Moonshot 2025: Asia as a limited partner base, Europe for exits and more of what African VCs discussed
It’s hard to describe all that investors talked about at Moonshot 2025, TechCabal’s flagship conference, but three main themes stood out: a) how startups need financial discipline before attaining scale, b) how to pivot to engineered exits, and c) how more African VCs are increasingly turning to Asia for capital as many firms prepare to raise funds in Q1 2026. For Olu Oyinsan, the managing partner at Oui Capital, engineering exits means backing businesses with a clear path to profitability. According to the investor who returned his first fund, startups should have a “fixed cost recovery mentality” that guides them to make more money than they spend on an operational fixed cost basis over time. Some investors pointed to growing sophistication across the ecosystem as more founders now start pitch decks with a “path to profitability” slide,as funds are more hands-on in operationalising discipline. “Everyone’s playing moneyball now,” said one fund manager who asked not to be named to speak freely. “You need solid maths, a plan, and a clean cap table.” “There’s less focus on burning cash… more focus on ensuring the business model is sustainable before massive scale,” said Samuel Frank, an associate at Sahara Impact Ventures, a Ghanaian climate tech fund, echoing the focus on discipline for startups. As LP appetite cools across Europe and the US—typically the first ports of call for African VC fund managers—many firms are turning to Asia for capital that’s more patient and philosophically aligned with long-term investments, two investors told TechCabal on the sidelines of Moonshot. In late August, Japan’s development finance institution, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), signed on as a limited partner in Novastar Ventures, a $200 million fund. That same month, Uncovered Fund, a Japanese firm focused on early-stage investing in Africa, partnered with Monex Group, a Tokyo-based financial services company, to back startups across Africa and the Middle East with a $20 million fund. This LP shift may reshape the types of companies that get backed and the timelines they’re judged by. If those deals help close funds, the expectation is that pre-seed and seed startups will see an uptick in funding but with smaller cheques. For Freda Isingoma, the senior fund manager at Octopus Investments, deeper local capital pools, especially at Series B and C, are essential to unlocking more exit opportunities for African startups. Isingoma pointed to the UK’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) as a possible model: a secondary exchange where smaller, high-growth firms can go public under lighter regulatory burdens. While it might be difficult for African startups to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which hosts around 110 African companies from over 20 countries with a combined market capitalisation exceeding $110 billion, AIM has less stringent requirements. AIM has helped mid-sized companies access public capital without the cost and complexity of listing on the main London Stock Exchange. Isingoma suggested that African startups consider dual pathways: listing an equity line into an international exchange to attract liquidity and institutional investors while keeping their operational base and growth engine local.
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After Moonshot: What to do with all that post-event energy
Every October, when Moonshot by TechCabal ends, I’m reminded that the real work starts after the applause fades. The panels, keynote speeches, and mixers create a kind of high, a temporary ecosystem of ideas and ambition. But once the crowd disperses and everyone flies back to their respective countries, the question becomes: what do you actually do with all that energy? As a journalist, I’ve attended summits across the continent — from Kigali to Cape Town, Nairobi to Lagos, Kinshasa to Cairo. The conversations are often visionary, but the follow-through can be uneven. What separates those who turn these moments into catalysts from those who treat them as calendar filler, is what happens in the quiet days after the summit. The learning, connecting, and follow-up. The self-reflection. The disciplined filtering of noise. Here’s what that looks like, from where I sit, and what I’d tell the thousands of professionals who left Moonshot 2025 feeling something meaningful just began. For founders: Don’t chase contacts, chase conviction High level events like Moonshot are designed to further the development of a sector with immense potential, but presents opportunities for serendipity—that perfect investor meeting in the hallway, that mentor who finally “gets” your product. But most founders, including some I interacted with, mistake volume of interaction for value. Handshakes feel like leads, conversations like opportunities. By the last day, you’ve exchanged fifty cards and promised coffee to twenty people. Then Monday arrives, and you’re back in the office putting out operational fires. The window for meaningful follow-up narrows fast. The best founders I’ve met treat post-summit engagement like a strategy. They spend time after events going through every conversation, ranking contacts by relevance: Who can help me achieve my next milestone? Who can challenge my assumptions? Who can open a door that helps me build? Then they follow up with precision. Not “great to meet you,” but something like: “You mentioned expanding into Kenya, here’s a short memo on our API integration challenges there. Would love your take.” As