The multi-venue event, held from November 18 to 23, recorded 28,683 attendees drawn from more than eight countries and over fifty industries, a strong debut for what organisers call a long-term platform for the continent’s creative economy.

Unlike older single-location festivals, EWA 2025 operated through five dedicated hubs spread across the city, Livespot Entertarium, Eko Hotel, EbonyLife Place, Alliance Française and Heritage Place, allowing participants to move between screenings, workshops, markets, showcases and industry meetings with unusual fluidity.

Livespot360 Managing Director, Tiwa Medubi, said the theme for the year bolstered the festival’s purpose. “This year, under the theme ‘Close the Gap,’ we set out to do something very specific: bring talent, capital, policy and platforms into the same room – not in theory, but in practice.” 

She added: “Across every lab, panel, showcase, screening and performance, one thing was clear: the gap between potential and reality is closing, because people are doing the work.”

Diplomats, government officials and cultural leaders were visible throughout the week. Among them were British Deputy High Commissioner Jonny Baxter, First Lady of Kwara State Olufolake Abdulrazaq, the Minister of Trade and Investment Jumoke Oduwole, and Lagos Commissioner for Tourism, Arts & Culture Toke Benson-Awoyinka. 

Baxter noted the diplomatic relevance of the gathering, saying: “Entertainment Week Africa represents a week of celebration, partnership and progress… By Closing The Gap, we’re not just building bridges; we’re creating highways for ideas, talent and investments to flow freely between Nigeria and the UK.”

Over six days, EWA 2025 delivered 61 sessions across its major pillars, film, music, technology and culture. A total of 93 films were screened, including Chronicles of Afrobeat, The Herd, Dust to Dream, and Mama Nike & Magazine Dreams. Many screenings were paired with sought-after director sessions.

Beyond film, the festival staged 20 music showcases and 9 fashion runway presentations. More than 120 designers applied for a place on the EWA runway, with 10 emerging names, including Korede James, Dust of the Earth, Nex by Necca, Josh Amor and Sevon Dejana, selected to present collections exploring contemporary African aesthetics.

Music also brought about a candid gender-equity debate. Tiwa Savage noted the challenge facing female artists: “Out of the top 100 songs in Nigeria on Apple Music, there’s only one female song… The gap is too wide, we need to balance the scale.”

Don Jazzy added: “We’re too masculine… It affects the numbers, the airplay, the clubs”.

Deal Room, Hackathon and Story Lab Drive Innovation

The festival’s Deal Room drew 178 applications, with nine startups advancing into a four-day accelerator. Four, Aktivate, FriendnPal, Growwr and Sports Reels,  were assessed as ready to scale and attracted investor interest on the spot. Investors present included Future Africa, Askya Investment Partners, Catalyst Fund and Consonance Invest.

A parallel Hackathon selected ten teams for a rapid-build sprint. Three companies, including Musetter, Owambe and Alaba, stood out for developing prototype-ready solutions in music and fashion technology.

Another major highlight was the four-day Story Lab for emerging writers, facilitated by Lani Aisida, Nicole Asinugo and Dami Elebe, and supported by Netflix, Amazon Prime, NdaniTV and Africa Magic. Fifteen candidates were narrowed to eight and completed six pitch-ready concepts.

Cultural Moments and Public Engagement

The week also saw entertainment touchpoints, including “Jokes & Jollof,” where Big Spoon 2025 winner Lucky Chidiebere Obi secured a ₦1 million prize and a forthcoming tour with Basketmouth. In total, EWA generated more than 5 million online engagements and over 800 million digital impressions across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

The maiden edition was backed by sponsors and partners such as Livespot, Heineken, Lagos State Tourism, MTN, Pepsi, TikTok, the British High Commission, the High Commission of Canada, the US Embassy, Essenza and Multichoice. Venue and industry partners included Netflix, Amazon Prime, NdaniTV, Africa Magic, ONErpm, Empire, Virgin Music and Xchange.

Founder Deola Art Alade said the team intends to build on the momentum: “Our ambition over the coming years is for Entertainment Week Africa to establish itself as a critical part of the economic, intellectual and artistic capital of this great city. We’re delighted with the first steps towards that.”

