African EdTech platform, GOMYCODE opens new hackerspace in Lagos to better expand its services

African leading EdTech platform GOMYCODE has unveiled its new flagship hackerspace in Lagos, Nigeria. This is the platform’s second hackerspace to open in the country; the first one, a three-room training facility, opened in Ikoyi, Lagos, in 2021.

The African EdTech platform was founded in Tunisia in 2017 by two brothers, Yahya and Amine Bouhlel, who identified a gap between the skills shortage and the availability of tech job possibilities. To provide people with digital education and address this problem, they founded GOMYCODE.

Their services have grown over the years and have now expanded to 8 countries across the Middle East and Africa, including Nigeria. A new and better hackerspace was opened to expand the services in Nigeria.

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About the new GOMYCODE hackerspace in Lagos

The new hackerspace in Alagomeji-Yaba, located at 230 Herbert Macaulay, adopts current architectural concepts. The new building is three times larger than the former hackerspace, which could only accommodate 120 students at once. Its design incorporates colours that are often affiliated with innovation.

With three floors of its new five-storey building dedicated to teaching, the EdTech platform is taking the potential of students’ educational experiences to a new level. These floors have fibre optics, top-notch equipment, and a relaxation area to offer the students the comfort they need to succeed.

One floor is reserved for educational instructors, while the last floor has a conference room with a capacity of more than 100 people. There is also ample parking space for easy access to the institution.

Babatunde Olaifa, General Manager of GOMYCODE Nigeria, spoke on the importance of this new hackspace and the platform’s commitment to offering excellent digital skills education to the Nigerian market. He said,

This move signals our intentions for and deep commitment to the Nigerian market. Whilst we provide trainings online through what we call our online ‘hackerspace’, we know from research and our own experience that students prefer in person classes and what we do is to ensure that these classes take place in the best possible spaces.

Babatunde Olaifa, General Manager, GOMYCODE Nigeria.

He also stressed that the platform’s goal for the Nigerian market is just getting started. GOMYCODE plans to grow and build new hackerspaces in Lagos and Abuja to further improve its presence and commitment to the wider tech community in Nigeria.

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GOMYCODE mission goal for the African market

It is no news that the demand for digital and technological skills is rising globally and in Africa. According to a report by African Leadership Magazine, the rate of social and economic development has shown that Africa, a continent with a growing youth population, needs to develop its digital technology skills as this opens new pathways, especially for a continent that struggles with unemployment.

GOMYCODE aims to provide young people in Africa with digital education that would make them desirable in the global market in an accessible and affordable environment.

At GOMYCODE, they provide training in fields like web/app development, artificial intelligence, data science, user experience, video game development, and business intelligence, with high professionals in a dynamic environment, especially with the opening of their new hackerspace. They also offer an interesting learning strategy that combines offline and online learning.

The EdTech platform has trained more than 12,000 students across borders. It also operates 17 hackerspaces in seven African nations, and 85% of students enrolled in the full programme find employment within six months of graduating.

The country team in Nigeria has also attempted to collaborate with tech businesses for job placements to increase the number.