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Good practice Imported

CcHub (Co-Creation Hub) — Africa's Pioneering Tech Innovation Hub

Nigeria · Lagos · See the Nigeria profile · See the Lagos profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 10% 86/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Africa's first open innovation hub, founded in Lagos in 2010; by 2025 it had deployed $17.1 M cumulatively to 3,312 ventures across 49 African countries, unlocking $170 M in outside investment at a 5:1 leverage ratio, and trained 25,245 people.

17.1 US$ million
Cumulative capital deployed to African ventures (cumulative to 2025)
170 US$ million
Outside investment catalysed cumulatively (cumulative to 2025)
3,312 ventures
Ventures supported (2025)
49 countries
African countries reached (2025)
25,245 people
Individuals trained (2025)
544 people
People helped into employment (2025)
1.89 million people
People reached through programmes (2025)
640 women
Women supported scaling creative-industry ventures (2025)
CcHub (Co-Creation Hub) — Africa's Pioneering Tech Innovation Hub

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Co-creation HUB Africa (CcHUB)
Period
2010–present
Keywords
tech, startups, incubation, social innovation, Africa

Context

Co-creation HUB Africa (CcHub) was founded in October 2010 by Bosun Tijani and Femi Longe in Yaba, Lagos, opening its doors in September 2011, pioneering the open-innovation hub model in Nigeria.

Objectives

Support ventures in EdTech, health, creative industries and social innovation across a continuum from pre-incubation to acceleration.

Activities

In 2025, CcHub disbursed $4.18 million to 3,312 African ventures across 49 countries, trained 25,245 individuals, helped 544 people secure employment, launched 15 EdTech products connecting 2,000 teachers, and supported 640 women scaling creative-industry ventures. Physical hubs operate in Kigali (Rwanda), Nairobi (Kenya) and Windhoek (Namibia) alongside the Lagos headquarters.

Results

Cumulatively, CcHub has deployed $17.1 million, catalysing $170 million in outside investment (a roughly 5:1 leverage in 2025, when portfolio companies raised a further $20 million from external investors). CcHub reached 1.89 million people through its programmes in 2025. Notable portfolio companies include BudgIT, Lifebank and Koolboks (which raised an $11 million Series A).

Conclusions

CcHub's expansion from a single Lagos hub to hubs in three further African countries demonstrates the model's transferability within the organisation's own network; funding for the organisation itself comes from donors including USAID, IFC, the Gates Foundation and Google.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — $4.18 million disbursed in 2025 alone; $17.1 million deployed cumulatively; funded by international donors (USAID, IFC, Gates Foundation, Google).
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Founded October 2010, opened September 2011; 15 years of continuous operation and expansion to 2025.
Staffing & skills
CcHub Lagos headquarters staff, hub teams in Kigali, Nairobi and Windhoek, donor partners (USAID, IFC, Gates Foundation, Google)

Conditions for success

  • Diversified international donor funding
  • Physical hub presence to deliver in-person incubation/training
  • Continuum of support from pre-incubation through acceleration

Common failure modes

  • Primarily donor-funded model rather than city-co-governed, creating dependency on continued international donor commitment
  • Focus remains urban-tech-centric

Where it fits

Governance type
non-profit/social enterprise hub, donor-funded
Scale
pan-African (49 countries), anchored in Lagos, Nigeria
Income level
lower-middle-income country (Nigeria) operating across a range of African income levels

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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