Nothing lasts forever. That is why several innovation hubs have been birthed and died after the demise of the Information Technology Developers Entrepreneurship Accelerator (iDEA) Nigeria, established in March 2013 by former Minister of Communications Technology, Omobola Johnson, in collaboration with the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency [NITDA].

Founded as technology incubation for tech startups and entrepreneurs, iDEA Nigeria was an enabling partnership between the government and entrepreneurs and it was positioned to empower them in different aspects.

The iDEA project was an outstanding initiative headed by Helen Anatogu. It incubated over 50 startups, raised over $800,000 in funds for these startups and accommodated over 1,500 people for seminars, workshops and training.

In a media interview, Anatogu said a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with NITDA in 2013 to provide grant funding to groom the startups. She pointed out that NITDA has provided only about 30% of the agreed funding thereby reneging on its contractual promises.

Many tech entrepreneurs and stakeholders in Nigeria have a justified sentimental link with iDEA Nigeria as I do. As it is at home, so it is abroad. Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Mount Sinai and Emory Healthcare have launched lavish accelerators, incubators and research centres.

Research has shown that up to 90 per cent of these hubs failed before achieving any real transformation. In search of answers, I found a news article from the Harvard Business Review [HBR]. The article outlines why innovation labs are so prone to failure and what organisations can do to ensure their success. First, why they fail:

Lack of alignment with business – All too often, organisations launch innovation centres just for the show without establishing a clear-cut strategy for the centre. HBR writes, “The curtain comes down quickly either because ideas from these labs are disconnected from real customer needs or because no one is on the hook to carry the ideas through to implementation.”

Lack of metrics to track the success – Staffing a lab with only internal industry stalwarts can prevent forward-thinking transformation, while a team comprised solely of external entrepreneurs and innovation experts are often unable to navigate an industry’s traditions and quirks. A successful hub, therefore, is staffed by a combination of experts from both groups.

To prevent this failure, beyond ensuring a hub’s strategy aligns with that of the organisation, implementing specific metrics to track the success and building a team of both industry and entrepreneurial pros, HBR suggests a handful of other tips:

Lack of balance on the team – Staffing a lab with only internal industry stalwarts can prevent forward-thinking transformation, while a team comprised solely of external entrepreneurs and innovation experts are often unable to navigate an industry’s traditions and quirks. A successful hub, therefore, is staffed by a combination of experts from both groups.

To prevent this failure, beyond ensuring a hub’s strategy aligns with that of the organisation, implementing specific metrics to track the success and building a team of both industry and entrepreneurial pros, HBR suggests a handful of other tips:

Establish a clear vision for the team – The article explains that it is preferable to use “from/to” statements that demonstrate progress, such as “We want to go from placing big innovation bets to trying many small experiments and rapid prototyping.”

To encourage further growth, the article advises determining where ideas born in the innovation hub will go as they continue to expand. “Potentially”, it read, “disruptive innovations may go somewhere outside of the core the organisation, where they can be further developed while being protected from corporate antibodies and business-as-usual fingerprints.”

Above all, the article asks that the hub should “prioritize the people involved” at every stage of innovation, from the “entrepreneurs, brainstorming” and “executing transformative new ideas” to the “individuals whose ideas are designed to help”.

However, history is not written for the dead. It is written so that the living can learn from the dead, Generation comes. Generation goes. As such, the operators of the plethora of new generation hubs should note that nothing lasts forever because no one will be around to carry the iDEA through.

*Oleaegbe (psalmsonolaegbe@gmail.com)

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Nothing lasts forever. That is why several innovation hubs have been birthed and died after the demise of the Information Technology Developers Entrepreneurship Accelerator (iDEA) Nigeria, established in March 2013 by former Minister of Communications Technology, Omobola Johnson, in collaboration with the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency [NITDA].

Founded as technology incubation for tech startups and entrepreneurs, iDEA Nigeria was enabling the partnership between the government and entrepreneurs and it was positioned to empower them in different aspects. iDEA was an outstanding initiative headed by Helen Anatogu. It incubated over 50 startups, raised over $800,000 in funds for these startups and accommodated over 1,500 people for seminars, workshops and training.

In a media interview, Anatogu said a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with NITDA in 2013 to provide grant funding to groom the startups. She pointed out that NITDA has provided only about 30% of the agreed funding thereby reneging on its contractual promises.

Research has shown that up to 90 per cent of these hubs failed before achieving any real transformation.

Many tech entrepreneurs and stakeholders in Nigeria have a justified sentimental link with iDEA Nigeria as I do. As it is at home, so it is abroad. Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Mount Sinai and Emory Healthcare have launched lavish accelerators, incubators and research centres. Research has shown that up to 90 per cent of these hubs failed before achieving any real transformation. In search of answers, I found a news article from the Harvard Business Review [HBR]. The article outlines why innovation labs are so prone to failure and what organisations can do to ensure their success. First, why they fail:

Lack of alignment with business – All too often, organisations launch innovation centres just for the show without establishing a clear-cut strategy for the centre. HBR writes, “The curtain comes down quickly either because ideas from these labs are disconnected from real customer needs or because no one is on the hook to carry the ideas through to implementation.”

