TechCabal

Artificial intelligence (AI) has reshaped how the world works, and African AI startups, venture capital and tech ecosystems are no exception. The technology is evolving so fast that many investors are still working out how to evaluate AI startups, let alone how to fund them. Over the past six months, this column has spoken to African investors across regions, sectors, and funding stages about where AI creates genuine value, where it falls short, and what merits institutional capital.

L'intelligence artificielle (IA) a profondément transformé le monde, et les startups africaines spécialisées dans l'IA, le capital-risque et les écosystèmes technologiques n'y font pas exception. Cette technologie évolue si rapidement que de nombreux investisseurs cherchent encore comment évaluer les startups d'IA, et encore moins comment les financer.

La proximité est un moteur d'innovation. Lorsque des personnes ambitieuses se retrouvent dans la même pièce, les conversations s'accélèrent, les idées se précisent et des opportunités qui n'apparaîtraient jamais lors d'un appel vidéo peuvent se concrétiser. Les 28 et 29 octobre, Moonshot 2026 réunira l'écosystème technologique africain au Théâtre national de Lagos pour deux jours d'échanges, de rencontres et d'opportunités qui façonneront l'avenir.

Proximity is an engine for innovation. When ambitious people come together in the same room, conversations move faster, ideas become clearer, and opportunities that would never surface on a video call can take shape. On October 28 and 29, Moonshot 2026 will bring Africa’s technology ecosystem together at the National Theatre in Lagos for two days of conversations, connections and opportunities that will shape what comes next.

Isaac Sixtus Chizaram, known professionally as Isaac Zara, has spent most of his career making ideas visible. Sometimes, that has meant building a visual identity for a global technology company. At other times, it has meant helping an open-source community communicate what it stands for, designing campaigns for Web3 companies, shaping digital experiences, or defining how a brand exists across dozens of touchpoints. But design, for Isaac, has never been merely cosmetic.

Isaac Sixtus Chizaram, connu professionnellement sous le nom d' Isaac Zara , a consacré l'essentiel de sa carrière à rendre les idées visibles. Parfois, cela a impliqué la création d'une identité visuelle pour une multinationale technologique.

Africa’s push to connect one billion people by 2030 faces a bigger challenge than network coverage: getting the hundreds of millions already within reach of a signal to use the internet meaningfully. In 2025, about 550 million Africans, or 36% of the continent’s population, used the internet, up from 16% in 2015. That remains far below the global internet usage rate of 74%, underscoring the gap Africa must close to meet its regional digital inclusion goals.

Grampets, a new social app designed for pet lovers, pet owners and professionals in the pet industry, has officially launched in Lagos, unveiling a digital community built around pets and the people who care for them. The app was unveiled on Saturday, September 26, at The Lagos Pet Lovers Connect, held at Leisure Park, Lekki Phase 1, where pet parents, veterinarians, groomers, breeders, pet brands and animal lovers gathered for a day of activities celebrating pets and the growing pet community.

L'objectif de l'Afrique, qui vise à connecter un milliard de personnes d'ici 2030, se heurte à un défi plus important que la simple couverture réseau : faire en sorte que les centaines de millions de personnes déjà à portée d'un signal puissent utiliser Internet de manière significative. En 2025, environ 550 millions d'Africains , soit 36 ​​% de la population du continent, utilisaient Internet, contre 16 % en 2015.

This is Follow the Money, our weekly series that unpacks the earnings, business, and scaling strategies of African fintechs, financial institutions, companies, and governments. A new edition drops every Monday. Between October 1 and 9, 2026, Lagos Life, the city-based simulation game, went from an overnight project to a business claiming more than $170,000 in earned and contracted revenue. Its creator, Shalom Rayhamen, built the first version in eight hours.