We’re back with New Programs

Hey,

It’s been a bit since the last update, but I thought it necessary to not clog your inboxes, particularly since we were closed as well and re-strategising for the new world that we live in.

I hope this email meets you well.

I’ll jump straight to the updates.

We’re back open

On the off chance that you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, our space is back open for business, but we have some safety protocols in place, so please do show up in a mask and adhere to the safety and hygiene protocols put in place to keep both you and everyone else safe.

Colab Experiments and Colab Product Department

I spent a big chunk of the lockdown accessing how far we have come as a community (and we have come a fair bit, if I do say so myself) and my heart is warmed by the updates I see from our alumni doing great things across many sectors and increasingly having a global footprint. You guys are all amazing and you validate everything, I dreamed of when we first opened our doors. Thank you!

The question that came from this introspection was: What next? How do we scale that impact and also get more people into the funnel and out to make impact, while also attempting to help them navigate possibly the toughest period in our lifetime?

I still don’t fully know the answers to that, and I am open to suggestions, but we’re going to take a stab at it with two new programs starting soon.

Colab Experiments: The premise behind this is simple and stems from one of the problems we’ve had over time, which is the sheer number of people that want to intern at Colab, which we have to turn down for lack of capacity. Is it possible to simulate multiple startup environments and have people intern inside those to get a feel of what it is like to work at a startup with colleagues and teams and all the attendant pressure? Colab Experiments will try to do that, by testing real ideas with real customers and real money, within our city. Like all experiments, the successful ones will be scaled up to full startups and not so successful ones shutdown.

Interested? If you want to test an idea, fill this form. If you want to intern at one of the experiments, fill this one. 

Colab Product Department: What will it feel like to work with your colleagues at Colab on real-world projects, with real deadlines and get paid real money for your effort? That’s what we’re going to try and find out with The Product Department. Colab will form teams and source projects for those teams to work on and get paid, while also gaining real life experience about product development. Interested? Sign up here.

Please note that both programmes have limited capacity and as such, we will be prioritising active subscribers first and matching team needs with available talent.

All Classes Back in September (including new ones!)

All the classes are back in September (we’ll communicate dates to those who sign up). Due to social distancing measures, we have limited seats, so first come, first serve!

You can sign up for the programmes as follows:

• Code School
• Design School (UI/UX)
• Introduction to Python
• Graphics Design Class
• Introduction to Data Science
• Advanced Code School

We might also have a Motion Graphic’s class if we see enough interest (let us know if you’re interested here).

One More Thing…

Small business grants programme from Facebook now available for business owners in Nigeria.

We know that your business may be experiencing disruptions resulting from the global outbreak of COVID-19, especially companies that are running cross-border business. We’ve heard that a little financial support can go a long way, so we’re offering USD 100M in cash grants and ad credits to help during this challenging time. Please apply here if you run a small business or share with someone that could benefit from it. https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/grants

Hope you’re as pumped as we are about the future.

Kind regards.