Lagos’ Biggest Coworking Community is in Ikeja and There’s a Lot to Learn From It

Including how to build strong coworking communities

Photo Credit: Open AIR

Last week Friday, I stood in Israel’s shop, a small fancy setup in the middle of computer village. I had a wide smile on my face.

You see, Israel is my computer repair guy. Two years ago, Israel’s shop was a small corner of a two story building complex, just two or three blocks away from this new office. He shared that particular shop with two other entrepreneurs — a phone repairman and a guy who did CD labeling and printing.

Today, Israel owns his own shop and has two boys working with him.

The Computer Village in Ikeja (often called Otigba) is full of stories like this. Stories of young men and women starting from nothing or sometimes an apprenticeship, “doing freedom” moving into their own small place, saving up and gaining enough customers to move to a bigger shop.

If Yaba is the home of software developers, Otigba is the nucleus of ICT hardware, sales and repairs (doesn’t the name “computer village” say it all?). There’s a good chance that the desktop, laptop or phone you’re using to read this article came from Otigba. If you’re looking for computer support services — sales of peripherals, antiviruses, after sales support and repairs, your first and last stop is computer village in Ikeja.

But it’s more than just a great business centre, even though this is a big deal. It is also a great coworking community.

Photo Credit: Open AIR

The power of coworking and its ripple effects are evident in computer village, if you know how to look. Packets of entrepreneurs and their apprentices share resources, from generators, to tools to peripherals -the village moniker isn’t just an aesthetic. There’s a strong communal factor present. Entrepreneurs refer customers to other entrepreneurs for support services, most times within the same vicinity. Everybody seems to know everyone. And they share information.

Back in the dark days, when the computer village was still where you went to get pirated software, the village’s information distribution network was strong. As government attempted to cut down on piracy, randomly raiding the area, the boys would tip themselves off ahead of time.

They were almost unstoppable.

As Victor Asemota wrote in his article for the Guardian, “Otigba traders not only created the first marketplace for technology products, but they also built for the first time an affordable service industry around it”. That, in summary, is the story of Otigba.

Communities like these are common all around Lagos. The consumer electronics community at Alaba International, the mechanic villages scattered around the city, the tech startup community in Yaba (this being the youngest).

Otigba in particular holds many lessons for us as we attempt to build profitable coworking communities. One notable lesson is how it increased in popularity.

“The market forces in [Otigba] helped to democratise the sales of technology products in Nigeria. They discovered the power of media advertising early and took the competition from the streets of Ikeja to the newspapers. Listing prices of computer products in the Nigerian dailies had a profound effect on the industry as a whole. The entrepreneurs at Otigba sensed the boom that was coming after cybercafes became ubiquitous in Nigeria and positioned themselves for it. They found cheaper sources for products and the technology industry benefited from it as a whole. Like the other major markets in Lagos, Computer Village at Ikeja did not just serve Lagos. It was a hub for people looking for products from all over Nigeria. Advertising in the newspapers made that happen, and it is what accelerated the growth of the market.” From the Guardian article.

Not only that, but the Otigba movement was also able to create a win-win ecosystem for all stakeholders. For buyers, all their needs are met in one place. It’s not just computers or phones — all support services are available in Otigba. Repairs, replacement parts, software sales and subscriptions, you name it, you can find it there. And the rates are competitive due to market forces. For landlords, Otigba has become home to some prime real estate. For the entrepreneurs, the fact that Otigba is the epicenter of computer products and services in Lagos means there’s a constant traffic of business into the place. In fact, I dare you to go to Ikeja on any day of the week (aside Sunday) and meet the place empty.

It’s always bustling.

Until we can find a way to position coworking that its benefits are obvious to a large part of the populace and not just tech enthusiasts, coworking will move at a glacial pace. For example, CCHub is synonymous with software development in Lagos/Nigeria; 360Creative Hub is slowly building a reputation as a healthy community for fashion designers and CapitalSquare has Jelly (an “open mic” night for freelancers, coworkers, telecommuters and any interested parties). These are good but we can do more.

We should do more.

I believe the secret to building strong coworking communities in Nigeria lies in understanding how these different communities came to be so relevant today. When we understand how to do it, then we can replicate it for all our creative industries — fashion, for photography, for music, Nollywood etc.

…………………………………………………………………

One of Israel’s boys stood at the entrance to the shop, attending to customers while the other one arranged printer cartridges onto shelves at the back. The air conditioner humming in the background was absent the last time I was here.

Israel was taking apart my laptop. I asked him how much the repairs would cost and when he told me, I whistled softly. I tried to haggle, but Israel just smiled and said, “Oga, tins don change o”.

I couldn’t agree more. They had. ………………………………………………………….

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