Next Edition Confirmed

The festival will return from November 17 to 22, 2026, with an expanded continental programme under the theme “Closing the Gap.” Registration has already opened.

The post EWA 2025 Spurs Creative-Industry Growth as Lagos Event Secures New Startup Investment Deals appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The companies will also join Madica’s intensive 18-month support programme, designed to help early-stage founders build scalable, investment-ready businesses.

Madica is seeking to close Africa’s funding gap by backing founders and startups usually overlooked by traditional venture capital. 

Since launching in 2022, the programme has focused on entrepreneurs from underrepresented regions and industries, providing capital and the kind of mentorship as well as structure that can make or break early ventures.

Both startups bring artificial intelligence into real-world African contexts. Anavid, founded by Ahmed Chaari and David Nilsson, uses AI to integrate with retail surveillance systems, reducing theft losses and improving in-store experience. 

Hypeo AI, led by Meriam Bessa and Salah Eddine Mimouni, provides a software solution that automates influencer marketing, from brand matching to campaign payments.

For Madica, these investments will help enhance innovation, which is also thriving across Africa, not just in a few well-known hubs.

“At Madica, we believe and continue to prove that some of the world’s most transformative ideas come from places that are too often ignored,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica. “The founders we’ve just welcomed are visionaries, building solutions with the power to uplift communities and shape industries. We’re proud to stand with them as they take on the next stage of their journey.”

For the founders, the partnership provides access to Madica’s growing investor network, business coaching, and two fully funded immersion trips to leading tech ecosystems both within and outside Africa. 

These trips, part of Madica’s structured learning model, give founders a platform to engage directly with investors, mentors, and other founders solving similar challenges.

Speaking on Hypeo AI’s mission, Meriam Bessa, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said, “Our region is rapidly growing with creative energy, but without the right digital backbone, it often goes untapped. We’re changing that by using AI to reimagine how brands and creators find each other, collaborate, and thrive. Backing by Madica will help us strengthen our AI capabilities to achieve this goal.”

Madica has also partnered with the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) to expand deal flow and co-investment opportunities for its portfolio companies. The collaboration, unveiled at the ABAN Congress in Lagos, aims to improve access to local capital and connect angel investors with institutional partners.

According to Yemi Keri, President of ABAN, “The future of Africa’s innovation economy depends on how effectively we can mobilise local capital and empower local investors. Our collaboration with Madica helps bridge the gap between angel investors and institutional capital, ensuring that more funding comes from within the continent, and that startups everywhere in Africa can access the right type of support to scale.”

Madica’s portfolio already includes a mix of standout startups such as Medikea, Daleela, Pixii Motors, and ToumAI, with a strong focus on gender diversity and regional inclusion. 

Its model combines funding with hands-on learning, helping founders refine governance, growth strategy, and personal well-being, areas often neglected in early-stage business building.

To date, Madica has continued to scout for new investment opportunities across the continent. Eligible startups must have a minimum viable product (MVP), ideally with paying customers, and be led by full-time African founders with limited prior institutional backing.

The team recently participated in Moonshot by TechCabal in Lagos and is heading to Big Angels Day Africa in Dakar this October, part of its approach to meet founders where they are, and to bring early-stage capital closer to the people shaping Africa’s digital future.

The post Madica Invests $400,000 in Two New AI Startups to Drive Inclusive Innovation Across Africa appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

This brings the firm’s total assets under management (AUM) to $250 million, a commendable achievement for the Washington, D.C.-based investment firm.

Founded in 2016, AAF has built a reputation for identifying early winners in global tech and innovation. The firm has made 138 direct investments and supported 39 emerging managers across 43 fund vintages. 

Its portfolio has already produced five unicorns, Jasper, Current, Flutterwave, Drata, and Hello Heart, alongside 20 successful exits, including TruOptik, MoneyLion, Even Financial, and Portfolium, with a combined enterprise value of $2 billion.

The Axis Fund represents AAF’s fourth vintage and is anchored by Mubadala Capital, as well as a network of family offices spanning the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. 

Other backers include general partners from major U.S.-based asset management firms, a multi-billion-dollar venture capital firm, and a publicly traded company.