someone who’s interested in the ecosystem, I would respond. And that, there, could mark the foundation of a mutually beneficial relationship. Building relationships with intent isn’t easy. Another truth is that you might not get value in the investor you pitch, but in the fellow founder you grab lunch with. Founders who share similar scaling pains can become the most enduring allies in an ecosystem like Africa’s. Uche Ark, a former Lagos banker now exploring solar ventures, told me he makes it a rule to maintain at least one ongoing conversation with another founder from every event he attends. “They’ve already made mistakes I haven’t yet,” he said. So, my advice to founders is that after the summit, create a small circle of “accountability peers”, people who understand your struggles and will tell you the truth when the hype fades. For investors: From observation to conviction A session at the Emerging Tech stage during Moonshot by TechCabal 2025. Image source: TechCabal Investors are perhaps the most visible species at any tech summit. They sit on panels, moderate sessions, host dinners. But in the days after the event, I’ve noticed two kinds of investors emerge. The first group files their notes, updates their pipeline tracker, and waits for startups to email. The second group tests their theses, immediately. They pick up the phone, call a founder they met, and ask deeper questions like “Walk me through your unit economics again. Who’s your top customer? What do you need in the next quarter?” The latter build conviction fast. In markets as fluid as Africa’s, conviction is a competitive advantage. It allows investors to move decisively when opportunities arise, rather than waiting for consensus or validation. So, if you’re an investor, don’t just collect pitch decks, connect the dots. What did this summit reveal about shifting founder psychology? About where capital scarcity is most acute? About the policies still holding innovation hostage? In short, use the summit as a mirror for your thesis. Refine it. Deepen it. Test it against the realities founders are living daily. For regulators: Listen beyond the applause Policymakers often attend summits to “engage the ecosystem.” It’s become part of the choreography — a keynote here, a panel appearance there. But the true opportunity lies not in speaking, but in listening. After Moonshot, the policymakers who stand out are those who go back to their ministries and ask their teams hard questions like “What did I hear that challenges our current regulatory approach? Who should we be inviting to our next stakeholder session — not because they’re famous, but because they’re building?” If you’re a policymaker, reach out to three founders or investors you met and ask for honest feedback on one policy area. It’s an act of humility, and it signals seriousness. The ecosystems that progress fastest — Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana — are those where dialogue doesn’t end when the microphone is switched off and cameras go off. For storytellers: Look for signals beneath the noise As journalists, we’re trained to capture moments, the headline quotes, the speaker soundbites, the “key takeaways.” But the longer I’ve covered events, the more I realise the real story does not just come from the stage. It’s in the contradictions. The frictions. The quiet consensus forming in side sessions that rarely make it to print. After events, I resist the urge to rush a recap. Instead, I spend time decoding what the event really revealed. For example, what topics drew the most emotional reactions? Which industries were conspicuously absent from the agenda? Which narratives are losing power, and which are rising quietly in their place? A good summit tells you what the industry is talking about. But a great journalist discerns what the industry is thinking about but not yet saying aloud. So, to my fellow storytellers, resist the FOMO-driven recap. Write the piece that will still make sense six months from now. For everyone: Stay visible without being noisy The audience follows a session during
Read MoreDigital Nomads: The global tech recruiter who can chose where to build a career
Rhoda Adeola remembers the first time she earned in euros: €500 as a contract hire for a Dutch company from her home in Nigeria in 2021. “I remember paying my [church offerings] in dollars even when I was earning in naira,” she said. “I’d take ₦10,000, exchange it for a few dollars, and give that instead. I used to tell myself, one day I’ll earn in this currency. I’ve always been that ambitious and hungry.” Though she had no background in software, she was fascinated by the people behind it: the coders, the designers, and tech builders. Her job was to find them, match them to opportunities across Europe, and convince them to take a chance on something new. She didn’t know it then, but that moment marked the beginning of a career that would stretch across time zones and continents, redefining what “work” could mean for an ambitious woman from Ibadan, southwest Nigeria. 