We started OpenCrate in 2024 with a quiet conviction: that the most important companies of the next thirty years are being born now, and an outsized number of them will come from places the rest of the world has historically underestimated. Lagos, where we are headquartered, is one of those places. London, where we orbit, is another. The world, where we ship, is the rest.
What we believe
We believe in operators over investors, products over decks, and patience over speed. We believe a business is a craft, not a trade. We believe the best founders are the ones who would build the company even if no one was watching — and the best companies feel inevitable in retrospect.
We hold our businesses indefinitely. We do not raise outside capital for the holding company. We are accountable to customers, teammates, and the long arc of the work — in that order.
How we operate
Each OpenCrate business runs as its own company, with its own brand, its own team, and its own P&L. The holding company provides capital, design, engineering, brand, and the slow accumulation of knowledge that comes from building several things in parallel. When a business is ready, it gets its own CEO and operates with full autonomy.
We try to keep our teams small, our scope clear, and our standards uncomfortably high. Most ideas die before they get a name. The ones that survive get years of our attention.
Where we work
OpenCrate is based in Lagos, with people in London, Lisbon, Accra, Houston, and New York. We meet often, in person, in homes and studios — because the best companies are built by people who like each other and want to be in the same room.
Who we are
We are founders, designers, engineers, marketers, photographers, producers, and a few people who refuse to be categorised. What we have in common is a love for the craft of building, and a refusal to ship anything we wouldn’t use ourselves.
To see the businesses we are building, visit our portfolio. To work with us, see careers. To say hello, contact us.