The Moonshot goal for tech in Africa

Good morning! ☀️

Moonshot by TechCabal, the most important tech gathering in Africa, is now only 1 day away. Put it in your plans to be in Nigeria this week to be a part of the important discussions about Africa’s tech ecosystem.

We’re bringing together some of the strongest thinkers, doers, and funders in African tech together to share knowledge, network, and shape the future of African tech. There’s an incredible lineup of speakers, interactive workshops, masterclasses, and content tracks including climate tech and cleantech, emerging tech, big tech, creative economy, digital commerce, and more. 

Here’s the schedule. You don’t want to miss any part of it. There’s still a chance to join us tomorrow at Eko Convention Centre, Lagos, Nigeria.

Get seated.

Moonshot is what Lagos is to Africa’s tech ecosystem

“Lagosians love food,” I told my colleague Muktar Oladunmade, and it truly encapsulates the thriving food delivery business, which seemingly is faring better than other African metropolises. Startups like Chowdeck are using technology to cater to the diverse tastes of thousands of residents and visitors. 

Unlike Nairobi, where a few players dominate food delivery, Lagos boasts at least five options catering to different tastes and preferences, reflecting the city’s rich culinary culture. In the fintech space, the energy is palpable. Notable startups dominate, tackling solutions like peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and consumer-to-business (C2B) payments while attracting significant investments from venture capitalists (VCs).

Lagos has carved its unique path in Africa’s tech ecosystem. On Wednesday, the city hosts the most significant tech event this calendar year—Moonshot by TechCabal. The event will bring together founders and investors from across the continent. A platform for thought leaders, VCs, founders, and policymakers to meet, exchange ideas, and debate the future of Africa’s startup scene. VCs will seek to deepen their understanding of the market and connect with promising startups as the continent pushes the next wave of innovations. 

Policymakers at the second edition of the annual event will gain a critical understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing local African startups. Don’t miss out!

You still have a chance to get your ticket here.

Read Moniepoint’s Case Study on Funding Women

After losing their mother, Azeezat and her siblings struggled to keep Olaiya Foods afloat. Now, with Moniepoint, they’re transforming Nigeria’s local buka scene. Click here for a deep dive into how Moniepoint is helping her and other women entrepreneurs overcome their funding challenges.

On October 7, Okra joined a growing list of homegrown cloud providers in Nigeria providing local cloud alternatives to startups. Since the year began, many Nigerian startups have switched to local alternatives—Layer3 and Nobus—due to the high cost of servicing foreign options like Microsoft Azure and AWS. 

Since Nigeria devalued the naira, prices of foreign cloud alternatives have shot through the roof. A $1000 cloud service that would have cost ₦458,000 ($280) in early 2023 now costs about ₦1.52 million ($940). More Nigerian startups are also signing up for local cloud providers, in part due to the flexibility of naira payments—a crucial selling point for these companies looking to reduce USD exposure.

While hosting data locally allows for better services through improved latency for these companies, local cloud providers might also be preparing to become the biggest beneficiaries of a new bill that will mandate companies in the country to have their data domiciled in Nigeria. Previously, companies' data was often domiciled in the headquarters of Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud. But a new bill could change that, according to two people familiar with the details. 

However, provisions of the new bill require more investments in hyperscale data centres across the country. 

Nigeria currently has about 14 data centres nationwide, yet that number could increase as more investments go into data centres across the country. MTN Nigeria said it will complete work on a second data centre in Lagos by December 2024. CitiData plans to build six data centres in Lagos and Ogun in the next two years. 

With Nigeria’s data centre market projected to reach $578.1 million by 2029, the question remains: what percentage of this market can homegrown cloud providers capture?

South Africa plans to change a law requiring foreign telcos to reserve 30% of company ownership for locals, said Solly Malatsi, the minister of digital communications. If that change goes ahead, it will allow Starlink to launch in the country after a month of lobbying.

Malatsi said on October 4 that he would issue a policy direction offering an alternative to the 30% local ownership rule in the communication industry.

In September, Starlink CEO Elon Musk met with President Cyril Ramaphosa at the UN General Assembly, where he expressed interest in expanding to the South African market. It also continues a trend where Musk and senior SpaceX executives lobby high-ranking government officials in the southern Africa region.

The move will allow foreign telcos to operate in Africa’s most advanced market, allowing more competition, which could bring down broadband costs.