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She enjoyed the discipline of science, but she found greater purpose in helping people navigate their careers. Through volunteering and employability programmes, she learned to coach others on putting together their resumes and interviewing. This instinct guided her toward HR. “I realised I liked helping people figure out their next step,” she said. After graduation, she joined an HR firm in Lagos. When the pandemic arrived, she worked from home, observing how the tech industry adapted quickly to remote systems. It influenced her next ambition to be part of the tech industry, where she saw the gap she could bridge between companies, talent, multi-market expansions, and tech. On LinkedIn, she found a Nigerian recruiter at Microsoft who mentored Africans interested in tech recruiting. Adeola volunteered to help coordinate the sessions and learned how to screen software engineers, assess CVs, and manage candidate pipelines. This experience led her to join the Dutch company, Matchr, which was expanding a new agency and looking for talent in Nigeria. Adeola applied and got hired, earning her first euro while in Nigeria. Then came the layoffs By 2022, Adeola had saved enough money to relocate to the UK for postgraduate studies—a master’s in HR —while still working remotely for the Dutch firm. Then came 2023 and the great tech layoffs. Meta, Amazon, and Miro—the whiteboarding platform and one of her key clients at Matchr—began cutting staff. The demand for tech recruiters dropped almost overnight. Her contract with the recruitment firm ended when tech hiring slowed. “It was a difficult period,” she said. “But it pushed me to think about how to stay relevant.” She realised that recruiting was evolving. Companies wanted professionals who could combine traditional hiring skills with data and strategy—people who understood markets as well as people. Adeola started learning how to use analytics tools that track salaries, hiring trends, and regional talent gaps. She became more involved in workforce planning and began advising managers on long-term recruitment strategies. Recruiting had moved beyond filling roles. It had become about forecasting demand and filling talent pipelines before vacancies opened. Recruiting in technology demands both structure and empathy. Describing her work process to me, Adeola said she begins her day analysing job briefs from hiring managers, mapping skills, and researching talent pools across countries. Then she reaches out, writing messages, scheduling calls,
Read MoreNigeria has made progress since ‘Crypto Black Friday,’ but regulation remains insufficient
After years of stop-start regulation, Nigeria has made its intention clear that it is ready to bring its crypto sector, which has notoriously operated in a Wild West market, under its watchful eye. Obinna Iwuno, president of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN), an advocacy group, echoed this sentiment during a fireside chat with Chinedu Obidiegwu, Head of Business at Luno Nigeria, a crypto company, at Moonshot by TechCabal on Thursday, October 16. “Crypto regulation is gaining clarity, but we are not where we want to be yet,” said Iwuno. “The ISA [Investment and Securities Act, 2025, which was signed in March] is not the most perfect regulation out there, but we can improve it. That’s why we say if you’re an operator coming into the market, you’re still early.” Since 2024, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has worked to position itself as a forward-looking regulator. In June, it launched the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP) and the Regulatory Incubation (RI) programme to test emerging crypto businesses under controlled conditions. Through these sandboxes, the regulator granted provisional licences to seven operators from both programmes, and began monitoring experiments in stablecoins, tokenisation, and real-world assets. The transition to full licences has slowed, with the SEC citing extended due diligence to ensure only compliant players advance. Iwuno said SIBAN is working on ensuring alignment between crypto operators, policymakers, and multiple regulators involved in different aspects of overseeing how crypto transaction flows, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms regulator; the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the anti-graft agency; the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the body responsible for financial intelligence reporting; the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the ICT sector regulator; and the Ministry of Communications. A big part of SIBAN’s efforts is educating the stakeholders involved, ensuring there’s a more holistic approach to regulating crypto, said Iwuno. “[Nigeria] has implemented a national blockchain policy that centres around capacity development and responsible adoption of crypto,” said Iwuno. “We have the ISA, too, but the existing [regulations] are not sufficient to capture the different nuances of crypto. We want to see the responsible integration of crypto in the private and public sectors.” Despite the lack of full regulatory clarity surrounding crypto, the adoption of digital assets in Nigeria has surged, led by a young population that wants speed and convenience when sending and receiving money. Crypto has the most practical utility in Africa. Fast, high-value cross-border transactions are only possible with crypto. Yet the sector still plays outside institutional finance because regulators are still wary of the lack of centralised oversight. The SIBAN has led efforts to implement compliance standards for operators, in a bid to give crypto a self-regulated front, according to Iwuno. “As SIBAN, we ensured every operator operated a minimum of two identity verification checks to ramp up security,” said Iwuno. “And that is bringing the trust we need in the market.” Blockchain technology is one of the few sectors where anyone can find a place, regardless of background or skill set, said Iwuno. Its inclusiveness and endless room for innovation make the industry truly exciting. He believes the future belongs to those who build, create, and provide real value within it.
