7 Steps To Building A Successful Tech Ecosystem In Jos, Plateau State

A thriving tech ecosystem allows startup founders to connect with other founders and share stories about how to overcome technical and commercial problems they may be facing.


Before we start talking about building/sustaining a tech ecosystem in Jos, we first have to explain what a good tech ecosystem is and how it can affect our lives and community.

What is an ecosystem?

An ecosystem is a group of interconnected elements formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.

A tech ecosystem on the other hand is an interconnected, independent networks of various actors that combine to create innovative products and services in tech. These actors primarily include tech startups; more established tech companies; tech company founder(s); investors and investment groups; and mentors and organisations that provide business support. Based on this definition, the tech ecosystem in Jos, Plateau State is still in it's infancy.

Successful startups are not launched with a big splash - they are built over time through careful iteration and a laser-like focus on their customers. Building a tech ecosystem is no different.

There are supporting factors that play a crucial role in creating a tech ecosystem. These includes the media; a strong human resources talent pool; the educational system; a predominant entrepreneurial culture, and a robust local infrastructure to support founders and investors in communicating, solving problems together, and coming up with innovative ideas.

The following are factors that will play crucial roles in creating a sustainable tech ecosystem in Plateau State:

1. Accelerators and Incubators

Accelerators work to provide a company or "accelerate" their growth through providing mentoring, training and promotion, among many other types of support. A tech incubator is a company that helps new tech startups and early stage companies with office space, equipment, funding, networking and legal advice, among other roles. They are specifically dedicated to startups and early stage tech sector companies. nHub Nigeria in Jos is a great example of a startup accelerator/incubator.

2. Startups and founders

A tech ecosystem brings startups and founders together in a network, to overcome problems and share each other experiences. Furthermore, it raises spirit to challenge in a sector knowing you have a network of startup founders doing the same. And it gives individual companies the power to join forces on certain areas, giving them a stronger voice. Techies in Jos will be the voice of the tech ecosystem in Plateau state.

3. Investors and Founders

Many startups choose to raise funds with external investors. Investors also often provide business advice and direction. Venture capitalists experienced in tech investment typically offer a startup capital in exchange for equity and they take important consultative role in guiding the startup's growth. Investors provide many startups wit the lifeblood of business success - capital and know how.

Over the coming months, Techies in Jos hope to identify investors interested in startups coming out of Jos, Plateau State.

4. Serial entrepreneurs, Angel Investors and mentors.

Tech ecosystem typically contain individuals who are involved in numerous tech entrepreneurial ventures(Serial Entrepreneurs), individuals who invest their own money in various tech startups(Angel Investors) and individuals who provide startup founders with much needed guidance and advice(Mentors). It is also common for one individual to provide all three roles.

Any thriving tech ecosystem is littered with such individuals. A tech ecosystem is largely considered to need them to succeed and vice versa.

Supporting players

There are various supporting players that complete a tech ecosystem, and importantly, they are imperative to success.

Countries and cities with thriving tech ecosystem tend to have a strong entrepreneurial culture, which is encouraged through the educational system and in society at large. Tolerance for failure is another aspect that is important for a culture of entrepreneurial innovation to occur.

Government support is crucial. Not only does government assistance ensure that regulation and obstacles to markets are easier to navigate, many countries provide start-ups with funding and training programs as well as tax breaks. Countries such as the UK and Ireland are prominent in assisting new tech startups in such ways.

Access to talented candidates is a cornerstone of any tech ecosystem. A tech startup with the most innovative ideas will not get very far if it does not have the workforce capable of making its ideas a reality. Strong talent pools are fostered through a good educational system and policies that allow businesses to attract talents from abroad. We have a lot of work to do to improve the knowledge and skills of our tech programmers, designers and engineers. We need a high level of training and specific education to achieve that.

Over the coming months, we will be adding details of locally established web designers, developers and other related service businesses such as social media agencies to our resource page.

Characteristics of a successful tech ecosystem

Successful tech ecosystems;

1. Consist of many specialized organizations that work together.
2. Have startup mentors that help entrepreneurs across several programs.
3. Share ideas and learning because they understand that ideas mean nothing(execution matters more)
4. Are not dominated by vertically-integrated gatekeepers.
5. Help economies move forward through the creation of jobs and wealth.

Steps to creating a sustainable/successful tech ecosystem in Jos.

1. Start with a collaborative mentality

Startups are exciting because they have the opportunity to create new markets that did not exist. When we adopt this mentality, a competitive startup, startup organization or startup ecosystem does not have to lose in order for you to win... the most lucrative opportunity is to make the pie bigger for all.

2. Keep the stream of innovators flowing

It is important we maintain a flux of new members. One popular way of accomplishing this is by holding a hackathon. Doing so will introduce people from a variety of backgrounds to the opportunities within industries, and possibly even inspire these individuals to be part of our ecosystem.

3. Map the local market

To foster a collaborative mentality, it is important to first map out all of the local startup organizations in jos.

The reason being a lot of new entrepreneurs are oblivious to the local startup resources available to them. The days of starting a business all alone are almost over. We plan to reach out to local entrepreneurs in the city of Jos and talk to them about ways they can use technology to better improve their businesses.

4. Gather the network

This is probably the most important step in the process. To build a successful tech ecosystem in Jos. We need top tech entrepreneurs in Jos to come together and discuss ways they can all contribute in building a sustainable ecosystem. No matter what industry you are in, you need to host tech events where local tech experts share their lessons learned and provide feedback on tech ideas. These events will be free and open to the public. The goal of these events is to create a low-pressure, open environment were people share ideas, make connections, learn about the opportunities to launch a company here in Jos and make more people inspired to create these solutions. The benefits of these events cannot be understated because a lot of meaningful relationships, meaning partnerships and ideas that could become companies would be created from these events. Until we can convince the different components of the innovation economy to work together towards a common goal, we would not have a true innovation ecosystem.

5. Work with the government

The government plays a crucial role in building a successful tech ecosystem. We hope to partner with the government to support the tech community once we have successfully seeded the roots of an authentic tech ecosystem.

By connecting with the local Chamber of commerce in Jos, we can get to discuss ways they can assist small businesses that are just starting up and also go a step further by involving local government officials and organizations in tech/startup events. We can go another step further by getting involved in Jos politics by making a case for why startups can be beneficial to the city.

6. Give our problems a voice.

Whether your industry is finance, healthcare or agriculture, it's got problems. And if they are big enough, these problems can provide entrepreneurs with an opportunity to use innovation to solve them. But for innovators to recognize such an opportunity, they have to know they exist, they have to know what problems exist in your industry. You need to give your problem a voice. To inspire solutions to various problems in different sectors, Techies in Jos would be organizing seminars and tech meetups where we can get to sit down and discuss the various problems we face here.

7. Reach out to other ecosystems.

Reaching out to other ecosystems will expose our members to new ideas, processes and new technology that might transform how we approach innovation.

The media plays a major role in the success of tech ecosystems, providing coverage to local, regional, national and international audiences. In countries around the world, local media regularly cover tech funding rounds, product launches, milestones achievement, new partnership announcements and so forth.

This is something Techies in Jos hopes to achieve. We are a community dedicated to all things related to the entrepreneurial/tech startup scene in Plateau state and beyond. We will be reaching out to local media channels and agencies to raise awareness, whilst also making sure that our news is seen at an international level.

For questions, inquiries, partnerships or suggestion. Send us an email - TechiesinJos@gmail.com


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Image Source: Benzinga