Firms, Investors, Founders, Venture Capitalists Gear up for Moonshot 2025

By Adedapo Adesanya

Firms, investors, founders, and capital providers are expected to converge on Lagos this October to drive the next phase of deal flow and historic funding opportunities for promising African startups at Moonshot by TechCabal 2025, Africa’s flagship innovation conference.

According to a statement, participants will engage directly with founders, lead conversations on cross-border partnerships, and shape exit strategies designed to accelerate Africa’s innovation economy.

This event comes at a pivotal moment where funding, which slowed in two of the last three years, shows signs of recovery. In the first six months of this year, startup funding has climbed to $1.42 billion across 243 deals, a 78 per cent increase from last year.

African startups are also expanding into global markets, exporting homegrown solutions to address global challenges. Building on this momentum will require strengthening deal flow, creating more robust exit opportunities, and boosting investor confidence so that capital can be further channelled into the ecosystem.

These priorities, and the challenges they present for the ecosystem, will guide discussions among founders, investors, venture capitalists, angels, and limited partners (LPs) at Moonshot, across multiple content tracks.

Driving these conversations across diverse panels and keynotes includes Maxime Bayen, Operating Partner at FundCatalyst; Lexi Novitske, General Partner, Norrskken 22; Tito Cookey-Gam, Principal at Partech Africa; and Eloho Omame, Partner at TLcom Capital, among others. Digital for Development (D4D), representing the European Union, will also lead a delegation of more than 100 investors and ecosystem leaders from across Europe to Lagos, with their participation set to drive critical conversations and accelerate deal flow between African startups and global capital.

Speaking about the gathering, Mr Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO of Big Cabal Media, said, “The African tech ecosystem is gaining real momentum, and we’re seeing a growing appetite from global investors to back its next wave of startups. This is the moment to connect ambitious founders with the right capital, explore how exit opportunities can sustain growth, and build partnerships that truly scale. At this year’s Moonshot, we’re creating the space for those conversations to happen, turning that momentum into tangible opportunities for founders, investors, and the ecosystem as a whole. And beyond funding, we’re exploring emerging sectors like AI, payments infrastructure, digital assets, and creative industries, while also engaging policymakers, corporates, and ecosystem builders.”

Commenting on their participation, Digital for Development (D4D) Hub Africa Branch Deputy Coordinator, Mr Hussein Jaffar, said, “Moonshot is an important space for putting Global Gateway into action by connecting African innovators with European investors and partners. Through the D4D Hub, the Europe team is working to turn these connections into concrete collaborations, showcasing scalable digital solutions and unlocking new investment opportunities that strengthen Africa’s innovation ecosystems and advance our shared global priorities.

Headline sponsored by Sabi, Moonshot 2025 will also spotlight Africa’s bold adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). Also, Nigeria’s Minister of Trade, Mrs Jumoke Oduwole will share insights into how progressive trade policies are empowering startups, expanding digital services exports, and positioning Nigeria as Africa’s hub for digital trade.

Moonshot by TechCabal will also feature a deep-dive session on Africa’s Next-Gen Payment Rails, exploring how Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), digital-first infrastructure, mobile money adoption, and cross-border interoperability are accelerating financial inclusion and powering new growth in trade. Another session will examine the role of cryptocurrencies and digital assets in shaping cross-border payments and opening up new models for financial access across Africa.

“APIs have become the backbone of digital commerce, enabling real-time settlement, embedded finance, and seamless cross-border transactions,” said Mr Wole Ayodele, CEO of Fincra. “At Moonshot 2025, we are focusing on how these technologies can unlock growth and efficiency for businesses across Africa and beyond.”

Moonshot is a key platform for bringing together the people and ideas driving Africa’s digital economy,” said Ms Tomi Oduyemi, Growth Lead of Cardtonic. “It creates the connections and insights that allow innovation to scale and deliver impact across the continent, and we are happy to play a major part this year.

The two-day gathering is open to global and African VC investors, startup founders, top tech CEOs, policymakers, creatives, students, and support organisations driving Africa’s innovation economy.

With more than 120 speakers, nine signature content tracks, and over 4,000 expected participants, Moonshot 2025 builds on the success of last year’s edition, which convened more than 3,500 attendees from over 15 countries. Registration is still open at moonshot.techcabal.com.