Unlocking africa’s Potential with Expert startup advisory & support
About dream incubator academy: Unlocking africa’s Full Potential through startup incubation.
The Dream Incubator Academy is a resident three-month innovative leading technology incubator program for early-stage to pre-seed technology start-ups in Africa.
vision
Create a Start-up continent in Africa
mission
Our mission is to foster economic prosperity in Africa through an innovation-focused ecosystem thereby achieving No Poverty Goal 1 of the United Nations Sustainable Goals.
Key Achievements Highlight
Our story
In December 2015, at the start of the recession in Nigeria, our founder initiated the Do It Afraid Conference. This startup initiative supported the Nigerian Government’s economic diversification by empowering entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.
Impact:
20+
Years of Experience
20 years of industry experience – deep understanding of wealth creation and business sectors.
5000+
physical attendees
Across seven conferences in Lagos and Abuja, focusing on technology, agriculture, healthcare, media, education, mining, and more.
100+
outstanding speakers
Featured notable figures including the Vice President of Nigeria (represented by Jumoke Oduwole), Oswald Osaretin Guobadia, Laoye Jaiyeloa, Tosin Faniro Dada, Tunbosun Alake, and more
8+
impactful partnerships
Collaborated with the Nigerian Bank of Industry, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, National Agricultural Seeds Council, and others..
The seed of Dream Incubator Academy was birthed in the lives and businesses of those who attended the conferences.
do it afraid conference impact over the years
Conference Impact:
Created immense opportunities for startups and highlighted the need for an enabling environment to incubate innovative ideas, transforming them into viable and bankable products, solutions, and businesses.
Startups Launched: Includes Anaborhi (Nigeria’s first silicone breast pump), Farm Kart (Agri tech platform), and The Green Investment Club (with investments over $3 million).
The impact of the conference was phenomenal with immense opportunities to create more start-ups, however, to create more impact, our founder realised that it was important to establish an enabling environment to incubate innovative ideas to transform these ideas into viable and bankable products, solutions and businesses.
why an incubator – the eagles’ nest
The golden eagle is a magnificent bird and one of the best-known birds of prey and most widely distributed species of eagles living in the Northern Hemisphere. They are considered the best fliers among eagles and raptorial birds. They typically build large nests in cliffs and other high places. The females lay eggs in a nest. The egg has so much potential but the egg in the wrong environment will never hatch into the eaglet. The egg has to be incubated in a nest and needs warmth from the mother eagle. Then it begins the hatching process which takes about 45 days. The eaglet comes out eventually and has to stay in the nest for 10-14 weeks. In that time the eagles feed and protect the eaglet and even provide the eaglet with sticks and stones to play with. When it’s time to leave the nest, they provide thorns to make it uncomfortable so the eaglet doesn’t stay in the nest continuously. The eaglet then goes through another stage known as branching.
Branching is a behaviour common in eaglets just before fledging. In branching, eaglets move from the nest to a branch and flap their wings and jump off the branch. This behaviour serves to strengthen flight muscles and acclimate the eaglet to life outside the nest.
The nest is the incubator while the branching stage is an accelerator. Typically there are more accelerators than incubators because it is less risky to invest your money at the growth stage however for the eaglet to get to the branching stage it has to first of all be nurtured in the nest.
The case for Africa
There are currently over 1.3 billion people living in Africa. The World Bank estimates that by 2100, one in three people on the planet will be living in Africa. Currently 60% of the population in Africa is under 25. Africa has the world’s youngest, fastest growing and increasingly urbanized workforce driving economic growth.
Whilst the burgeoning youthful population is of huge economic value for Africa, the unifying economic challenge for Africa is the demographic time bomb. We need to create hundreds of millions of jobs to accommodate our young population. There are currently not enough jobs to match the population growth rate. The poverty rate in Africa is huge, with Nigeria being named as the poverty capital of the world in 2019 whilst unemployment is at record levels. This is a huge problem not just for Africa but for the world and something needs to be done fast.
The stability of Africa depends on our teaching young people to create jobs.
Focus
What Africa needs now is technological innovation. For innovation to thrive the right conditions and ecosystem needs to be provided.
Our focus is on market-creating innovation targeting non-consumption/non-consumers.
Market-creating innovations create new markets serving people for whom no products existed or existing products were expensive or inaccessible for different reasons.
Market Creating Innovations = Jobs + Profit + Culture of Innovation
pilot
Kingdom of Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Our pilot program is in the Kingdom of Warri, Nigeria where we are establishing a tech and innovation-focused business incubator program in partnership with the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, Olori Atuwatse III and The Royal Iwere Foundation.
