Shared office and co-working spaces are gaining renewed momentum across Lagos, reflecting a structural shift in how professionals and businesses approach workspaces years after the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted traditional office models.
What began as a crisis-driven response during lockdowns has evolved into a sustained trend, with remote workers, startups, small businesses, and even established executives increasingly opting for flexible, shared work environments over conventional offices or home-based setups.
Across Lagos, facilities such as Café One, Workstation, and Regus have expanded their footprints, positioning themselves as essential infrastructure for the city’s modern workforce.
These hubs offer stable electricity, high-speed internet, meeting rooms, and flexible access plans—features that remain difficult to guarantee in many residential areas.
The growing adoption highlights how co-working has shifted from a temporary alternative into a core component of Lagos’ office ecosystem, driven by reliability, flexibility, and changing professional preferences.
What the operators are saying
Operators within Lagos’ co-working sector say usage levels remain strong, with expansion driven by consistent demand rather than short-term trends.
Kelechi Nwaozuzu, General Manager of Café One, said the company’s growth reflects how deeply co-working has embedded itself into Lagos’ work culture.
“In Lagos alone, we have 15 hubs as of 2026, up from just two locations in 2021,” she told Nairametrics.
“These spaces have evolved beyond providing desks. They now serve as collaboration and networking hubs, offering dependable power, high-speed internet, and professional consistency,” she added.
A former manager of another co-working hub, who requested anonymity, pointed to operational reliability as a key differentiator.
“Even when the national grid fails, work continues uninterrupted in these hubs because power and internet are backed up,” she said.
She added that users are drawn not only by infrastructure but also by the opportunity to interact with peers and clients—something difficult to achieve in isolated home settings.
Why demand continues to rise
The sustained growth in shared office spaces reflects the limitations of working from home in Lagos.
Persistent power outages, rising energy costs, unstable internet connectivity, and space constraints continue to affect productivity for many professionals.
- According to operators, for startups and small businesses, shared spaces offer access to professional offices and meeting facilities without the financial burden of long-term leases, fit-out costs, or upfront capital expenditure.
- Daily, weekly, and monthly plans allow companies to scale their workspace needs in line with growth or project demands.
- This flexibility, operators said, has become increasingly important as businesses adopt hybrid work models, allowing teams to combine remote work with physical collaboration when necessary.
Inside Lagos’ co-working ecosystem
Shared office spaces in Lagos cater to a diverse user base, including remote employees, startup founders, journalists, students, content creators, and small corporate teams.
Most hubs offer a mix of flexible desks, shared tables, private offices, and meeting rooms, allowing users to choose setups that match their privacy and collaboration needs.
Reliable electricity supported by generators or inverters and high-speed fibre internet remain non-negotiable features.
Some operators have expanded into specialised offerings, such as podcast studios and content creation rooms, reflecting the growing influence of the creative and digital economy in Lagos.
Coffee culture has also become a central feature, with on-site cafés encouraging longer work hours and informal interactions that often lead to collaboration and business opportunities.
Pricing reflects flexibility
Pricing across Lagos’ co-working market varies by location, facilities, and usage type. Daily access to shared desks typically starts from about N8,000, while monthly plans for individual workstations range between N150,000 and N170,000.
- For teams, private day offices can cost between N48,000 and over N70,000 per day. Monthly rates for enclosed offices often start above N100,000 and can rise to N160,000 or more in prime business districts.
- Operators also offer weekly passes, capped monthly access, and loyalty discounts, reinforcing the sector’s emphasis on flexibility.
How professionals are using shared spaces
Professionals across sectors use co-working hubs differently, but reliability remains a common motivation.
Ngofa Ajuri, a remote Substack developer working for a Canada-based company, said shared spaces help address both productivity and social needs.
“It gives me stable power and internet, but also restores social interaction, which helps me stay focused,” he said.
For startups, private rooms are critical for confidential meetings with clients and investors.
Olabisi Odunsaya, who worked at a Lagos co-working hub while employed by a real estate startup, said such spaces offer credibility without the cost of a permanent office, though open layouts can sometimes affect perceptions of exclusivity.
Journalists and hybrid workers also rely on co-working spaces for continuity. Blessing, a Lagos-based journalist, said unreliable residential power makes consistent home working impractical. “I need to be online constantly to track news and meet deadlines. These spaces give me stability I can’t get at home,” she said.
What you should know
Despite the rise in demand for shared office spaces in Lagos, the market for prime office space is also witnessing an uptick amid rising costs.
The city was ranked the most expensive in Africa for prime office space in the first half of 2025, with Grade A offices in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and Ikeja averaging $55 per square metre.
High-quality offices in central business districts continue to attract organizations and investors seeking modern infrastructure, flexible layouts, and amenities that support hybrid work.
