TechCabal’s 2026 Predictions
For TechCabal’s 2026 Predictions, we asked the people closest to the work to state their thesis for what happens this year, why they believe it will happen and what could stop it from happening.
Why we spoke to 21 African tech leaders for their 2026 predictions and what we looked for
For TechCabal’s 2026 Predictions, we asked the people closest to the work to state their thesis for what happens next and to show their workings.
Read Story"After a decade of asset-light evangelism, 2026 will mark the return of the balance sheet as a competitive advantage." – Olivia Gao
Olivia Gao is a principal at Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), a pan-African venture capital firm backing growth-stage companies across the continent.
Read Story"In 2026, Africa’s tech ecosystem will see a further acceleration of strategic mergers and acquisitions." – Lola Masha
Lola Masha is a partner at Antler Africa, a global early-stage venture capital firm that backs founders from day zero.
Read Story"In 2026, AI will make organisational failure arrive faster." – Adia Sowho
As Chief Marketing Officer at MTN Nigeria, Adia Sowho led the consumer business serving more than 80 million customers and over $4 billion in annual revenue.
Read Story"In 2026, African regulators will stop tolerating scale without operational control across critical digital infrastructure sectors, especially payments." – Nikolai Barnwell
Nikolai Barnwell is the CEO of pawaPay, where he is building mobile money payments infrastructure for businesses operating across Africa.
Read Story"In 2026, cybersecurity will emerge as a standalone investment category in African tech." – Uwem Uwemakpan
Uwem Uwemakpan is Head of Investment at Launch Africa Ventures, where he leads early-stage investing across the continent.
Read Story"In 2026, digital health platforms will materially expand access to primary and preventive healthcare for women and families…" – Adesuwa Rhodes
Adesuwa Rhodes is the founder and managing partner of Aruwa Capital Management, a growth equity fund investing in early-stage businesses.
Read Story"In 2026, I expect AI tutors to evolve into fully capable multimodal learning companions" – Boye Oshinaga
Boye Oshinaga is a Nigerian entrepreneur and two-time founder with experience building fintech and education technology businesses.
Read Story"In 2026, I expect public health and development systems to accelerate the shift away from labour-intensive models" – Scott Dubin
Scott Dubin is a global supply chain and logistics specialist with over 20 years of experience building and modernising health and humanitarian supply chains.
Read Story"In 2026, I expect the normalisation of instant, local-currency cross-border settlements for African SMEs…" – Austin Okpagu
Austin Okpagu is the country director for Verto in Nigeria, where he leads the company’s local strategy and operations.
Read Story"In 2026, I expect the venture studio model to gain stronger recognition as a legitimate asset class" – Leslie Ossete
Leslie Ossete is the cofounder and chief operating officer of Mstudio, a startup studio based in Abidjan.
Read Story"In 2026, Nigeria’s fintech regulators are likely to deepen support for interoperable QR and instant funds transfer at merchant points of acceptance." – Emmanuel Ojo
Emmanuel Ojo is the chief executive officer and managing director of Redtech Limited, where he leads the company’s strategy.
Read Story"In 2026, non-fintech sectors will increasingly monetise through embedded finance" – Phillipe Griffiths
Phillipe Griffiths is a principal at TLcom Capital, based in Nairobi, where he supports the firm’s investment activities.
Read Story"In 2026, South Africa will see a rapid acceleration of digital payments adoption, both in retail and enterprise." – Ephraim Modise
Ephraim Modise is a journalist and writer whose work focuses on technology, business, and finance in Southern Africa.
Read Story"In 2026, stablecoins will increasingly function as primary financial accounts for individuals and SMEs in emerging markets" – Efayomi Carr
Efayomi Carr is a principal at Flourish Ventures and a co-founder of Madica, where he also serves as a board observer.
Read Story"In 2026, the most valuable AI deployments in African tech will shift away from experimentation…" – Yewande Odumosu
Yewande Odumosu is a co-founder of HoaQ Ventures Fund, an early-stage investment fund backing founders serving Africa and its diaspora.
Read Story"In 2026, there would be a significant increase in the volume of venture funding for African startups" – David Afolayan
David Afolayan is the cofounder, publisher, and content chief at Technext.ng, one of Africa’s leading technology news platforms.
Read Story"In 2026, value capture in Africa’s digital media ecosystem will continue to shift toward creator-led, direct-to-fan and ad-supported platforms" – Chimgozirim Nwokoma
Chimgozirim Nwokoma is a senior reporter at Techpoint Africa, where he covers African startups, fintech, and venture capital.
Read Story"In 2026, we will see a notable shift as African youth, particularly in Kenya, begin to actively embrace agriculture as a tech-enabled opportunity" – Gatwiri Njogu-Mokaya
Gatwiri Njogu-Mokaya is the CEO and co-founder of VunaPay, a Kenyan agrifintech startup building payment infrastructure for farmers.
Read Story"In 2026, we're going to cross the $1 trillion threshold in tokenised real-world assets, including stablecoins." – Seun Lanlege
Seun Lanlege is the founder of Polytope Labs, the developer of Hyperbridge, an interoperability protocol that enables blockchain networks to share data.
Read Story"In 2026, with fraud no longer a major distraction, fintechs will return to massive growth and innovation." – Adedeji Olowe
Adedeji Olowe is the founder of Lendsqr, a fintech infrastructure company that provides tools for financial institutions to build and scale digital credit products.
Read StoryProject Credits
Editorial Direction
Muktar Oladunmade
Design
Wunmi Eunice
Editing
Muktar Oladunmade
Editorial Supervision
Ifeduyi Oyesanmi
Editorial Supervision
Fu'ad Lawal
Editorial Support
Emmanuel Nwosu
Social Media
David Onugha
Social Media
Vivian Nnabue
Distribution
Zia Yusuf