What makes The Axis Fund unique is its data-driven strategy. AAF is leveraging its limited partner (LP) relationships with emerging managers to gain access to private market intelligence that isn’t publicly available on platforms like Crunchbase or CB Insights. 

This “data licensing” approach allows AAF to identify promising companies before they hit mainstream visibility.

So far, the fund has already invested in 25 pre-seed and seed funds and made five direct investments into early-stage and growth companies. Collectively, the fund’s underlying managers have exposure to around 800 venture-backed companies formed between 2021 and 2025.

Speaking on the fund’s approach, Kyle Hendrick, general partner and managing director, said: “Over the past decade, we have found that the richest dataset of private market companies at the earliest stages of their formation is accessed only through LP checks in emerging managers.

“With The Axis Fund, we are combining our fund-of-funds investing track record along with our Seed track record under one fund umbrella to generate the best risk-adjusted return for our LPs.”

Omar Darwazah, also general partner and managing director, described the model as both broad and selective: “Our two-pronged investing strategy allows our LPs to access a beta product, through the indexing of emerging managers, and an alpha product, through the picking of companies to back at the early stage.

“This strategy allows us to identify signal from noise and increase our probability of backing outliers – fund returners, 10x cash-on-cash returning companies and Seed to Unicorn investments.”

AAF’s model has earned it deep trust among partners and founders alike. Suzanne Fletcher, founder and general partner of Zelda Ventures, commended the firm’s hands-on partnership style:

“The AAF team has been an exceptional partner to Zelda Ventures, both as an investor in the firm’s Fund 1 and as a collaborative co-investor. They not only supported us early but have also continued to engage meaningfully, from investing alongside us in Okahu to flagging opportunities like Originalis.

“AAF’s approach of backing managers and then investing alongside them truly delivers on their mission to build enduring partnerships.”

Similarly, Zaid Rahman, founder and CEO of Flex, noted AAF’s long-term engagement:

“AAF has been an exceptional partner to us. They began building a relationship with me and the company nearly two years before investing. Flex was originally sourced through their LP check in 305 Ventures, and since then, AAF has participated in our Series A and every subsequent financing round.

“We’re excited to continue working with them as both capital formation and business development partners, leveraging their global LP network and deep connectivity across the MENA region.”

AAF’s earlier funds, a $25 million Fund I (2017), a $39 million Fund II (2021), and a $32 million proprietary fund-of-funds vehicle, have always ranked in the top decile for Net TVPI compared with benchmarks from Cambridge Associates and Carta.

With The Axis Fund focused on early-stage startups, AAF is doubling down on its core belief that access and insight drive performance in private markets. Its blend of fund-of-funds and direct investment strategies will support early-stage capital deployment, encompassing patience, information depth, and genuine partnership.

The post AAF Raises $55 Million to Back Early-Stage Startups, Emerging Fund Managers appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The investment will enhance Yango’s support for innovative African startups that are solving local financing challenges and enabling sustainable business growth.

Beyond financial backing, Yango Group will work closely with Zanifu to strengthen its business structure and long-term expansion plans, drawing on its operational experience across more than 30 markets. 

The partnership stresses Yango’s belief that empowering SMEs is essential to driving inclusive economic growth across the continent.

Zanifu has already supported over 15,000 SMEs, offering embedded lending solutions that help small businesses access inventory finance, manage cash flow, and scale operations without relying on traditional collateral.

“Zanifu is working on exactly what we care about, building tools that help other businesses grow. By giving thousands of SMEs real access to capital, the team is enabling them to expand and succeed. We’re excited to bring our experience and expertise to help scale a business that’s delivering real impact to local communities,” said Daniil Shuleyko, CEO of Yango Group.

The investment was made through Yango Ventures, a corporate venture arm launched earlier this year with a focus on early-stage startups across Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

The fund targets high-growth sectors such as fintech, B2B SaaS, and on-demand services, offering startups both funding and access to Yango’s global expertise, network, and strategic guidance.

A deal with Zanifu results from Yango Group’s trust in Africa’s innovation ecosystem, ensuring growth for small businesses. This also opens a new chapter of scale and expansion across some of the continent’s most promising markets.

