The Abuja chapter of the global Founder Institute network, pushing pre-seed founders to investment-ready milestones.
- Location:
- Abuja, Nigeria
- Duration:
- 14 weeks
What you need to qualify
- Technology and technology-enabled businesses that can scale through technology.
- Companies less than two years old with under $500,000 in annual revenue.
- Open to founders across the whole pre-seed stage: aspiring founders still in a full-time job, solo founders, teams, and founders of established companies that are pre-funding.
- Not for companies that already have substantial funding, traction or revenue, for service businesses, or for founders looking for a quick exit.
- Each co-founder applies separately and names the same company on their application.
Eligibility
- Eligible stages
- All stages
- Countries
- Global, subject to the provider’s eligibility and approval
How to apply
- 1
Create a Founder Institute account on the chapter page
Start at https://fi.co/abuja. The form asks for first name, last name, email and a password, or you can sign in with Google or LinkedIn, then pick the option under "Which of the following best describes you?" that matches your stage.
- 2
Complete the written application for this chapter
The Abuja chapter is between cohorts, so the current step is to register on fi.co/apply/abuja to be notified when the next Abuja cohort opens. When it does, you complete the written application naming your company, and each co-founder submits their own application listing the same company name.
- 3
Take the Entrepreneur DNA Assessment
A required assessment that takes about 30 minutes and is completed after the written application. fi.co/admissions lists it first in the review criteria, ahead of the written application, professional background and input from local leaders.
- 4
Wait for human review by the admissions team
Applications are reviewed by people, not only by score, with input from the chapter directors. Admissions are rolling within a cohort, so fi.co/admissions notes that applying earlier improves your chances.
- 5
Pay the entrance fee to enroll
The chapter page currently shows a $549 entrance fee against its June 2026 cohort; the next cohort will publish its own fee. The fee is 75 percent refundable before the third session, and teams pay a multiple of it (1.5x for 2 to 3 founders, 2x for 4 to 5). Apply or check status at https://fi.co/apply/abuja.