Many people have argued that Nigeria does not have a tech ecosystem. You might want to agree with this school of thought to an extent, but the urge not to totally write off YabaCon Valley (YV) would keep you from doing so.
YabaCon Valley is Nigeria’s version of the very famous Silicon Valley, and as synonymous with almost all Nigerian version of things, it is not as effective. This, therefore, brings the question of you should locate your startup at YabaCon Valley or just get any other location as it won’t make a difference. Keep in mind that in this other post, we highlighted that a wrong location could hinder your startup’s growth.
On where your startup should be located, whether YabaCon Valley or Another valley, it is left for you to weigh the pros and the cons, advantages ND disadvantages which I would be listing a few of them here.
- First, there is no system in the country as packed and populated as the YabaCon Valley. Hence, it tends to be the center of attraction when any thing about a tech startup is mentioned. So your startup might gain better visibility if located here.
- A second advantage is also as a result of the population. One very important thing you shouldn’t take for granted is the power of networking. While it is possible to expand your network elsewhere, it is important that this expansion is made of people with like minds, which YabaCon Valley would gladly offer you.
- Moving forward, you must have heard of internal economies of scale (I know this isn’t economics) as it applies here. Once there is a cluster of similar firms, the cost of production tends to reduce, but in this case, the cost of service. It’d be as a result of a more affordable infrastructure.
On another note
Despite this numerous advantages which you would gain from the YabaCon Valley, there seem to be a dwindling number of start-ups springing up there on a daily. In fact, some of the start-ups already situated there had to change location (Angela comes to mind), and this scares almost everyone.
- You shouldn’t consider locating your startup here because it might not be there anymore in the nearest future. Founders like Mark Essien have expressed fear over the future of this valley. Though we do not hope for that.
The decision of startup location is solely yours, and should be made wisely as it could make or Mar the future of your startup. Do you feel this same way, or not? Do let us know.
