Evaluating only Yaba School’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. That’s exactly how it died.
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FOUNDING
MILESTONE
CRISIS
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Documented cause
Yaba School operated a coding and digital skills bootcamp in Lagos targeting recent graduates and career-changers, offering Income Share Agreements as an alternative to upfront tuition. The ISA model required graduates to pay 10% of income for 24 months after landing a qualifying job. Nigeria's graduate unemployment rate above 30% and the prevalence of informal employment made ISA recovery extremely difficult — graduates took informal jobs that were hard to track, income verification was unreliable, and legal enforcement of ISAs across Nigeria's court system was practically impossible. Recovery rates fell below 30%, destroying the financial model.
Lesson
“Bootcamp ISA models must be piloted with employer partnerships that guarantee formal hiring before scaling — informal economy informality destroys ISA recovery mechanics.”