If you are, or have been, a Nigerian undergraduate, you will likely understand the quiet struggle of managing academic life with limited access to structured resources. From sifting through inconsistent materials to juggling semester workloads without guidance, the experience can be daunting. It is precisely this challenge that the edtech startup Cubbes, seeks to address.
Based in Yaba, Lagos, Cubbes is positioning itself at the intersection of education, productivity, and technology, offering a comprehensive platform tailored specifically to the realities of Nigerian university students. In a landscape where educational solutions are often imported and unfit for local challenges, Cubbes’ homegrown approach is proving to be both relevant and scalable.
A Platform Built Around Students
At the core of Cubbes is a suite of tools designed to streamline and elevate learning experience. Users gain access to a vast repository of over 200,000 digitized class notes and past questions, paired with AI-powered study assistants developed using locally relevant university data. The platform also features productivity tools such as CGPA calculators, task managers, and class planners which are essentials for the modern student.
One of the platform’s most innovative additions is its Mentorship-as-a-Service model, which connects students, particularly new students, with more experienced peers for academic and social guidance. Another feature, Cubbes Pay, has introduced a digital infrastructure for collecting faculty dues, reducing the inefficiencies and risks associated with cash based systems.
Traction and Impact
Despite its relatively recent launch, Cubbes has demonstrated remarkable traction. In less than one year, the startup has expanded from 6,000 to over 50,000 student users, accumulated 1.5 million minutes of study time on its platform, and processed more than ₦50 million in digital transactions.
Such milestones are not merely vanity metrics; they reflect meaningful engagement, trust, and product-market fit; three indicators that investors and key ecosystem stakeholders often look for. In addition, Cubbes has digitised academic resources across multiple institutions and is actively building a footprint in over 100 universities across Nigeria.
Participation in respected accelerators and competitions including TEF, NITDA EDUAI, Innovation2Market, 54Collective, Founders Fridays, and Startup World Cup, Omniverse Deal Room has further validated the startups’s relevance, not just to students but to the broader innovation community.
Navigating Ecosystem Realities
Operating in Nigeria’s startup landscape presents both opportunity and constraint. Cubbes’ Founder, Peter Adeyemi, points to the challenges of building with limited funding, managing distribution in a highly fragmented tertiary education system, and balancing scale with quality.
Moreover, while Cubbes has been largely self-sustaining, the Founder also acknowledges that the absence of institutional training and mentorship in the early stages of development meant learning critical business and technical skills on the go. This resilience, however, has informed the team’s product philosophy: local-first, user-driven, and deeply adaptive.
Cubbes is currently preparing to roll out additional features aimed at sustaining engagement and improving outcomes. These include:
-
A Learning Streak feature to encourage consistency through gamified habits.
-
Expansion of its Mentorship Program, offering accessible, paid academic support from relatable peers.
-
Continued development of its AI learning infrastructure, designed to personalize content and enhance learning efficiency.
On the operational side, the startup is exploring further integration of Cubbes Pay into student association systems, a move that could offer financial transparency and digital accountability to campus based organisations.
A Call for Structural Support
While Cubbes continues to innovate, its leadership is clear eyed about the systemic changes needed to support startups in the edtech sector. Top among its recommendations:
- Create grant programs or subsidized credit lines specifically for youth-led and edtech startups.
- Facilitate regulatory ease for digital learning platforms working with universities.
- Incentivize telcos to offer zero-rated access or education data bundles.
- Actively buy from and partner with local startups, especially in the education sector.
Such interventions could significantly accelerate both reach and impact, not just for Cubbes, but for the broader ecosystem of educational innovation in Nigeria.
Building with Inclusion in Mind
Cubbes has been intentional about embedding youth and gender inclusion into its growth model. Its student ambassador and internship programs have provided leadership and technical experience to undergraduates from diverse backgrounds. Notably, the platform’s mentorship structure ensures that female students are paired with relatable female mentors, enhancing both comfort and access.
Cubbes credits part of its success to the communities and programs that have supported its evolution. Programs like NITDA x UNILAG EDUAI, Innovation2Market, and the Omniverse Deal Room co-created by Innovation Support Network have provided the startup with funding, workspace, mentorship, and validation.
As Cubbes prepares to deepen its impact, its core ethos remains unchanged: to reimagine what academic support can look like for the African student, and to do so with clarity, empathy, and innovation.
In a market hungry for scalable, tech enabled solutions to foundational education challenges, Cubbes is emerging as a startup to watch.
