HQ, a subsidiary of International Workplace Group, and The Alternative Bank have partnered to make office spaces accessible to startups nationwide.

At the opening of one of the office spaces in Lekki, Lagos, the Country Manager of IWG, Ayo Akinmade, noted that the partnership with The Alternative Bank aimed to empower micro, small, and medium-sized businesses by providing them with decent and affordable office spaces.

According to Akinmade, through the collaboration with The Alternative Bank, HQ will be opening over 10 new office spaces across the country before the end of 2026.

“Light, water, internet, and a good business environment are what we’re bringing. As each of these businesses starts to grow or expand, they will hire people.

Those people will pay taxes. Those taxes will help more with infrastructure. So, aside from helping ourselves, we think we’re going to help the country to grow the database, to grow the GDP, to bring more people out of unemployment,” he asserted.

He explained that HQ decided to partner with The Alternative Bank because the two firms have a shared vision of empowering startups.

“We think that if we create an ecosystem where somebody has an office, and they have banking services directly below or beside it, it solves a lot of their banking requirements for the company and for the individuals working in the company, who now have a ready bank at their doorstep. So, that’s the vision,” Akinmade added.

Also, the Director of Products, Digital and Innovation, The Alternative Bank, Mohammed Yunusa, mentioned that the opening of the office was to create an ecosystem that brings people together and gives them access to finance.

“Banking is about bringing people together, solving problems and creating solutions. IWG, Regus and HQ give us an opportunity to create a community. So, in the heart of the community, problems are coming together that we can solve.

“So, people coming together gives us an opportunity to bank them and also support their businesses. Because the setup is for small businesses, big businesses, and enterprises. And in the heart of all these people, what they need is finance,” Yunusa said.