Nigerian VC firm, Venture Garden Group, has launched its first tech hub in the country. Called Vibranium Valley, the hub is located in Ikeja, Lagos.
Vice President @ProfOsinbajo launched the “Vibranium Valley” which is set to be the biggest innovation hub in Lagos State.
— Government of Nigeria (@NigeriaGov) June 22, 2018
With a seven-year history in the Nigerian tech scene, Venture Garden Group has a pretty good understanding of how startups and startup innovation works.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bunmi Akinyemiju, with the launch of its world-class tech campus Vibranium Valley, Venture Garden Group takes the first step into its next chapter as the company works to grow an innovative and collaborative ecosystem that will transform Africa and the lives within it.
Vice President @ProfOsinbajo take a tour around the @VibraniumValley Park led by Executive Director, @VentureGardenNG, Kunmi Demuren; CEO Venture Garden Group, @splashbm and other Tech innovators during his visit.
📸@novoisioro@Techpointdotng pic.twitter.com/aKnwtMs4Mr— Babafemi Oretuyi (@Opetuyii) June 22, 2018
The new tech hub, called Vibranium Valley, was launched on June 22 with the Vice President, Yomi Osinbanjo as a special guest.
Apparently, the name of the hub was derived from the Hollywood blockbuster, Black Panther, and Silicon Valley. In Black Panther, Vibranium is a rare metal found largely in Wakanda while Silicon Valley is the home of global tech innovation. Thus, Wakanda science meets Silicon Valley. It’s quite an apt name for the hub.
However, Venture Gardens says Vibranium Valley is more than just a hub; it’s a tech campus. Vibranium Valley is “a tech campus with a vision of excellence. The character and quality of Silicon Valley ecosystem/cluster, in Africa.”
We have no doubt that this picture made you smile. You'll agree that we've got the coolest Vice President in @ProfOsinbajo. Thank You Sir, for honoring our invitation to Launch @VibraniumValley and to speak on the Role of Technology and Entrepreneurship in Nation Building. pic.twitter.com/gn8id9LpBZ
— Venture Garden Group (@VentureGardenNG) June 23, 2018
Interestingly, unlike most tech hubs in Lagos, Vibranium Valley is not located in Yaba. The hub is located at the once-renowned Concord Printing Press of Nigeria, at Ikeja. Vibranium Valley is a 2,600 square foot tech campus, and houses about 29 private office suites.
Wondering what #VibraniumValley is?
Do you remember MKO Abiola’s Concord Printing Press? We’ve turned it into a Tech Campus! #VPVibraniumValleyVisit @Techpointdotng pic.twitter.com/f4lyBZEV1S
— VibraniumValley (@VibraniumValley) June 22, 2018
Of course, Venture Garden Group have been in the business of startup investments. They’ve played a key role in financing and supporting startups like Flutterwave, Riby Finance, Max.NG, SureBids, and SureRemit. So we can surely predict more support for startup innovations at Vibranium Valley.