AfriLabs joins The Global EdTech Hub with The University of Cambridge

2019

AfriLabs launches The Catalyst with ABAN

2019

AfriLabs launches the Hub Academy in partnership with Liquid Telecoms

2019

AfriLabs partners with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

2019