The Bulb Africa

What The Bulb Africa does

The Bulb Africa is a Lagos-based tech talent incubator operating a multi-product ecosystem across training, workspace, talent placement, and startup support. Founded in 2020 and headquartered at 39 Ikorodu-Ososun Rd., Jibowu, Lagos, Nigeria, the company serves both businesses seeking skilled African tech talent and individuals pursuing tech careers through its core sub-brands: The Institute (training and fellowship programs), The Desk (coworking spaces), Talent-as-a-Service (recruitment and outsourcing), StartUp Engine (incubation with co-investment), Tech Jewel (women in tech), and Leverage (founder community).

The company generates revenue across five primary streams: tech training program tuition (subscription), talent placement and recruitment fees (professional services), coworking space rentals at The Desk locations (subscription), corporate training engagements covering Cybersecurity, AI, Blockchain, Agile/Scrum, and Startup Academy (professional services), and product development services. Its GTM motion is hybrid — direct sales to enterprises for recruitment and corporate training, and self-serve enrollment for individual learners through the institute platform at app.thebulbafrica.institute, with a 20% registration discount as primary acquisition lever.

The portfolio also includes proprietary products Settl.me, Vecul, and Whitelabeled Solutions, though no proprietary technology stack is disclosed in available sources. Reported outcomes include 300+ individuals trained, 200+ job placements, 500+ community members across Africa, and 85%+ employability rate for graduates. Leadership comprises co-founder and CEO Wande Adams and Program Director Modupe Durosinmi-Etti. The company is privately held with no disclosed parent, funding rounds, or institutional investors.

Name

The Bulb Africa

Legal name

The Bulb Africa

Website

https://thebulb.africa

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Bulb Africa is a Lagos-based tech talent incubator that trains African tech professionals, places them with employers, runs coworking spaces, incubates startups, and operates community programs for women in tech and founders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tech Talent Incubation & Training

NAICS

Computer Training (611420), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Information Technology & Software (EDAAAPAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Vendor/Authorized Certification Training (Microsoft/AWS/Cisco, etc.) (BPAEANAA), Technical & Digital Skills Training (BPACANAB)

Keywords

• Tech talent incubation
• Coding training programs
• Coworking office spaces
• Talent recruitment services
• Startup acceleration

Headquarters

HQ city

Jibowu

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tech Training Programs: Revenue generated from immersive training programs, fellowship tuition, and professional development courses offered through the institute platform.
2. Talent Placement & Recruitment: Fees from businesses for recruiting vetted tech talents and outsourcing in-house tech specialists. Includes access to fellowship graduates for hiring.
3. Coworking Space Rentals: Revenue from desk bookings and office space rentals at 'The Desk' locations in Lagos - flexible workspace access per day, month, or year.
4. Corporate Training: Enterprise training programs including Cybersecurity Awareness, AI for Everyone, Blockchain for Executives, Agile and Scrum, and Startup Academy.
5. Product Development Services: Building scalable products for clients using top tech talents from Africa.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Bulb Africa operates an integrated tech talent ecosystem that incubates African technologists through immersive training and fellowship programs (The Institute), provides multi-location coworking and virtual office space (The Desk), recruits and outsources vetted software engineers and designers to companies (Talent-as-a-Service), and incubates and co-invests in early-stage African tech startups (StartUp Engine). Its training portfolio spans Cybersecurity, AI, Blockchain, Agile/Scrum, Startup Academy, and dedicated programs for women in tech (Tech Jewel) and founders (Leverage).

Product overview

The Bulb Africa is Africa's leading tech talent incubator operating a multi-product ecosystem that combines tech education, workspace solutions, talent placement, and startup acceleration. The core portfolio includes: The Institute (training and fellowship programs covering areas like Cybersecurity, AI, Blockchain, Agile/Scrum, and career development), The Desk (coworking and virtual office spaces), Talent as a Service (tech talent outsourcing and recruitment), StartUp Engine (incubation and acceleration with co-investment), Communities (professional networking), and proprietary products including Settl.me, Vecul, and Whitelabeled Solutions. The company also offers corporate tech training programs and operates in Lagos, Nigeria.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Institute: Tech talent training and fellowship program providing education for global opportunities and career advancement in tech
• The Desk
• StartUp Engine
• Talent-as-a-Service
• Tech Jewel
• Leverage
• Fellowship

Quantifiable outcome

• 85%+ employability rate for training program graduates
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Ingressive for Good: Non-profit providing African tech talent with training and job placement; comparable fellowship outcomes focus and employer pipeline.
• Decagon Institute: Nigeria-based software engineering training and talent placement program. Direct overlap in fellowship design and employer placement in Lagos.

Direct peers

• Andela: Pan-African tech talent marketplace connecting trained African software engineers with global employers. Closest comparable to The Bulb's Talent-as-a-Service model, operating at significantly larger scale.
• ALX (African Leadership Experience): Operates tech-focused training cohorts (software engineering, data) targeting African learners with strong career outcomes emphasis. Direct overlap with The Institute's fellowship and corporate training offerings.
• Moringa School: East African tech bootcamp (Nairobi, Lagos) running immersive software engineering and data programs with employer placement. Comparable fellowship model and learner demographic.
• Utiva: Nigerian data, tech, and product training provider with corporate upskilling programs. Comparable corporate training curriculum and Lagos market overlap.
• Workstation (Coworking): Lagos coworking operator with multiple locations serving tech startups and freelancers. Direct overlap with The Desk's workspace offering and Lagos target segment.
• CcHUB (Co-Creation Hub): Nigeria's leading tech innovation hub combining coworking, training, and startup incubation. Closest peer to The Bulb's combined Institute + Desk + StartUp Engine model.

Broad incumbents

• New Horizons Nigeria: Established IT training franchise in Nigeria offering vendor certification (Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle). Comparable to The Bulb's corporate/vendor certification training curriculum.
• Tek Experts (Microsoft/elearning): Africa-rooted tech training and customer support talent provider with global employer relationships. Overlaps in talent training and enterprise placement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thebulbafrica
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheBulbAfrica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/64547766
• Instagraminstagram.com/thebulb.africa
• TikToktiktok.com/@thebulbafrica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Bulb Africa