Lack of metrics to track the success – Staffing a lab with only internal industry stalwarts can prevent forward-thinking transformation, while a team comprised solely of external entrepreneurs and innovation experts are often unable to navigate an industry’s traditions and quirks. A successful hub, therefore, is staffed by a combination of experts from both groups.

To prevent this failure, beyond ensuring a hub’s strategy aligns with that of the organisation, implementing specific metrics to track success and building a team of both industry and entrepreneurial pros, HBR suggests a handful of other tips: Lack of balance on the team – Staffing a lab with only internal industry stalwarts can prevent forward-thinking transformation, while a team comprised solely of external entrepreneurs and innovation experts are often unable to navigate an industry’s traditions and quirks. A successful hub, therefore, is staffed by a combination of experts from both groups.

As such, the operators of the plethora of new generation hubs should note that nothing lasts forever because no one will be around to carry the iDEA through.

To prevent this failure, beyond ensuring a hub’s strategy aligns with that of the organisation, implementing specific metrics to track success and building a team of both industry and entrepreneurial pros, HBR suggests a handful of other tips: Establish a clear vision for the team – The article explains that it is preferable to use “from/to” statements that demonstrate progress, such as “We want to go from placing big innovation bets to trying many small experiments and rapid prototyping.”

To encourage further growth, the article advises determining where ideas born in the innovation hub will go as they continue to expand. “Potentially”, it read, “disruptive innovations may go somewhere outside of the core the organisation, where they can be further developed while being protected from corporate antibodies and business-as-usual fingerprints.”

Above all, the article asks that the hub should “prioritise the people involved” at every stage of innovation, from the “entrepreneurs, brainstorming” and “executing transformative new ideas” to the “individuals whose ideas are designed to help”. However, history is not written for the dead. It is written so that the living can learn from the dead. Generation comes. Generation goes. As such, the operators of the plethora of new generation hubs should note that nothing lasts forever because no one will be around to carry the iDEA through.

*Olaegbe (psalmsonolaegbe@gmail.com, Tweet @RarzackO,  Skype:rarzackolaegbe).

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AbdulRazaq said talks had reached an advanced stage for the state to be considered for the funds that would establish innovation hubs in the area of high-end movie production and textile manufacturing.

“We are talking with the CBN on the innovation hub and I’m glad to inform you that our proposal to access the fund is receiving favourable ratings,” AbdulRazaq told a delegation of Kwara Youth Centre (KYC) who visited him in Ilorin, the state capital, Wednesday night.

“When these hubs are created, they would generate at least 2000 jobs in the area of movie production and textile designs,” he said.

KYC is an umbrella body of young people, especially professionals, who research into the challenges in various communities and offer short and long term solutions or interventions.

The governor said the hubs would attract European and Chinese firms and lead to technology transfer to the indigenous workers.

AbdulRazaq said he envisioned a state where government would create the right environment for individuals to create wealth and employment rather than anyone relying exclusively on the government to give them job.

He restated his commitment to agricultural value chains, especially in the area of cashew and sugarcane.

The governor said Kwara State, with the right investment in infrastructure, had the potential to be the number one producer of sugar in Africa.

AbdulRazaq said Kwara under him would pay counterpart funding to access funds set aside by the Federal Government and multilateral institutions to drive growth in the grassroots, especially in the area of education and provision of basic amenities.

Referring to his meeting with the Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs) in the local government areas where the executive and committees were suspended, AbdulRazaq said he would pursue e-governance to fast-track governance.

“I told the DPMs that everybody wanting to work with government must be computer literate. We have to do things differently. We’ve got to run efficient government,” he said.

Kayode Oyin-Zubair, Convener of KYC, said they had come to bring AbdulRazaq up to speed on the activities of the group which the Governor had long been supporting.

The group urged the governor to focus on empowering the youth in various ways and establishing economic clusters for different categories of entrepreneurs, artisans and creative sector.

It also called on AbdulRazaq to open up Kwara with access roads, saying that was the only way to boost agriculture and other initiatives of the administration.

The governor later inducted the KYC as an advisory board to the government.

The Governor, meanwhile, has directed the DPMs to henceforth run their respective local government areas following the recent suspension of the executive and legislative committees.

AbdulRazaq urged them to bring development closer to the grassroots in line with the constitutional mandate of local governments.

He, however, warned them against mismanagement of public funds, adding that his administration would frown at anybody making away with public resources.

AbdulRazaq also said his administration would henceforth refer any case of ghost workers to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

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