A thriving creative ecosystem
that develops capable creative talent, produces meaningful work, supports innovative ventures and contributes to the growth of the creative economy.
Hub for Creative Practice · Bauchi, Nigeria
We Create. We Inspire. We MAKE.
Talent is everywhere. Opportunity, mentorship and access to the creative industry are not. MAKERS is a creative school, studio and community in one, built to turn young creatives in Northern Nigeria into working professionals.
learn → make → work
WORKING CONCEPT · 2026
Move your cursor through the dots
The gap
Learning a skill is not the same as working professionally.
There is no shortage of tutorials and conventional training. What young creatives lack is the bridge between knowing the software and doing real work for real clients. Flip the switch to see the difference.
Our guiding principle
Learn. Make. Work.
Stage 1 of 3 · Academy
Learn
MAKERS Academy and MAKERS Online build creative, technical and professional skills through practical, industry-relevant learning.
Stage 2 of 3 · Studio
Make
In MAKERS Studio, skills become real work: projects, critique, prototyping and a portfolio, presented at MAKERS Showcase.
Stage 3 of 3 · Agency and THE CIRCLE
Work
Agency briefs, the Talent Network and Fellowship placements connect capable Makers to clients, employers and careers.
Play
What kind of Maker are you?
Four quick questions. Get your Maker type, your path through MAKERS and a Maker pass with your name on it.
MKERSMAKER PASS
Your Name
Maker type: ?
DisciplineAnswer the questions
PathRevealed at the end
Pass no.0000
IssuedBauchi · 2026
I AM A
MAKER.
MAKER.
Move over the pass to tilt it
Now forming
The MAKERS Proof Cohort
15selected creatives
4weeks, intensive
1discipline: Graphic Design
∞alumni network after
The pilot
Small enough to prove it.
Before scaling, MAKERS will test the whole model with a carefully selected founding group. Participants will not simply attend classes. They will become the first Makers.
- Real client projects
- Mentorship from experienced professionals
- Portfolio development
- Industry exposure
- An internship and job placement pathway
New · toolbox.makers.ng
Pegboard · hover the tags
toolbox.makers.ng
The makers.ng Toolbox Hunt.
Free and cheap tools for designers, developers, writers, journalists and engineers. Every tag says what the tool does, what it costs and how to install it. Then test your instincts in Fact or Hype.
221tools on the wall
154free or open source
23claims to judge in Fact or Hype
Our founding partners
Meet the partners →
Building MAKERS with Bauchi.
The founder's question
Will you help build it with me?
MAKERS cannot be built by one person. We are looking for founders, collaborators, mentors, partners and clients who want to build, not simply advise.
About MAKERS
We don't just teach creatives. We build Makers.
MAKERS Hub for Creative Practice is a creative ecosystem built to develop people, ideas, skills, products and businesses within the creative industry. It brings education, practical experience, production, professional services, entrepreneurship, talent development and community into one connected environment, bridging the gap between learning a creative skill and building a career, valuable work or a business from it.
Founder's position
“I want to start small enough to prove it, build intelligently enough to sustain it, and think big enough to scale it.”
I am not approaching this as someone who simply wants to open a school. I am approaching it as a creative professional who has experienced the gap between talent and professional opportunity, and wants to build the infrastructure to close it.
MAKERS is the institution that can sit between education and industry: teaching people, giving them chances to practise, connecting them to clients and mentors, and helping them build sustainable creative careers.
Less theory.
More practice.
More real work.
More MAKING!
Why we exist
Creative potential grows through practice.
Our core belief: creative potential becomes more valuable when it is developed through practice, connected to opportunity and supported by the right environment.
Skills, experience, networks, opportunity
To equip creative people to transform their abilities into sustainable careers, valuable products and impactful businesses.
Who MAKERS serves
One ecosystem, six kinds of people.
People can enter MAKERS at different points. Each finds the resources most relevant to them.
Operating principles
Seven rules we build by.
Practice over theory alone
Creative capability grows through application, experimentation, feedback and refinement.
Real work, professional standards
Learning connects to real briefs, professional expectations and meaningful outcomes.
Collaboration over isolation
Creatives grow by sharing knowledge and working across disciplines.
Opportunity through capability
Demonstrated skill and quality work lead to jobs, freelance work, commissions and ventures.
Continuous development
Creative practice keeps learning and adapting beyond any single course or project.
Commercial and social value
Creative work solves problems, builds businesses, creates jobs and enriches communities.
An interconnected ecosystem
Education creates pathways to practice, practice produces work, work creates visibility and opportunity, and opportunity fuels further growth.
The MAKERS ecosystem
Five units. One system.
MAKERS is organised around five principal operating units, supported by sub-units, programmes, activities and a shared physical home. Tap any unit in the orbit.
Explore each unit
Five units and a shared home.
