Who we work with

Zero Bola convenes five layers of community and builds with the institutions around them. Choose your starting point.

Illustration of people arranged in rings around a circular arrow, with a factory, a civic building, and globes on the outer ring
Illustration of a founder at a desk with a laptop showing a rising chart, a lightbulb, and a small prototype

Build with the Studio

Founders and builders

You have an idea, a prototype, or a problem you cannot stop thinking about. The Studio gives it data, a laboratory, and a route to buyers.

What we offer

  • Studio cohorts, two a year, with pre-seed capital at the Build stage
  • The Entrepreneur in Residence program for experienced operators
  • Free weekly founder office hours
  • Laboratory, fabrication, and greenhouse access once the campus opens

Illustrative example

A recent graduate with a biochar kiln prototype joins a Validate sprint, tests the product in the laboratory, and meets two potential buyers at the Thursday Exchange.

Tell us what you are building
Illustration of a researcher at a bench with a microscope, a graduation cap, and research papers

Turn research into ventures

Researchers and students

Kano’s universities hold results that could become products. We help researchers and students carry them from paper to market.

What we offer

  • The Science Fellowship, which embeds postdoctoral and PhD researchers in ventures
  • The Research-to-Venture Program, beginning with a University in Kano
  • Ambassador roles in chapters at Bayero University Kano, Northwest University, and KUST Wudil
  • Open Atlas data through the public Open Data Portal

Illustrative example

A soil science PhD student joins the Science Fellowship and helps a studio venture turn a published compost trial into a product specification.

Explore a research pathway
Illustration of a factory under a circular arrow, with crates of produce and a sack sprouting a seedling

Circular strategy and services

Corporates and agribusiness

Food processors, manufacturers, tanneries, and agribusinesses face rising waste costs and tighter rules. We help turn those costs into value.

What we offer

  • Waste audits, ESG and circular strategy, and compliance support
  • Laboratory services and export quality assurance testing from campus opening
  • Corporate Venture Challenges, where you sponsor a problem and the Studio builds the solution
  • Off-take partnerships with studio ventures

Illustrative example

A food processor commissions a waste audit, finds that its by-products can become animal feed, and sponsors a Corporate Venture Challenge to build the solution.

Ask about services
Illustration of a domed civic building beside a map pin and a dashboard showing a bar chart

Data you can govern with

Government and regulators

Good waste policy needs reliable numbers. We give state and local governments the data and tools to measure, contract, and pay with confidence.

What we offer

  • Zero Bola OS for fleet tracking, contractor management, tariffs, and verification
  • Atlas data on waste streams, soil and water health, and climate risk
  • Evidence for policy on waste, agriculture, and public health
  • A seat inside the tent through Zero Bola’s governance design

Illustrative example

A local government area uses Zero Bola OS dashboards to see which collection zones are underserved, and pays contractors against verified tonnage.

Start a conversation
Illustration of a globe inside circular arrows beside rising stacks of coins with a seedling

Capital with verified impact

Investors and development partners

Zero Bola offers a disciplined route into Northern Nigeria’s circular economy, with impact you can verify.

What we offer

  • Co-investment in studio ventures through Zero Bola LLC
  • Program and public goods funding through the Zero Bola Foundation
  • Sponsored fellowships, hackathons, and the Zero Waste Summit
  • Reporting against the Home Scoreboard of local impact

Illustrative example

A development finance institution co-invests alongside Zero Bola LLC in a cohort venture, and follows its capital and impact through a shared dashboard.

Discuss a partnership
Illustration of two traders at a market stall beside a sack of produce and a recycling bin

Partners, not beneficiaries

Communities and the waste sector

Market associations, aggregators, and waste pickers already keep Kano’s materials moving. We work with them as partners.

What we offer

  • A place in the Exchange as one of its five layers of community
  • Waste Walks and Field Visits that start from their knowledge
  • Income, recognition, and routes to co-ownership in new ventures
  • Digital IDs, schedules, and payment records through Zero Bola OS

Illustrative example

A market association partners with an aggregator network to sort recyclables at source, earning income and recognition through the Exchange.

Join the Exchange

Like to work with us?

Founders, researchers, and operators: tell us what you are building.

Interested in a potential partnership?

Corporates, funders, and institutions: let’s scope it together.

Connect