The post Yango Group Invests in Kenyan Fintech Zanifu to Boost SME Financing in Africa appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The initiative, which will have a dedicated zone within the GITEX Nigeria showcase, is a structural market intervention aimed at addressing the chronic under-capitalisation of women-owned enterprises. 

While women own 27% of businesses in Africa and contribute 13% of GDP, they secure only 7% of total venture capital funding.

“Who gets funded determines what gets built, and what gets built will define the economic future of Africa,” said Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General of NITDA. “The LaunchPad ensures women founders are not just part of the conversation but central to Africa’s innovation economy. Closing this funding gap for women is not charity, it’s one of the smartest bets we can make for Africa’s future.”

The LaunchPad will channel $250,000 in catalytic capital into five ventures selected after GITEX Nigeria. Each startup will receive between $25,000 and $50,000, coupled with equity investment, regulatory guidance, and mentorship designed to prepare them for long-term growth.

What distinguishes The LaunchPad is its design. Unlike grant-only models such as the Cartier Women’s Initiative, or accelerators with limited follow-up, this platform integrates equity investment, regulatory de-risking, and structured pathways to scale.

At GITEX Nigeria 2025, The LaunchPad by NITDA and Alami zone will feature multiple touchpoints. These include a Funding Pavilion showcasing high-potential women-led ventures, Capital Readiness Clinics where founders engage directly with investors, and a Fireside for Scale, a dialogue on market expansion and IPO readiness. 

The event will also host the ‘To the Stars’ Bell Activation, a symbolic ringing of the bell with the SEC and women founders to mark the rise of women in Africa’s capital markets.

“As an investor, I witness the economics of exclusion every day. This is about building a vetted, investable pipeline of women-led ventures grounded in institutional rigour,” said Olu Olufemi-White, CEO of Alami Capital.

“Our mission is to shift capital flows, transform investment behaviour, and unlock Africa’s full innovation potential.”

How to Apply

To be among innovators who will see business scale via The LaunchPad, apply via the link.

The post GITEX Nigeria: NITDA, Alami Capital to Back Women-Led Startups with $250k via ‘The LaunchPad’ appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

This arrangement lets Grammarly scale aggressively without compromising its valuation or control.

The investment comes from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund (CVF), a fund structured specifically for late-stage startups that already have stable revenue. CVF doesn’t behave like a typical venture capital arm, it doesn’t buy equity. 

It issues non-dilutive capital, secured against a company’s predictable income streams. For Grammarly, that’s an edge as it scales through the post-ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) market.

Grammarly, founded 14 years ago, generates more than $700 million annually and claims 40 million daily users. But the firm is changing direction, beyond grammar checks, toward a full-scale AI productivity suite. 

The December 2024 acquisition of Coda, a productivity startup, marked a clear pivot. Shishir Mehrotra, Coda’s former CEO, now leads Grammarly’s next phase.

“Grammarly is evolving into an AI-powered productivity company,” Mehrotra said after the acquisition. The company is integrating third-party tools and moving into enterprise workflows, a strategy that demands aggressive go-to-market expansion and targeted acquisitions, both areas the new funding will support.

Again, the deal does not affect Grammarly’s valuation. Although it hit a $13 billion valuation during the height of the zero-interest boom in 2021, its current market value remains under wraps. An insider told us that today’s valuation is “significantly lower,” but didn’t offer figures. 

Regardless, the nondilutive nature of the CVF deal ensures Grammarly doesn’t have to renegotiate that number down.

General Catalyst, through CVF, has backed close to 50 firms, including insurtech startup Lemonade and telehealth company Ro. The fund operates independently from the firm’s recent $8 billion raise and has its own limited partners. 

In a past interview, CVF co-head Pranav Singhvi said the model is designed for “companies that are ready to grow, not experiment.”

The absence of equity transfer in the Grammarly deal is deliberate. “It’s capital that’s deeply aligned with business growth,” Singhvi explained.

Per TechCrunch, Grammarly didn’t respond to requests for comment on future IPO plans, though Mehrotra has hinted at it before. There’s no timeline yet, but if the firm continues scaling at this pace, a public offering could follow sooner rather than later.

The post Grammarly Secures $1 Billion from General Catalyst appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.