Those who cannot do it will always tell you it cannot be done.
I was awed when I visited the proposed site for the co-creation hub in Lagos.
The co-creation hub is located at the center of Lagos. It is easy to Locate. Not far from University of Lagos and YABA tech. These are some of the reasons why the location of the co-creation hub is unique. I will tell you more in a moment.
From Co-creation’s Facebook Page
The things that awed me
We live in a country where so many things do not seem to be working. I am typing this in the middle of the night because there is power. Power Failure is a regular occurrence. The moment you make a proposition of trying to do something to solve any social problem, the first thing you would hear from people around you is how it is not going to work. The young guys behind co-creation hub are not hindered by all the stereotypes and limitations around them.
The hub will be for social innovators, entrepreneurs and people who are interested in contributing to solving the social problems we have around us.
The Facility will include, internet, workspace, membership. etc.
Why you should be excited
I wrote an article a couple of days back (I am a developer, I am not a business man). After mentioning the post to Tubosun, one of the founders of co-creation hub, this was what he said;
Developers do not need to think about sales or marketing. They are nerds, their’s is to create a program that works.
He gave me the example of Mark Zukerburg. Mark was not thinking of how to market or sell his service. In fact he was not skilled in that. If you have seen the movie, the social network. You will notice he had a friend who invested in the business and they had to invite the outgoing guy who started Napster to join the group and take care of the marketing aspect, so he mentioned to me.
If you are the typical nerd, who only likes to code and nothing more. The co-creation hub will provide an opportunity for you to get people to partner and work with. You will have enough time to focus on what you know how to do best. The co-creation hub is not going to be for nerds/geeks only. Innovations who cannot code, but have ideas that can solve societal issue are also welcomed.
A case in point. If you have an idea of a possible solution to a problem in the society. Describe it and probably draw a diagram of it. It lies with the developers to figure out a way to write an excellent code that will make it work. Imagine a complete team being composed of a developer, a designer and a business developer.
There will be constant power and access to reliable internet powered by one of the providers of speedy internet.
Solutions created from the co-creation hub, would not have a hard time finding investors. All those are part of the general structuring of the hub. To bring together Entrepreneurs, Investors, companies seeking to develop applications, the government and Social entrepreneurs.
The Location
The location is also perfect. It is not located in a total high brow area. It is also not it a slum. We have Local markets, A secondary school close by, Unilag and Yabatech, a plocice station, Ozone cinema that is always filled with youths and people, White house (popularly known for special kind of amala). It is located on the 6th floor and in the same building with Debonair book. There is a rooftop which is likely to be part of the space to be used. That is where I snapped this photograph.
It will be easy to take any solution produced from the hub, to the streets and ask those who it is intended for to try it out. Easy does it.
Tomorrow, there will be a visit to the hub by stake holders, I am privileged to have been invited. Be sure that I will bring you some bits of information.
Get ready and get prepared to leverage this unique opportunity, to showcase what you have. Join the doers. Time does not change anything, talking may move people, but only action gets the job done.