Read MoreDespite a ₦647 trillion payment boom, Nigeria’s informal sector stays cash-first
Despite years of fintech expansion, internet banking growth, and mobile banking, Nigeria’s informal economy still operates primarily on cash. Only one in four informal businesses reports that digital payments account for at least 10% of their total revenue, according to Moniepoint’s 2025 Informal Economy Report. The figure reveals the reality of the country’s payment boom, where internet and mobile transfers surged by 34.06% to ₦647.05 trillion ($439.86 billion) according to new Central Bank of Nigeria data. However, for millions of small business owners, from roadside vendors to market traders, cash is still king and trustworthy. Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are essential to Nigeria’s economy, contributing around 65% of GDP and providing more than 80% of all jobs, but many of these businesses still see digital payments as an option, not a lifeline. “For most informal businesses, digital payments are an option, and typically not the full story,” the report notes. “1 in 4 of them say that digital payments account for less than 10% of their total business revenue.” The payment reality: Cash is double the problem of cards, but still king Digital transfers are a significant part of the informal economy, but cash remains the clear preferred payment method. This is the breakdown of what powers daily transactions at the grassroots level. How informal businesses get paid: Cash vs. transfers CASH 51% TRANSFERS 39% CARDS 9% Transfers are growing, but cash accounts for more than half of all transactions. The real digital dependency: The “1 in 4” Rule 1 in 4 3 in 4 Digital-Enabled (≥10% Revenue) Cash-Reliant (<10% Revenue) Data source: Moniepoint 2025 Informal Economy Report Transfers are growing Transfers are becoming more common, accounting for 39% of payments for businesses. Although it pales in comparison with cash, which accounts for 51%. Cards accounted for 9% because informal businesses still do not own POS terminals or avoid them because of maintenance costs and transaction delays. While cash still dominates, businesses are increasingly depending on transfers as speed and ease improve, and card payments continue to lag. “Informal businesses are less capable of receiving digital payments via cards, leading to a heavier reliance on transfers,” Moniepoint said. All hope is not lost, as 16% of these businesses said digital transactions accounted for over 50% of their business revenue. While digital payments have immense benefits for businesses, especially in the informal economy, “the data shows that access to digital payments remains constrained for most of them.” This means that, even with the rise of mobile money agents and fintech apps, most micro-enterprises still operate outside the cashless economy. Access and affordability remain key constraints. For instance, broadband connectivity is still below 50% in Nigeria, and tools built for digital commerce need a stable internet. “While digitisation has improved payment flows, poor digital infrastructure and low financial literacy remain stumbling blocks,” said Chinyere Almona, Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Read MoreScam and walk free? Blockchain never forgets, you could be caught 15 years later
In Africa, financial systems are changing fast. Systems built on blockchain technology (decentralised finance), like stablecoins and crypto tokens, give people new ways to send and receive money, trade across borders, and access financial services without going through banks. At Moonshot by TechCabal on Thursday, October 16, panellists on a session on payments, and the promise of decentralised finance in Africa agreed that DeFi could help solve long-standing challenges such as fraud, high transaction fees, limited banking access, and slow cross-border payments. “A lot of Africans are locked out of global finance,” said David Salami, co-founder and lead engineer at Polytope Labs. “But through blockchains, because of the permissionless nature of these systems, people can bypass those frictions and move money freely.” According to Chainalysis, cryptocurrency transactions in sub-Saharan Africa hit $205 billion between July 2024 and June 2025. Nigeria led the region with $92 billion in crypto activity during that period. Around 22 million Nigerians, about 10% of the population, now hold cryptocurrencies, up from just 0.4% ten years ago. The growth of crypto has also come with rising fraud. Crypto-related crimes in Africa jumped 27% last year, with Nigeria recording over 9,500 cases in 2024. Panelists said the idea that crypto crimes go unpunished is a myth. Blockchain transactions leave permanent records, which means stolen funds can often be traced, even years later. “One of the biggest misconceptions is that you can scam with cryptocurrencies and get away with it,” said Emmanuel Peter, Head of Roqqu Academy. “But sorry to disappoint, most on-chain scams, even after 5-15 years, are eventually traced and recovered.” Panelists also discussed the role of regulators and law enforcement in improving compliance and protecting users. They noted that many exchanges now work closely with governments to track stolen assets and create safer digital systems. They said collaboration between the public and private sectors will be key for broader crypto adoption in Africa. “You will be surprised how many enterprises and government agencies are willing to partner to drive education and regulatory awareness. Once clear safeguards are in place, people will feel more confident using these new financial tools,” said Adaobi Orajilaku, founder and CEO of Atsur. As blockchain technology matures, panelists said, in the coming few years, digital currencies could do what legacy banks could not: build an open, safe, inclusive financial system for Africans.
