Big cabal CEO opens Moonshot 2025 with call to build sustainable momentum
Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO of Big Cabal Media, has urged African technology founders and investors to focus on building long-term momentum and sustainable businesses.
Speaking at the opening of Moonshot 2025 on Wednesday in Lagos, Aladekomo said the industry must draw lessons from past failures to drive the next phase of innovation.
“We have survived the downtimes and failures, and those lessons are driving the next round of innovation. We are not here to ask if it’s possible; we need to know what is true,” he said.
Moonshot, now in its third edition, is one of Africa’s leading technology conferences and serves as a platform for discussing the future of innovation across the continent.
The event comes at a time when the African tech ecosystem is emerging from what many have described as a “capital winter.”
Funding for startups across the continent dropped sharply after the highs of 2022, when companies raised about $3.21 billion in the first half of the year.
That figure plunged to $797 million in the same period of 2024, following a wave of investor pullbacks and company shutdowns.
Although the sector is showing early signs of recovery with startups attracting $1.42 billion in the first half of 2025, a 78 percent year-on-year increase, although the amount remains less than half of the 2022 peak.
Against this backdrop, Aladekomo said the focus for founders should now shift from chasing high valuations to building enduring enterprises capable of weathering financial and regulatory shocks.
According to him, the African startup scene has matured from its early days of optimism and must now embrace “critical storytelling” that reflects both achievements and shortcomings.
“For this ecosystem to thrive, we must be honest about what works and what doesn’t. Storytelling isn’t just about celebrating wins, it’s also about understanding our mistakes,” he said.
Aladekomo, whose company publishes TechCabal, one of Africa’s most influential technology platforms, said Moonshot 2025 aims to provide a space for practical conversations around execution, resilience, and innovation.
He noted that rebuilding Africa’s tech momentum would require collaboration across the ecosystem between investors, regulators, and entrepreneurs while maintaining a strong link between ideas, execution, and real-world market needs.
The two-day event is expected to feature panel sessions and keynote discussions from leading industry figures, addressing themes such as funding recovery, artificial intelligence adoption, digital inclusion, and the future of African innovation.
