Innovation hub advisory
We help you build innovation hubs that pay their own way.
Cyan Consulting works with state governments, universities, companies and development partners to plan, set up, run and scale innovation hubs: from the floor plan, to the programmes inside it, to the revenue model that keeps the lights on after the grant ends.
"A hub is an operating system, not a building."— The principle behind every Cyan engagement
Why hubs stall
Most hubs open well. Far fewer are still busy three years later.
The building is rarely the problem. These three are.
Built before the demand was known
The space goes up first. Nobody checked who would use it, what they would pay, or what the local founders and talent actually need.
One grant, one programme, one cliff
Everything runs on a single funder. When that cycle ends, staff leave, programmes stop and the doors stay open with nothing behind them.
No pipeline into or out of the hub
No steady flow of founders coming in, and no links to investors, employers, government or universities for them to move on to.
What we do
Everything a hub needs, from first idea to self-sustaining.
Bring us in at any stage. Start with a plan, fix a hub that already exists, or hand us the full build.
Plan
Decide if, where and for whom before anyone pours concrete.
Feasibility & demand study
We map the local ecosystem and test real demand before you commit money.
- Founder, talent and partner mapping
- Location and catchment review
- Who will pay, for what, and how much
Hub business model
A clear model for how the hub earns, spends and grows, with a 3-year financial plan.
- Revenue mix and pricing
- Ownership and governance options
- Funding plan across government, donors and private partners
Build
Turn the plan into a working space, with the right people building it.
Space design advisory
We write the brief your architect builds from: zones, sizes, flow and what each room must do.
- Co-working, training, maker and event zones
- Review of existing buildings for conversion
- Design review at each stage of the build
Introductions to vetted builders
We connect you to architects, contractors, fit-out teams, solar installers and internet providers we trust, and stay on your side of the table.
- Shortlists and introductions
- Scope and quote review
- Handover checklist before you pay the final bill
Power, connectivity & equipment
A hub without steady power and internet is a room. We plan the solar, backup and connectivity setup, and the equipment list for each zone.
Launch plan
The first 100 days: who you invite, which programme opens the doors, and which partners stand with you on launch day.
Run
Set up the team, systems and programmes that fill the space.
Operating model & team
Roles, hiring plan, policies, membership tiers, booking and reporting systems. We can also train your hub manager and staff.
Programme design & delivery
Incubation, acceleration, hackathons and founder clinics designed for your community. We design them, run the first cohorts with you, then hand over.
Digital skills & AI training
Cloud, data and AI training for young people, public servants, SMEs and university staff, run from your hub and tied to real jobs and contracts.
Results tracking
We measure what changed: startups still trading, revenue, jobs, funding raised, people hired. Not just headcounts and event photos.
Grow
Make the hub the centre of a working ecosystem and keep it funded.
Ecosystem activation
We bring government, universities, investors, corporates and donors into the hub's orbit, with clear roles for each.
Sustainability & revenue
New income lines: corporate innovation programmes, government contracts, training fees, venue hire and partnership funding, so no single funder holds the hub.
Hub health check & turnaround
For hubs already open. A fast review of what is working, what is leaking money or members, and a fix plan.
Hub networks
For states and partners running several hubs: shared standards, shared programmes and shared reporting across the network.
Programmes we design and run
What actually happens inside a working hub.
Pick from this menu, or we build one around your community. Each programme is designed to feed the next, so people move through the hub instead of in and out.
For founders
- Pre-incubationFrom idea to tested problem and first customers
- IncubationStructured support to a working business
- AccelerationGrowth, sales and investor readiness
- Grant & funding readinessProposal writing, pitch, data room
- Founder clinicsLegal, finance and tax help on demand
For talent
- Digital skills bootcampsCloud, data, software and design
- AI for workPractical AI skills for jobs and small businesses
- Youth and women tracksTargeted cohorts with placement partners
- Hackathons & challengesReal problems from government and industry
- Internship & job linksGraduates matched to employers
For institutions
- Public sector AI & digital trainingFor ministries, agencies and civil servants
- Corporate innovation programmesOpen challenges and startup partnerships
- University startup schoolsStudent founder programmes on campus
- Demo days & investor forumsWhere founders meet capital
- Ecosystem conveningsBringing the whole local system into one room
How we work
The LEAP Framework: how a hub grows into an ecosystem.
