9 Coworking Spaces in Ibadan

About Ibadan

The capital and the most populated city of Oyo State in Nigeria, Ibadan has over 3 million souls meandering around its crowded streets. A popular transit city perched between the coastal region and the hinterland of the country; it has been the hub of administration of the old Western Region since British colonial rule. Founded as a military state (think warriors), it remained this way until the last decade of the 19th Century and was nicknamed "idi lbon" (gun base) due to its military character. The warriors ended up becoming the rulers of the city and the most important economic group, as its strategic position in the hills on the edge of a forest created the perfect marketing hub for traders and goods. The British eventually developed Ibadan into the major trading center that it is today. Coworking venues opening on the streets of Ibadan are catering to the masses of tech savvy souls who are intent on solving local issues.

Its people are predominantly English speaking and it's becoming a hub for social businesses with some startups such as "Wecyclers" gaining recognition. Nigeria has a huge market that is getting bigger every year and it is the cultural epicentre for African youth through movies and online publications. Both Google and Facebook have opened up their own hubs and launched accelerator programs and the country is on track to draw more venture capital than its South African and East African counterparts. Nigeria is dubbed “Africa’s India” for its demographic stats. If today the population is “only” 173 million, making it the largest country in Africa, tomorrow, it should reach half a billion (2050) and likely a billion by the turn of next century.
With so much buzz happening in Nigeria it's little wonder that cities such as Ibadan are seeing coworking spaces opening in their streets.