Community engagement is more important than ever in a constantly shifting African tech ecosystem. Co-creation HUB (CcHUB), Africa’s leading tech innovation center, has consistently demonstrated its commitment to bridging gaps in knowledge, skill-building, and collaboration. In 2023, CcHUB’s community team connected over 15,000 members both online and offline—across diverse tech hubs, academic institutions, and entrepreneurial communities. By 2024, we set our sights on expanding our reach and impact by building connections and forging impactful partnerships that offer learning opportunities and direct access to industry experts.

Building Stronger Communities Through Collaboration

One of CcHUB’s key strategies has been creating environments where tech developers, startup founders, and students can collaborate, learn, and grow together. The Hub’s team has brought on board a number of key organizations to run events, workshops, and programs that blend theory with hands-on experience. These initiatives have helped participants to have direct access to industry experts, offering valuable insights and mentorship that enriched their learning and helped them feel more prepared to tackle complex challenges in the job market

“Expert Collaborators working with CcHUB offer students practical insights and guidance, helping them connect the learning and applications, inspiring their future careers in tech”.The knowledge shared through these programs gives students a real sense of what it takes to build a career in tech.

Spotlight on Nigeria: Engaging Developers

In Nigeria, CcHUB focused on empowering developers and building collaboration through a series of engaging events. One highlight was our partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) at Dev Junction, where over 30 developers explored how to use machine learning for business insights and learned to apply new tech in their projects. “Machine Learning can be a powerful tool in visualizing and making informed decisions with your data, and AWS is a great platform to achieve it” – Community member. We kept the momentum going by teaming up with the Google Developer Community, bringing together 50 software professionals to discuss the latest in AI and machine learning. This created a great space for sharing ideas and exploring how AI can drive innovation in Africa.

To further foster collaboration, we partnered with Africa’s Talking Innovation Hub to emphasize the value of open-source software, teaching 30 developers how to contribute to global projects and use popular development tools. Alongside these technical-focused events, community-building events, such as the ‘Meet and Mingle,’ played a crucial role in facilitating networking opportunities. By providing a relaxed and interactive setting, these events helped cultivate personal connections that often led to collaborative projects and initiatives. These gatherings formed the ground for sharing aspirations, challenges, and resources, highlighting the importance of a supportive tech ecosystem that thrives on collaboration and mutual growth. “The fact that the community was very interactive, informative, and engaging made it a great space for building meaningful connections and future collaborations.” – Community member

Building Bridges in Rwanda

In Rwanda, Through strategic partnerships with higher education institutions. CcHUB Design Lab made significant progress in fostering collaboration and skill-building. One of the key initiatives was a series of hands-on workshops focused on data analysis using Python and data visualization with Tableau. These sessions gave students the chance to develop foundational skills, helping them analyze and present data more effectively. Furaha Benedict, a research associate at CMU Africa, shared: “Participating in CcHUB’s outreach programs has been such a fulfilling experience. It’s given me a chance to share my knowledge, learn from the students, and grow through their feedback. Plus, I’m excited about giving back to a community of students.”

Additionally, engaging with the younger community majoring in entrepreneurship at Kepler University through our Founder Speaker Series brought together 150 students eager to learn from established and successful startups. The event offered aspiring entrepreneurs insights, practical advice, and inspiration, fostering innovation and ambition. It also highlighted the importance of mentorship and knowledge sharing in building a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. “One of the practical ways to teach students entrepreneurship is to help them learn from the actual entrepreneurs what it means to be an entrepreneur, their story, the source of their inspiration, and how they overcome challenges to build their business, etc… Collaborating with CCHUB Design Lab has helped Kepler students achieve that.” – Jean De Dieu – Entrepreneurship Program Manager – Kepler College

Empowering Innovation in Kenya: AI Advancement and Data Privacy through Strategic Collaborations

At iHUB, partnerships like those with 10 Academy and Quikk API have become pivotal in driving AI innovation and fostering discussions around data privacy. Two standout initiatives—DevJunction and the CTO Roundtable—demonstrated this commitment by equipping developers and startup founders with knowledge of AI technology and data protection strategies.

The DevJunction event, held in collaboration with 10 Academy, focused on empowering developers with the tools and knowledge to build generative AI (GenAI) applications. Exploring advanced prompt engineering, and Chat Completions API, to create structured outputs for real-world solutions. 

Furthermore, the CTO Roundtable in collaboration with Quikk API addressed the critical topic of Data & Privacy for Startups. The roundtable emphasized the importance of integrating privacy considerations from the very beginning. Key insights revolved around building with privacy from Day 1, staying current with regulations, and transparency with customers. Startups must balance growth with strong data privacy protocols, a key factor for success. Partnerships in Kenya are helping developers and tech startups drive AI innovation while maintaining responsible data management.

The Future of Community Engagement

These initiatives reflect CcHUB’s commitment to creating a well-rounded ecosystem that supports continuous learning, collaboration, and growth. “This outreach strategy is significantly broadening our reach and deepening the impact of our community efforts. By fostering collaboration, we are laying a strong foundation for partnerships that drive innovation and growth. Further amplifying our collective impact.” –  Habiba Ahmed – Community Manager – CcHUB Design Lab. 

Join us in shaping the future of innovation! Whether you’re in Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, or beyond, our community offers opportunities to learn, collaborate, and grow. Stay tuned by following our social media pages., CcHUB, iHUB, CcHUB Design Lab, CcHUB Namibia.