Our method comes from Innovation Hubs and Nascent Ecosystems, the book by our founder. Each stage builds on the one before it. We start by working out which stage you are really at.
Local Capacity Activation
Find and wake up the talent, founders and partners already in the community.
Who is here, and what can they build?
Entrepreneurial Structuring
Give that energy structure: programmes, pathways and support that turn ideas into businesses.
How do ideas become companies?
Alignment & Orchestration
Line up government, universities, investors and corporates so they pull in the same direction.
Who else must be in the room?
Platform & Capitalisation
Turn the hub into a platform that attracts capital, contracts and partners on its own.
What keeps money flowing in?
Systemic Scale & Flywheel
Successful founders, alumni and partners feed the next cohort. The hub keeps going without us.
Does it run without us?
Every engagement ends with a hub your team can run. Where it makes sense we stay as an adviser, but the goal is that you no longer need us in the room.
Read about the book →Who we work with
Different buyers, one goal: a hub that delivers.
State & federal government
Usually needsA hub, or a network of hubs, that creates jobs and businesses the state can point to, and survives a change of administration.
We deliverFeasibility, hub network design, public-private funding structure, programme delivery and outcome reporting.
Universities
Usually needsAn innovation centre or startup school that serves students, attracts partners and earns income for the institution.
We deliverCampus hub design, startup school curriculum, industry links and a revenue plan.
Banks, telcos & corporates
Usually needsAn innovation lab or startup programme that finds new products, customers and talent, not a branded room nobody uses.
We deliverCorporate hub design, open innovation challenges, startup partnerships and skills programmes.
Donors & development partners
Usually needsA local partner who can design and deliver ecosystem programmes and report real outcomes.
We deliverEcosystem diagnostics, programme design, hub capacity building and results tracking.
Existing hubs
Usually needsMore members, more revenue and less dependence on one funder.
We deliverHealth check, turnaround plan, new programmes and new income lines.
Ways to work with us
Start small or start big.
Most clients start with one of these and move on to the next.
Hub Health Check
A focused review of your space, programmes, team, members and money.
You get: a scorecard and a prioritised fix plan.
Hub Blueprint
Feasibility, business model, space brief and programme plan in one package.
You get: a blueprint you can fund, build and staff from.
Build & Launch Partner
We stay with you through the build, the hiring and the first year of programmes.
You get: an open, staffed hub with its first cohorts running.
Programme Delivery
We design and run a specific programme, from AI training to an accelerator, inside your hub.
You get: a delivered cohort and a programme your team can repeat.
Quick self-check
How healthy is your hub?
Seven questions. Answer honestly; nobody sees this but you. If you are still planning a hub, answer for the hub you have in mind.
Answer the questions to see where you stand.
Each "yes" is one thing already working in your favour.
Talk to us about your resultTrack record
We have built and run hubs ourselves.
Our advice comes from running a hub, not from studying one.
Head of Innovation Hubs Strengthening, CcHUB
Most recently, Asemota served as Head of Innovation Hubs Strengthening at CcHUB, expanding and strengthening innovation hubs across Africa.
Ran Edo Innovates from programmes to the top
Led Edo Innovates as Programs Lead, then Hub Manager, then Executive Director.
$800,000 to 50 startups with the Gates Foundation
Designed and managed a hub-led partnership with the Gates Foundation that deployed $800,000 in support to 50 startups.
Nigeria's first Amazon re/Start programme
Led the first rollout of AWS's cloud skills and job placement programme in Nigeria.
Google CS First across Nigerian states
Led the rollout of Google's computer science programme for young learners across multiple states.
Led by Izoduwa Precious Asemota, FCIPA. Most recently Head of Innovation Hubs Strengthening at CcHUB, former Executive Director of Edo Innovates, author of Innovation Hubs and Nascent Ecosystems and creator of the LEAP Framework. Works with partners including AWS, Google, GIZ, the World Bank and the Gates Foundation.
Thinking
What we have learned about building hubs.
Innovation Hubs and Nascent Ecosystems
From technological exclusion to ecosystem participation. The full LEAP Framework, with lessons from building hubs where the ecosystem is still young. Bulk and institutional copies available: ask us.
Scale & Ideas Podcast
Conversations with the founders, operators and funders building Africa's ecosystems.
Start the conversation
Tell us about the hub you want to build, or the one you want to fix.
We work with governments, universities, companies, donors and hub operators. Every enquiry is answered personally within two working days.