Decagon Institute was founded in 2018 with the explicit goal of producing ten thousand Nigerian software engineers in ten years. A startup itself, the institute is invested in helping people with entrepreneurial drive who lack resources to learn new skills. It does this through its educational program and by employing its graduates in its digital agency. The program is a six-month residential course that prepares students to join companies as entry-level software engineers by educating them in computer science basics and industry standards such as app development and Javascript.

In 2019, over 35,000 people applied to study at Decagon but the school admitted only 103 students. The school’s live-and-learn facility now has space for three thousand students, and in 2020 its goal was to graduate six hundred students across four cohorts before the global health crisis impacted this plan. Tuition for the program, including accommodation, health insurance and a food stipend, is $7,680 and the company offers a financing plan called Learn and Earn that allows students to pay back tuition once employed. Decagon Institute guarantees students will have a job within ninety days of graduating, either in the digital-product engineering branch of Decagon or with another company. Its business model is to retain 30 percent of the engineers it trains to work on app development, user experience and software-development projects for clients including MasterCard, Nike and Budweiser. 

Students at the Decagon Institute benefit from mentors and guest speakers in the global network of CEO Chika Nwobi. In addition to his work with Decagon, he has had two successful startup exits and turned MTech into the largest mobile-content company in Africa. In 2019, Decagon hosted several CTOs from top banks and IT organizations in Lagos. Arunma Oteh, a former treasurer of the World Bank and former vice president of the IMF, attended one graduation.

No coding experience required. 
We require at least a Higher National Diploma, but students come from diverse backgrounds, from rural teachers to doctors.

Focus on the intake bootcamp. 
We use the bootcamp to look for both coding aptitude and professional attitude. There are a few scholarships available for those who demonstrate these skills.

Show us your motivation. 
The bootcamp is rigorous, but we are not looking for perfection. We are looking for students who are committed to learning and engaging with their peers, and who are ready to begin a new career. 

Apply again. 
We have admitted students into the institute on their second time through the bootcamp. If you are not accepted the first time, we encourage you to apply again! 

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