🚀Entering Tech #76: YPIT is a Party with a Purpose

“We just wanted to hang out with people that were doing things similar to us, and talk about tech things. We already did it with each other, so why not with a few more friends? We wanted an excuse to party.” 

It’s not very often that an excuse to throw a party turns into an opportunity to serve a community, but in Tobiloba Aromire’s case, it did. Those words were the preamble to the founding of Young People In Tech, a community started in 2021 by and for young professionals in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

Tobi, a 27-year-old Sales and Business Development professional based in the UK, is one of YPIT’s cofounders. Although Tobi and the other YPIT co-founders—Daniel Adewunmi, Deborah Adewunmi, Dorcas Adewunmi and Abiola Oladiji—didn’t start out wanting to build a community, they shared a considerably interesting stance. 

“More experienced professionals have the advantage of a network that they’ve spent years building and so they always have people to call when they need help. When you’re young and inexperienced, no one invites you to these networking things because you don’t have much to offer them. Interestingly though, that’s when you actually need these things most. So when we decided to keep YPIT going through a second, third, fourth, and fifth event. That became our focus – to do it for the younger, less experienced crowd,” said Tobi Aromire.

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Young People in Tech’s Innovation Hub became the answer for its community. It became their avenue to help people contribute constructively to all of the work that’s needed to keep the community alive. 

The YPIT Innovation Hub is a collective of focused groups that do a specific thing for YPIT. Its sales & partnerships team makes sure it finds sponsors and partners for YPIT events, its digital marketing team makes sure they have a continued web presence, its design team designed their website and the infographics in this article, its technology team built their website, and their writing and communications team wrote this newsletter. 

“I spend so much time doing sales with YPIT’s innovation hub because sales & partnership is what I really have passion for and hope to do longer term in my career. I might as well start getting the experience now,” says Funmbi Adegbola, a 24-year-old project manager who is an example of said younger, greener crowd.

Funmbi attended the first YPIT event while in Uni and has managed to attend every one since then. She started off as just an attendee and became YPIT’s first social media manager. She leveraged her experience at YPIT to get her current job right out of school and she’s doing the same again as an important contributor in YPIT’s sales & partnership hub. Funmbi’s case is a highlight but is not unique in itself. Most of their innovation hub consists of both experienced and aspiring professionals, who use the experience of undertaking these projects for their community as a filler for practical experience that they haven’t been able to get otherwise. 

A community that started out as a party is not unique enough, neither is the fact that it has an innovation hub or social events or that it’s targeted at tech professionals or young people. But YPIT says what makes it unique is its commitment to what defines the essence of communities – mutual support that leads to growth and preservation for everyone involved.

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YPIT is already tackling two challenges head-on. One, serving young professionals beyond Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, ensures their impact expands. The other – what to call themselves when their members inevitably mature – is a fun thought experiment, but not as pressing. (We’ll let you guess which is which!)

Here’s how YPIT says it can empower your professional journey:

A: Network: Ditch the awkwardness! YPIT’s Series Events connect you with like-minded individuals, building your network organically.

B: Connect and Learn: Whether you join in-person events, online talks, or webinars, YPIT fosters meaningful connections and learning – from industry insights to simply sharing space with similar minds.

C: Grow: Expand your skillset and industry knowledge with YPIT’s mentorship programs, monthly newsletters, and The Innovation Hub. You’ll become a well-rounded professional, ready to tackle any challenge.

D: Do Work that has Impact: Join the YPIT Innovation Hub and leave your mark. Contribute to a community that serves real people, making a lasting difference beyond just building a resume.

YPIT is all about growth, not just for its members, but also for itself. As they evolve, they’ll continue to create opportunities for you to connect, learn, and make a real impact.

P.S: Did you like this edition of Entering Tech? Would you like more like this or less? Share your thoughts by responding to this newsletter or sending an email to newsletter@techcabal.com.