Read MoreMastercard wants to power Africa’s cross-border future
The story of the growth of payment solutions in Africa is increasingly being tied to how fast money can move across borders. Despite a digital boom, just 15% of Africa’s trade happens within the continent compared to over 60% in Europe and 50% in Asia. That gap in cross-border payments, Tolulope Adeyinka, Mastercard’s director of Business, Development, Enablers & Crypto for North & West Africa, argued in his keynote, is more about fragmentation, including currency barriers and regulatory complexity. Adeyinka’s argument in his address titled “Driving Financial Inclusion at Scale” was that these barriers can be broken by designing a more inclusive ecosystem. “Inclusion and innovation, is not just about where Africa is going, but how we get there together,” Adeyinka said, emphasising that inclusion is what Africa’s payments rails should try to achieve. According to Mastercard’s joint research with Caribou Digital and Genesis Analytics, Africa’s digital payments economy could reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, driven by fintech innovation and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) participation. But to reach that milestone, the continent needs seamless and secure cross-border payment systems that work for everyone, including small traders and global platforms. That’s where Mastercard’s ecosystem approach comes in. The company’s MasterCard Cross-Border Services now connects more than 180 countries, support over 150 currencies, and reach nearly 10 million endpoints including bank accounts, cards, and mobile wallets. Partnerships with banks like Access Bank and Fidelity Bank in Nigeria, and regional collaborations with Ira and MTN Fintech, are expanding remittance flows and enabling millions to send and receive money instantly. Mastercard’s inclusion strategy also extends to small businesses and the unbanked. Its Tap on Phone solution turns any smartphone into a payment terminal, and partnerships with mobile operators allow digital wallets to issue virtual cards, which let millions of users transact online without traditional bank accounts. “We’re expanding remittance flows and enabling families, traders and entrepreneurs to send and receive money seamlessly with certainty and trust, because when people can move money easily, businesses grow, trade expands, and opportunity multiplies,” Adeyinka said. Mastercard is investing in AI-driven financial inclusion through its AI in Africa 2025 white paper and The MADE Alliance initiative with the African Development Bank that aims to connect 100 million people and businesses to the digital economy over the next decade. “Africa’s momentum is real, it’s rising, and it’s ours to shape,” Adeyinka said. “To reach others, we must build trust. To drive inclusion, we must design for everyone. And to unlock our full potential, we must power a payment ecosystem that works for all.”
Read MoreHow Flutterwave is powering the future of cross-border payments in Africa
Africa’s digital economy is worth more than $180 billion, yet moving money across the continent remains one of its biggest friction points. Payments across the continent is fragmented as each country has its own currencies, licensing requirements, mobile money systems, and regulators. Flutterwave’s playbook on cross-border payments, presented at Moonshot by Flutterwave’s Assistant Vice President, Global Expansion & Payments Partnership, Gabriel Ologunwa, explored how this fragmentation creates both challenges and opportunities. The company pointed to a $1 trillion untapped market for electronic payments and $96.4 billion in annual remittances as proof of the scale waiting to be unlocked only if payment systems within the continent could align and work together. This presents a challenge for fintechs who intend to expand across the continent. To navigate Africa’s diverse payment rails, these startups must integrate separately with banks, and card networks in each market, manage volatile foreign exchange rates and meet different licensing standards. Flutterwave’s model collapses these barriers through a unified application programming interface (API) that connects businesses to local payment infrastructure across Africa. The company now holds regulatory coverage in 34 African countries and licenses in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, and India, allowing it to operate seamlessly across jurisdictions. These licenses include Nigeria’s Switching & Processing License, South Africa’s Third-Party Payment Processor License, Egypt’s Payment Service Provider, the Payment System License in Tanzania and Zambia, among others. Its impact shows up in how global brands now scale in Africa. European fintech Norafirst used Flutterwave’s API to access 20+ markets, growing transactions by 300% in six months. Buy now, pay later firm, FuturePay, integrated local payment options and saw cart completion rise 60%. In the first half of 2025 alone, Flutterwave processed $1 billion for East Asian merchants and grew its virtual accounts volume by 198% year-on-year. Launched in 2016 as a Nigerian and US-based payments company, Flutterwave was valued at $3 billion and had processed over 200 million transactions as at 2022.