The Monarchy has a visionary global master plan that aims to position Warri as a pivotal hub for global business operations and technological innovation.
The Professionals Behind Our Success
At Dream Incubator Academy, we help startups reach their peak potential through innovative strategies. Let us drive your success.
omi oshikoya
CEO/ Founder
Start up ecosystem expert for Sub-Saharan Africa. Wealth/Finance expert with over 20 years experience.
ruth zubairu
COO/ Co Founder
Business Strategist & PR Expert Empowering Entrepreneurs in Africa | Certified Content Marketer | Founder of AI-Powered Content Tool Sambe.
Meet Omi, Founder and Chief Dream Officer.
Omi is a start-up ecosystem expert for Sub-Saharan Africa.
She is an award winning global entrepreneur, wealth expert and advisor with over 21 years experience in finance, startups/entrepreneurship, private equity, venture capital, investment banking, asset management, public private partnerships, corporate finance, project finance, fund raising, financial advisory, financial literacy/education, auditing, accounting and media.
Omi is the convener of the Do It Afraid Conference a startup initiative aiding the Nigerian Government’s economic diversification plans by transforming the entrepreneurs psychology, giving them courage to fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams. Since 2015, over 5,000 physical attendees have been impacted with thousands more virtually through seven conferences in Lagos and Abuja focused on sectors such as technology, agriculture, healthcare, media, education, mining and more. Impact includes start-ups such as Anaborhi – Nigeria’s first silicone breast pump; Farm Kart Agri tech platform; The Green Investment Club with investments of more than $3 million and more. Partners include the Nigerian Bank of Industry, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, National Agricultural Seeds Council and more. The conference has had over 100 speakers including The Vice President of Nigeria, who was represented by Jumoke Oduwole (Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Ease of Doing Business), Oswald Osaretin Guobadia (SSA to the President on Digital Transformation ), Laoye Jaiyeloa (CEO, Nigerian Economic Summit Group), Tosin Faniro Dada (CEO, Endeavour Nigeria), Tunbosun Alake (Special Adviser on Innovation & Technology to the Lagos State Governor) and more.
Omi was a Non-Executive Director & Chairman of the Investment & Finance Committee of SoFresh Neighbourhood Foods Market Limited from 2018 – 2021. Sofresh is a 10-year-old medium sized healthy food business with $1Million+ in revenue and 100+ employees. Her notable achievements include advised on business expansion from 5 branches in 2018 to 14 branches in 2020, 85% of revenue pre-lockdown revenue recovered by December 2020 and a return to profitably after a deeply challenging 4 month period during the lockdown as well as guidance on attainment of €300,000 equity investment from Inclusive Impact Investments BV, Netherlands.
Omi was a mentor under the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program (TEEP) between 2016 – 2017. TEEP is a $100 million Pan-African initiative, funding young African entrepreneurs with business ideas to transform Africa. At TEEP, Omi mentored a for-profit recycling business in creating and submitting a robust business plan which led to accessing a first seed capital funding of $5,000 non-returnable investment. She also provided consultative guidance on completion of a 12-week Start-up enterprise toolkit program on feasibility, market opportunity, scalability & understanding basic financial principles.
Between 2015-2017, she was an Independent Business monitor to 15 businesses for the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria scheme, YOUWIN, a multi billion-naira youth development scheme of the Federal Government of Nigeria, established to provide funding for young and aspiring entrepreneurs. She ensured the effective monitoring and facilitation of $600,000 grant for the 15 qualified businesses, facilitated localized workshops to educate and empower the awardees and confirmed businesses’ eligibility for funds & provided quality control for the secretariat.
In 2020 she participated in the Mentoring for women in business program by the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. She was also recognised in 2020 as a “Pride of the Nation” by Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria and in 2019 received the Inspiring Women’s Award of Excellence, Dubai. In 2018, she was recognised as one of 40 “Most Influential Women in Nigeria” by Lancôme Paris and in 2017 the Brand Ambassador for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
Her corporate experience includes Asset and Resource Management Company Limited (ARM), FutureView Financial Services, Deloitte West & Central Africa and Royal Bank of Scotland.
She is an award winning speaker, coach, best selling author and media personality.
She has been married for over 18 years to her best friend, John Olugbenga Oshikoya and is a mother to four gifted and talented children.
victor Onyekere
Strategy & Planning Consultant
Multidimensional Venture Builder | Startup Operator & Business Performance Leader
dami
Financial Analysis Expert |Experienced Accountant
Proficient in Navision & Netsuite | Dedicated to Accurate Financial Reporting & Strategic Insights.
Paul
Warri DIA Program Co-ordinator
Tech Ecosystem Architect & Leader | Community Leader| Founder, Warri Innovation Hub.