Startup
Igniting Innovation, Fueling Growth
Guru Innovation Hub is a community passionate about the role of technology in transforming Nigeria. Within the short time of our existence, we have seen from experience that there are lots of people and organizations interested in the application of technology to solve local problems and our goal is to continue to unearth such individuals/companies and to support them to bring their ideas/products to life.
One of the ways we have done this is through the programs in our incubation unit.
Our Pre-Incubation
It is a 6-month program to support aspiring entrepreneurs to build and launch initial prototypes of their tech-enabled solutions to clearly defined problems in society. The goal is to validate the idea and product/market fit. The program comes with access to funding, mentoring from the management team and hands-on support from our Product development team.
- Innovative idea that leverages web or mobile technology to solve a problem/issue
- Idea must improve on an existing process/solution or be completely new i.e. hasn’t been done locally
- Adequately researched problem with a clear picture of the target segment it affects
- The team should have skills to build the solution (or have access to technical skills)
- The team should have skills to build the solution (or have access to technical skills)
- Full-time commitment for 6 months spent building the solution and conducting market validation to understand your potential users?
- Team must have at least one full-time member and a maximum of 3 team members
Our Incubation
This is a 12-month program focused on helping ventures with some level of traction & revenue to build businesses that can grow into global sustainable companies. Startups will access funding during the program and have direct access to free office space for the team, free credits for partner products, business support and access to a network of partners and more. To be eligible to apply, startups must meet the following criteria:
- Have a revenue model and be generating revenue.
- Have a functional product that leverages technology.
- Have gained Users/customers. Been in operations (since launch date) for at least 6 months.
- Have a management team consisting of up to 3 members which include a technical lead and founder(s) that are fully committed to the business.
- Have the potential to scale.
- This program is open to founders looking to grow their business in Africa, particularly Nigeria. Startups will have to be based in our incubation space in Calabar, Nigeria for the duration of the program.
Our Acceleration
Accelerators are 12-week programs designed to help startups refine their products, business model and processes, positioning them for sustained growth. With a core focus on product development, financial management, investment readiness and business modeling, accelerators are designed to be flexible and provide support based on the individual needs of the startup. Our accelerators are fast-paced and execution driven, with a priority focus on founders applying learnings to their startups in real time. Startups in our Accelerator programs get access to:
- One-on-one sessions with our internal experts at Guru Innovation Hub
- Coaching sessions with leading industry experts
- Free credits from partner products
- Access to partners and networks
- Access to mentors