Since its incorporation in 2020, AyaHQ has taken on several identities. Founded by Eric Annan, Pishikeni Tukura, and Dennis Ukonu, it has been a stablecoin payments product, a remote-jobs marketplace, a training programme, a founder programme, and the operator of physical residencies in two countries. It has also been, by its co-founder Annan’s own admission, a company that many people struggle to place.
“A lot of people do not understand what we’re doing. In fact, we have people ask, ‘What exactly do you guys do? What exactly do you guys do?’ So, we are operating a black box which is not visible,” he told TechCabal.
In recent years, AyaHQ has helped African founders build companies, trained software engineers, product designers, and product managers, brought entrepreneurs together in physical residencies, and helped more than 80 startups take shape, according to the company.
However, in October 2026, AyaHQ closed its Kenyan residency in Kilifi. The 40-bed facility, designed to bring builders together, had run out of funding after nearly two years of operations.
“The model worked. We built real founder infrastructure, drew serious builders, and showed what is possible on very little,” Annan said.
Making the model work and finding the money to keep it running have proved to be two different challenges.
