KEY POINTS

• Youth-led tech startups are emerging in remote Nigerian towns like Ogoja, Kafanchan, Iseyin, Otukpo, and Nguru, tackling local problems with digital solutions.

• These innovators operate outside Nigeria’s mainstream tech scene, leveraging online communities, solar energy, and self-learning to build scalable platforms.

• Many startups focus on underserved sectors such as rural finance, agriculture, offline education, and localized e-commerce, proving that innovation doesn’t require urban access.

In the stillness of Nigeria’s remote landscapes, far from the bustle of Lagos or Abuja, a silent revolution is taking root.

Young innovators in towns often overlooked on the national map are turning internet cafes, solar-powered sheds, and living rooms into fledgling tech hubs. These towns—Ogoja in Cross River State, Kafanchan in Kaduna, Iseyin in Oyo, Otukpo in Benue, and Nguru in Yobe—are witnessing a grassroots digital awakening.

“We don’t need to be in Lagos to write code,” said Sola Adebanjo, 24, co-founder of AgroHive, a platform connecting small farmers to buyers through AI-powered price prediction tools.

Based in Iseyin, a town historically known for its agriculture and textile weaving, Adebanjo and his team are redefining the narrative of innovation in Nigeria. “The internet has leveled the field for talent, so our location is no longer a barrier.”

Innovation flourishes in isolation as young Nigerians build locally and think globally

In Ogoja, nestled close to the Cameroon border, a small group of developers run “Kodelynx,” a startup building decentralized payment solutions for local cooperatives. The team, made up of university dropouts and self-taught programmers, operates from a solar-powered facility that doubles as a community center. “We realized rural communities were excluded from digital finance,” said co-founder Blessing Okon. “So we built a wallet system that works even with 2G connectivity.”

Across the country in Nguru, a historically dry and under-resourced town in Yobe State, a startup named “Sandsight” is using satellite data and remote sensing to develop irrigation insights for dryland farmers.

Their software is gaining traction across parts of Niger and Chad, even as their base remains disconnected from Nigeria’s central innovation infrastructure. “We didn’t wait for anyone to come develop the North-East,” said founder Musa Galadima. “We studied online, used WhatsApp groups to share code, and today we are collaborating with researchers at the University of Nairobi.”

Otukpo, traditionally a commercial hub for the Idoma people in Benue State, now hosts a digital agency called “Benuetech,” offering services ranging from web design to low-cost CRM platforms tailored to micro-enterprises. The founder, Adaora Eje, a former nurse, shifted to tech during the pandemic. “I watched YouTube tutorials between shifts, and within a year, I launched my first product,” she explained.

Meanwhile, in Kafanchan, a town long associated with ethnic tension and infrastructural neglect, a group of students from the College of Education has created EduSync, a learning management system tailored for underserved rural schools. The app functions fully offline once downloaded and uses gamified learning in Hausa and English. “Our mission is to close the educational gap for kids in communities like ours,” said co-founder Ibrahim Zakari.

What unites these startups is more than ambition—it’s resilience, community support, and a refusal to be boxed in by geography. These young entrepreneurs often work without consistent electricity, limited internet bandwidth, and no proximity to investors or startup incubators.

However, online communities have become lifelines. They use platforms like GitHub, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn to showcase projects, collaborate, and attract remote mentorship. Some have received microgrants from diaspora-led funds or have caught the eye of Africa-focused venture capital firms looking to tap into “undiscovered” talent.

“Nigeria’s tech story must expand beyond Lagos and Abuja,” said Dr. Chioma Ekene, a digital inclusion researcher at the University of Ibadan. “These remote-town startups reflect a powerful grassroots ecosystem that could redefine what inclusive innovation looks like on the continent.”

Despite infrastructural challenges, many of these startups are profitable or on the path to sustainability. Their models focus on solving local problems first, with global applications emerging as a byproduct.