Building Coworking for the People Actually Living in Hackney with Kofi Oppong
Description
Building Coworking for the People Actually Living in Hackney with Kofi Oppong
When 15-year-old twins refuse to leave the AI lab and Caribbean grandmothers learn to code their way past red tape.
"Those are the ones that are struggling to connect. So we went from basics in terms of online browsing to how to use AI. And I helped a lady solve problems with the council by showing her how to write letters in seconds."
That's Kofi Oppong, founder of Urban MBA, describing the moment when technology education stopped being abstract and became a tool for immediate community power. In a converted space near Old Street, something remarkable is happening: Caribbean elders eating jerk chicken whilst surrounded by VR headsets, 15-year-old twins who won't stop building AI-generated games, and a radical repricing of coworking that slashes hot desk rates to £15 to serve the neighbourhood.
This isn't your typical tech hub story. Urban MBA has discovered what most coworking spaces overlook: the people furthest from technology are often the ones who suffer the most when society goes digital.
So they're doing something about it. Through partnerships with organisations like Caribbean Eats, they're teaching over-50s to use Claude AI not for Silicon Valley disruption, but to navigate council bureaucracy, write complaint letters, and maintain their dignity in an increasingly digital welfare state.
The economics are deliberate. As Kofi explains, "the traditional coworking person is, and it's no disrespect to any for me, it's white middle class with money." So Urban MBA slashed their prices and opened their EdTech centre to the actual community.
The result? A waiting list for AI courses that fills instantly, grandparents telling their grandchildren about quantum computing over Sunday dinner, and young people from Hackney learning to "code vibe" — using AI to build games without writing a single line of traditional code.
This is coworking as civic infrastructure, not lifestyle brand. Where most spaces chase remote workers with good coffee and fast WiFi, Urban MBA is teaching marginalised communities to navigate the 400 million jobs that AI is predicted to eliminate globally. They're not just talking about inclusion; they're pricing for it, designing for it, and measuring success by how many local people actually use the space.
Timeline Highlights
00:03 - Bernie opens with the image that matters: "These people are all 50 plus and they get to eat together and they get to learn how to use AI while surrounded by VR headsets and 3D printers"
01:13 - The political reality check: "The people furthest from the tech that get hit the hardest"
04:12 - Kofi drops the AGI bomb: "Artificial General Intelligence, which is when AI can run a whole company by itself"
06:57 - Two 15-year-old twins discover code vibing: "I couldn't get them off the AI. Once they realised what it could do, they started copying the code"
09:21 - Partnership with Ali Kakande begins: "Cara Eats has a space where they do Caribbean meals every Friday at 12:00 lunchtime, and they play Bingo"
10:46 - The council letter breakthrough: "I helped a lady solve problems with the council by showing her how to write letters in seconds"
11:45 - The surreal scene: Over-60s eating Caribbean food surrounded by Meta VR machines and quantum computer models
14:04 - The anime community after-party that changed everything: "Creatives in the UK absolutely despise AI... But when we did the 3D printing, Sip and paint, Antonio taught and showed them how to use AI"
16:44 - The pricing revolution: "We've slashed all the prices that you can get a hot desk for £15, anybody in the local community"
20:35 - Word-of-mouth truth: "You can put out as much social media as you want, but that doesn't necessarily connect people who are local to the community"
22:48 - The authenticity test: "When people come here, they're very surprised at what we've got... But it's still authentic"
26:34 - Government shifts toward entrepreneurship: "Keir Starmer has said they're going to stop a lot of the big organisations giving 60, 90 day, 120 day payment terms"
The AI Education Revolution Nobody Asked For (But Everyone Needs)
Urban MBA's summer camps aren't teaching kids to code — they're teaching them to make AI code for them. Two 15-year-old twins spent an entire afternoon refusing to leave the computer lab, not playing games but building them using Claude AI. They've signed up for another week because they can't stop creating.
Reader takeaway: Stop teaching people tools. Teach them to solve immediate problems. The over-50s don't need to understand large language models; they need to write letters to the council. Start there.
When Caribbean Grandmothers Meet Quantum Computing
Every Friday at noon, Ali Kakande's Caribbean Eats group gathers for food, bingo, and now — AI literacy. They're learning to navigate digital bureaucracy whilst sitting next to £30,000 VR headsets and 3D-printed quantum computer models.
The laughter Bernie describes from his February visit? That's what community education actually sounds like.
Reader takeaway: Your most powerful educational moments happen when people feel safe enough to laugh. If your coworking space feels like a library, you're doing it wrong.
The £15 Hot Desk Revolution
"The traditional coworking person is white middle class with money, and they go to all the coworking spaces around Old Street." So Urban MBA did the unthinkable: they slashed prices to £15 for hot desks. Not as a promotion. As a philosophy.
Reader takeaway: Your pricing is your politics. If your community can't afford your day rate, you're not serving your community.
The Anime Community That Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI
UK creatives "absolutely despise AI" — until Antonio showed the anime community how to use it to 3D print their character designs. The same people ready to "cancel" anyone talking about AI suddenly couldn't stop using it.
Reader takeaway: Resistance to technology often masks fear of irrelevance. Show people how tech serves their existing passions, not how it replaces them.
Word-of-Mouth Beats SEO Every Time
Kofi's community growth strategy ignores the algorithm: "You can put out as much social media as you want, but that doesn't necessarily connect people who are local to the community. They want to see that you're doing stuff in the community for them."
Reader takeaway: Stop optimising for Google. Start optimising for the grandmother who tells her entire church about your space.
AGI Is Coming — But Council Letters Come First
While Silicon Valley debates artificial general intelligence, Urban MBA is teaching people to use AI for the bureaucratic battles that actually determine their quality of life. The revolution isn't in the technology; it's in who gets to use it.
Reader takeaway: The future of work isn't about preparing for AGI. It's about ensuring the people who'll be hit hardest by automation have tools to fight back today.
Links & Resources
* LinkedIn coworking group for podcast discussions
* The Workspace Design Show (February at Business Design Centre)
* London Coworking Assembly 5-Day AI Crash Course for Coworking Spaces
* The Power of Food in Community Building with Ali Kakande
* Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Urban MBA White Paper
* Coworking Values Podcast on LinkedIn
* Connect with Bernie on LinkedIn
* Connect with Kofi on LinkedIn
One More Thing
When Bernie visited in February and heard the laughter from Ali's Caribbean Eats group — over-60s, eating together, learning AI surrounded by quantum computers — he says he "hadn't laughed so hard all year."
That's the metric that matters. Not user acquisition or space utilisation. Laughter. Because when marginalised communities feel safe enough to laugh whilst learning the tools that might save them from digital exclusion, that's when coworking becomes resistance.
This is the Coworking Values Podcast. If building a community that actually looks like your
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