African Pre-seed Podcast Episode #10: The role of media coverage for the African VC and startup ecosystem

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Tomiwa Aladekomo leads the team at Big Cabal Media, which publishes the tech and youth publications, TechCabal and Zikoko. Big Cabal is building the next generation of African media brands and creating some of the continent's most interesting and exciting original content.

What to look forward to in this episode:

• What’s your favorite African tech success story of 2022? [4:10]
• What ecosystem issue do you think should have got more coverage last year and why? [5:34]
• Coming into 2022, the sense was, can Africa buck the VC funding downturn that was sweeping other markets… And indeed, it seems we have. Does that surprise you? [8:01]
• Despite challenges in the tech this industry, what led you to found Big Cabal Media? What was the opportunity, and what interested you about it? [9:30]
• Tell us about your media diet… What are you reading, what are you watching, and what are you listening to right now? [12:46]
• What are your thoughts on how the relationship between African tech ecosystem media and African Founders is evolving? [15:24]
• What do you wish Founders knew about dealing with the media? [18:52]
• What’s the story you sold your investors to land TechCabal’s $2.3 million seed round? [23:56]
• What top three tips would you give media entrepreneurs looking to emulate TechCabal’s success? [24:52]
• Based on the collaboration with CNBC Africa to launch “The Next Wave”, is traditional media still a thing? What’s the big idea behind TechCabal’s foray into television via CNBC Africa? [27:36]
• The experienced Tomi Davies recently published a Medium article outlining the rollercoaster history of TechCabal from his perspective as an investor… He was pretty candid. What was the hardest thing to read? [30:25]
• TechCabal has spawned the PayPal Mafia of African Media… How did you guys manage that? [33:00]

CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:

• Connect with Tomiwa Aladekomo on Twitter and Linkedin.
• Connect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and Linkedin.
• Connect with Adam Wakefield on Linkedin.

Tell us...

• What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode?
• What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?

Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseed

USEFUL RESOURCES:

• ARTICLE: Big Cabal Media — roller-coaster beginning! by Tomi Dee (Medium).
• YOUTUBE: Why infrastructure is the key to Africa's digital future - The Next Wave Show S1 Ep8 by TechCabal.