Read MoreToo many fundraises, not enough returns: A story of African tech
African startups are raising more money than ever, but few are seeing real returns. That was the unflinching verdict of the Pan-African View of Tech Returns and Exits panel at Moonshot by TechCabal 2025, where Bankole Cardoso, Managing Director of venture studio, Delta40, Sadaharu Saiki, founder of Sunny Side Ventures, and Esohe Igbinoba, a Venture Partner for Vencapital, confronted the structural gaps holding back liquidity across the continent. The conversation revealed that while the continent has hundreds of startups scaling fast, too few reach the liquidity events, like initial public offerings (IPOs), acquisitions, or secondaries, that recycle investor capital and reward founders. “Exits are very, very important for our financial supply chain, because, at the end of the day, it’s not just the startups who have to fundraise. VCs also have to fundraise to make Africa a viable destination in the current financial supply chain,” Saiki said. He shared his own comparative research where he compared the number of exits in Africa to that of other regions. He stated that in 2023, just 30 exits were recorded across Africa’s 54 countries, compared with 83 in Southeast Asia and 178 in Japan. He used this to show how the gap in exit volume across regions underlines why capital remains trapped in African growth-stage startups. Japan and India’s success, he explained, stems from having vibrant public markets and structured IPO systems that allow investors to cash out regularly. Cardoso highlighted that founders who want their startups to be attractive for strategic exits need to start with the basics many overlook: governance and financial discipline. He explains that setting up a formal or even advisory board early builds structure and credibility, while keeping clean records and management accounts from day one ensures transparency when investors or buyers arrive. “Those are the steps that you should really have taken from day one to really understand your business and to help investors coming in to understand your business. So the cliche, things are really governance and financials.” The conversation also explored how deal structures are evolving. While global venture funding has slowed, debt financing is quietly becoming a more common bridge for African startups. Panelists noted that a growing number of startups now combine equity and debt to sustain growth while waiting for better exit opportunities, a reflection of how founders are adapting to limited liquidity. “I think the mix of debt and equity is going to be the next phase, because we have been too focused on equity and some financing phases are better financed by debt,” Saiki adds. The crux of the conversation seemed to be that Africa’s exit problem is about design. Exits must stop being afterthoughts and become embedded in strategy, structure, and capital planning. Only then can founders and investors expect capital to flow in.
Read MoreLiz Gomiz wants Africans to own the digital tools shaping their stories
The director of MansA Maison des Mondes Africains, Elizabeth Liz Gomiz, believes Africa’s future depends on owning the tools that power its storytelling. “Creativity is not enough when the tools, frameworks, and platforms don’t belong to us,” she said at Moonshot by TechCabal on Wednesday, October 15. “The digital world has become the place where culture is made, where stories are written, where symbolic and economic values accumulate. Yet, the infrastructures, platforms, and algorithms that shape these worlds are, for the most part, built elsewhere.” As AI, data, and digital platforms become the new frontiers of cultural power, Africa’s stories risk being filtered through systems that neither know nor recognise its people. Already, platforms like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime are the major vehicles powering African storytelling today. Gomiz wants to change this through MansA, a company that champions projects that invest directly in African creators. One such project, MansA Lab, is an incubator launching in November 2025 to support a dozen projects by entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and other creatives shaping the story of African worlds. The aim is to help Africans reclaim their narratives and build bridges between Africa and Europe, rather than what Gomiz calls “organised dependencies.” “Our goal is simple,” she explained. “To ensure that future AI models recognise our languages, our faces, our rhythms, our mythologies, because the future will not be built on imported datasets. It will be built on our own archives, our stories, and our sensibilities. For this, we need to accelerate the moment, and that requires funding. It’s important to invest in creators as much as in technology.” Gomiz urges investment in storytelling on a national scale or continental scale. The way a country tells its story shapes how the world perceives it, influencing trade, innovation, tourism, and even confidence among its citizens, she argued. “The future of the creative industry will not be designed in Paris,” she said. “It will be built in Lagos, Dakar, Nairobi, Abidjan. The engine of Africa’s digital culture are the creators, technologists, and dreamers. “It is not about connecting artists to platforms alone; it is about giving them mastery over narrative, capital, and tempo. This engine cannot be imported. It must be tuned to our rhythms, our languages, our memories. We don’t need a replacement engine. We need a living, collective, rebellious one, and that engine already exists. It’s called creation.”
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