Awojobi: Breeding Tech Startups Through Passion

Seun Awojobi is the Co-Founder of the Nest Technology Innovation Park. The innovation park is built to cater to the needs of start-ups and tech enthusiasts, helping them thrive and achieve their desired results through business support, training, and providing an accelerator for new or existing businesses to scale.

Awojobi explained the reason Nest is taking the tech space more seriously, considering Nigeria has one of the most vibrant young populations in the world. “Nest is doing a lot to make talents ready for the job market. Nigeria has the population, but are they ready for the job market? No, they are not. And because we understand that we are in an ever-changing environment and the future of Nigeria will be powered by SMEs for us, how do we ensure that these SMEs can stand the test of time? How do we ensure that these SMEs can cater for the business that they say they’re going to cater for? So hubs like ours are partnering with local and international organisations to make talents ready for the job,” he said.

The co-founder, giving insights on how Nest was birthed, said: “Nest Hub started about six years ago. The idea behind the setup was the result of three people who found a common purpose and then came together to ideate this common purpose with combined resources to set it up. Beyond that, we also found other people who were interested in helping to articulate our vision, and afterwards, we put in our best to do the work. So I will always give credit to God for crowning the efforts with success.”

On the success story of the hub, Awojobi stated that: “There are quite several success stories that we have experienced since Nest started. For us, our joy will always be empowering entrepreneurs and one of our biggest success stories would be the Girl Code Academy. The Girl Code Academy empowers women who are interested in technology and have little or no experience whatsoever in technology. We get them in for a three-month intensive course, run them through the rudiments of coding and tech and, often, a lot of them have gone ahead to work with big corporates and big-tech companies around the world. So, I will say that is one of our biggest success stories.

“Among other things, we also connect entrepreneurs to ensure they meet funders, creating a community for them to help their businesses thrive, ensuring master classes are created that can help them with a deeper understanding of their products or businesses and watch them grow. Also, we provide them with mentors because we have seen some who have done these businesses before and learnt lessons so they can impact the younger ones.”

Lucrativity

On lucrativity, Awojobi said: “Like I always say, whatever input you put into it will determine your output. Whatever work you put into it, it’s what you will certainly reap in profit or return because the margins are very slim but you have to keep at it. The amount of work you put into your business is what you will certainly reap and it takes a while. So whatever wins we have accrued, it has taken us six years. And even in the sixth year, we are still learning because there are still frontiers we want to be part of. It’s a constantly evolving world and you can’t definitively say there is no profit or there is profit. The work you put in will determine your output.”

Challenges

Awojobi mentioned inflation as one of their biggest challenges. To him, “You look at the rising inflation in the country and for a tech ecosystem, you need to ensure internet availability and a constant source of power. Those are some of the challenges that we have to deal with daily. Also, the ability to retain talent is another challenge we face. Several times, we lost some of our best talents due to relocation or those looking for greener pastures outside of the country. So these are a few of the challenges we face in the course of doing business.”

Advice

According to him, “Our job is to empower entrepreneurs, so if there is anyone who wants to set up an outfit like Nest Hub, I would be more than happy to say please, go ahead.

One thing is that nothing is easy as you start, and starting is very important. Also, younger entrepreneurs should not set out with the intention of making massive profits.

“The margins are very slim. A lot of work has to be done, such as dedication and focus, and they don’t have to do it alone. They can look for like minds that believe in the vision of what you’re trying to establish and create. Persevere because everything takes time, and I’m sure God will crown the effort, but the work has to be put in.”

Biography

Seun Awojobi is the Co-Founder of Nest Technology Innovation Park, which helps to foster and support business innovation, create partnerships, and ensure that entrepreneurs scale through business support. This business was formed six years ago with two other like-minded individuals.

Awojobi, who is also the Technical Adviser for the Lagos State Safety Commission, has been at the forefront of technology deployment for both public and private services. Over the past five years, he has played a pivotal role in orchestrating and executing safety awareness campaigns and advocacy, establishing safety standards, and ensuring compliance in the state.