When we started building Stonetech, one question drove almost every decision we made: why should a founder in Kaduna have to relocate to Lagos to be taken seriously?
This week, that question got a powerful answer.
The Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI) has officially selected Stonetech Square as the iHatch Cohort 5 hub for Kaduna State, placing us among 37 innovation hubs chosen across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. One hub per state. A national network. And Kaduna is represented.
The iHatch programme, run by ONDI under the Nigeria Startup Act framework, is one of the most deliberate efforts to distribute startup support infrastructure across the country. Cohort 5 takes that ambition further by placing a single designated hub in every state, each tasked with serving as the first point of contact for founders in their region.
As Kaduna’s designated hub, Stonetech Square now serves as ONDI’s local implementation partner for the state. That means structured access to incubation support, business advisory services, startup acceleration, and connection to national innovation opportunities, all available to founders right here in Kaduna.
Nigeria’s startup story has been told largely from two cities. The talent, the ideas, and the hustle that exist across the rest of the country have always been there. What has been missing is the infrastructure to surface and support them at scale.
This selection does not solve everything. But it creates a structure. It creates legitimacy. It tells a founder in Rigasa or Barnawa or Kafanchan that there is a recognised place they can walk into, connect with, and build through. That is not a small thing.
At Stonetech, we have spent the last two years laying the groundwork for exactly this kind of work, through our academy, our workspace, our acceleration programmes, and our focus on practical, context-aware innovation support. This selection affirms that the foundation we have been building is the right one.
This hub is for you. Whether you are just starting out, navigating your first product, or trying to scale, Stonetech Square is here. And now it is officially part of Nigeria’s national innovation network.