What makes MAKERS different
Only a conventional school.
Only a standalone creative agency.
Only a community group.
One connected environment where people, ideas, projects, knowledge and opportunities move across the ecosystem.
Feedback loops
Every unit feeds the others.
Real industry needsinform training
Student workinspires new products
Community connectionslead to collaborations
Commercial projectscreate opportunities for emerging talent
How the ecosystem works together
Eight steps from first contact to a creative career.
A typical journey. People can enter at any point: an experienced creative may join the Talent Network directly, a client may go straight to the Agency, and an entrepreneur may bring an existing idea to Incubation.
Example: a learner's journey
A learner joins Academy to study graphic design. Through assignments and Studio projects, they practise, receive feedback and develop a portfolio, then present selected work at MAKERS Showcase. Through THE CIRCLE they meet other creatives. When ready, they contribute to an Agency project under supervision, build a Talent Network profile and pursue external work or a Fellowship placement. If they develop a product idea, Incubation helps them explore its potential. MAKERS Journal may document their journey, while MAKERS Online supports continued learning.
The ecosystem at a glance
Who does what.
| Unit | Primary function | Key elements |
|---|---|---|
| MAKERS Academy | Learning and development | MAKERS Online · MAKERS Incubation |
| MAKERS Studio | Practice and creative development | MAKERS Showcase activity |
| MAKERS Agency | Commercial creative services | Client briefs, creative strategy and delivery |
| MAKERS PrintLab | Print and physical production | Print, merchandise and production |
| THE CIRCLE | Community and professional connection | Talent Network · Fellowship · MAKERS Journal |
| MAKERS House | Shared physical infrastructure | The home that can bring the units together |
The Proof Phase
Can the MAKERS model work in the real world?
We are not building everything at once. That would be expensive and would hide which assumptions actually work. The Proof Cohort is a pilot designed to answer one question with evidence.
Proof Cohort · Graphic Design
Four intensive weeks of creative practice.
Selected young creatives get hands-on training, then go beyond technical skill: real-world briefs, mentorship, portfolio building and exposure to how clients and creative businesses actually work.
Design fundamentalsVisual communicationBrandingTypographyLayoutDigital design toolsProfessional workflows
Founding Makers will
- Learn, create and collaborate
- Receive critique and work with mentors
- Solve briefs and work on real projects
- Build portfolios and take part in production
- Present their work publicly at the Showcase
The MAKERS journey
Climb from first brief to residency.
Students don't wait until they graduate to experience the creative industry. They become part of it while they are learning. Pick a level.
What the Proof Phase will test
Seven questions we need answered.
Hover or tap a card to see the question behind it.
What success looks like
Evidence, not promises.
Example targets for the end of the Proof Phase, the kind of tangible results we want to put in front of investors and partners.
20Makers trained
20+portfolios
10+real briefs
10+mentors
5+strategic partners
₦first commercial revenue
✓student and client testimonials
→employment and freelance outcomes
I have an idea
I have tested the idea, here is the evidence, and here is where we can take it.
The MAKERS Showcase
Graduation, made public.
At the end of a programme, Makers present their best work at a public showcase. It is both a graduation and an industry-facing talent exhibition.
It brings together:
MakersFamiliesPartnersGovernmentBusinessesInvestorsCreative professionalsMedia
The bigger vision
Not a small design school in Bauchi. A creative industry platform.
Someone can enter as a beginner, progress all the way to leadership, then return to the ecosystem as a mentor, instructor, agency partner or employer. That creates a cycle.
LearningPracticePortfolioClient workEmploymentFreelancingMentorshipLeadership ↺
Future scaling
Prove. Grow. Institutionalise.
Y1Prove
Build the foundation
- Founding cohort and proof phase
- Founding partnerships
- Curriculum and online MVP
- Studio, first agency and print projects
- The first Showcase
Y2Grow
Increase capacity
- More cohorts and programmes
- More online students
- Corporate training
- A larger agency and more mentors
- More scholarships, expanded production
Y3Institutionalise
A recognised institution
- 200 to 300 annual student capacity
- An established MAKERS HOUSE
- Mature Academy, Agency and print operation
- Online Academy and Talent Network
- A formal accreditation pathway
Long-term creative practice
Graphic design first. Then every discipline.
The opportunity is not separate schools for each discipline. It is one environment where disciplines interact.
Collaboration generator
A fashion Maker could work with a photographer.
Sustainability and growth
Earned revenue, partnerships and programmes.
Not every unit needs to be a profit centre. Some earn directly; others create strategic value by attracting talent, strengthening relationships and generating opportunities. Units and programmes grow in phases, guided by demand and the ability to deliver well.
Tuition and trainingCourses and professional training
Corporate and institutionalTraining for organisations
Agency servicesCreative work for clients
Print and productionPrintLab output
Digital learningMAKERS Online programmes
Community activitiesSelected CIRCLE events
Product salesProducts from the ecosystem
Sponsored programmesPartner-funded initiatives
Incubation partnershipsSupport for new ventures
Talent servicesWhere appropriate
Partners
Built with the people who invest in talent.
Government, community and the creative industry, working together. Five founding partners bring what MAKERS needs to prove its model: backing, space, real briefs, production and studio experience.
5founding partners
2government and community partners
3creative industry partners
15Makers in the first cohort
01Hover to revealBauchi State
Government and strategic ecosystem partner
Bauchi State Bureau for ICT and Digital Economy
BICTDE drives innovation, digital skills and youth opportunity in Bauchi State. As a founding partner it anchors MAKERS inside the State's wider digital economy agenda, from sponsorship to the first government briefs.
- Founding sponsorship
- Institutional backing
- Youth development
- Government briefs
- Ecosystem connections
- Infrastructure support
02Hover to revealThe Resource Center, Bauchi
Community and learning partner
Professor Iya Abubakar Community Resource Center
A learning space already equipped for training, in Bauchi. As the founding cohort's home base, it gives MAKERS a ready learning environment and a direct line to the community it serves.
- Physical space
- Learning environment
- Community access
- Events
- Outreach
Creative industry partners
The professionals in the room.
Three creative businesses bring the realities of the industry into MAKERS: client work, production and the way real studios operate.
03 · Creative agency partner
Rocket Digital Creative Agency
A digital creative agency that brings agency practice into the ecosystem, so Makers see how creative work is won, run and delivered for clients.
- Mentors
- Real briefs
- Industry expertise
- Professional exposure
04 · Production partner
Harness Printing Press
A printing press that grounds Makers in real production, from file preparation to finished print, and supports the work of MAKERS PrintLab.
- Printing
- Production
- Industry expertise
- Mentors
05 · Creative studio partner
NIIXO Studios
A creative studio that gives Makers a close view of professional studio work: the standards, the workflow and the people behind it.
- Mentors
- Studio experience
- Real briefs
- Networking
Ways to work with us
Bring a brief. Bring your experience.
▣Submit a paid brief
Partner organisations submit real briefs. Makers deliver them under the supervision of mentors and Studio professionals.
◎Mentor a Maker
Give one-on-one guidance, critique work or lead a practical workshop.
✦Lead a masterclass
Founders, creative directors and industry leaders share real stories, failures and strategies.
⬡Sponsor the cohort
Fund scholarships, equipment or the Showcase, and help prove the model.
Join our partners
Put your name on the first cohort.
Partners stand beside the first Makers at the public MAKERS Showcase, in front of families, government, businesses, investors and media.
Partner logos belong to their respective organisations. Resource Center photo from MAKERS concept materials; other images from MAKERS concept materials.
The team
The people building MAKERS.
MAKERS cannot be built by one person. Meet the founder and the core team turning a working concept into Northern Nigeria's home for creative practice.
Abba TataboFounder and CEO
Founder and CEO
Abba Tatabo
Abba is a creative professional who has experienced the gap between talent and professional opportunity first-hand. He founded MAKERS to build the infrastructure that closes it: an institution that sits between education and industry, teaching people, giving them chances to practise, connecting them to clients and mentors, and helping them build sustainable creative careers.
I want to start small enough to prove it, build intelligently enough to sustain it, and think big enough to scale it.
The core team
Five leads. One mission.
Each lead owns one part of how MAKERS runs, from the first cohort to the first Showcase.
01Placeholder photo
Operations Lead
Aisha Musa
Keeps MAKERS running. She turns ideas into systems, schedules and processes so every cohort, brief and event happens on time.
- Systems
- Scheduling
- Execution
02Placeholder photo
Community and Partnerships Lead
Ibrahim Sani
Builds the relationships behind MAKERS, connecting creatives, mentors, institutions and businesses to the ecosystem.
- Partners
- Mentors
- Outreach
03Placeholder photo
Creative and Curriculum Lead
Hauwa Abdullahi
Shapes what MAKERS teaches and how Makers learn, from design fundamentals to real client briefs.
- Curriculum
- Critique
- Briefs
04Placeholder photo
Communication Lead
Usman Bello
Tells the MAKERS story. He leads social media, public relations and how MAKERS shows up in the public eye.
- Social media
- PR
- Storytelling
05Placeholder photo
Studio and Production Lead
Yusuf Garba
Runs the Studio floor and production work, moving briefs from concept to finished, delivered work.
- Studio
- Production
- Delivery
Want a seat at this table?
We are looking for founders, collaborators, volunteers and supporters who see the potential of creative talent in Bauchi and want to build something that lasts.
Join us
MAKERS cannot be built by one person.
Apply for the Proof Cohort, offer a brief, become a mentor, or join the founding team. We want people who are willing to build, not simply advise.