Shoyinka Shodunke, chief information officer of MTN Nigeria, said this as he delivered the keynote on the digital economy forecast for 2026 at Tech Revolution Africa Conference 2.0 in Lagos, headlined by MTN. 

Speaking under the theme “The Big Bold Step,” Shodunke stressed that the fourth industrial revolution is the first moment in history where Africa can compete on equal terms, but only if it moves fast.

“The inputs today are data, and where’s the factory? The factory sits in the cloud,” he said.

During the first industrial revolution, the continent was absent. In the second, it supplied raw materials. In the third, it became a consumer of finished technology. Each delay came at a cost.

“We got punished for the first. Got punished for the second time. We got punished for the third,” he said. “But in the fourth, if we fail to act, we get punished again.”

What makes this era different, he explained, is that scale no longer depends on capital. With cloud services, access to talent from anywhere and locally generated data, the limitations are lower. Startups no longer need massive data centres or years of runway before launching products.

“You can subscribe to cloud services today at $50,” he said. “You don’t have to invest over $100,000 on compute power for you to be able to power your industry.”

Shodunke explained that the actual threat is not lack of technology but fear, fear of disrupting existing business models, revenue streams and comfortable ways of working. He warned that organisations clinging to legacy systems risk repeating Africa’s old mistakes.

“You cannot live with a legacy mindset, a fear of disruption, or with the comfort of mediocrity,” Shodunke further stated at the Tech Revolution Africa Conference 2.0. “Whatever is being built has to be built with a scale in mind, not mediocre.”

Using MTN as a case study, he described how the telecoms giant has had to intentionally disrupt itself, moving beyond voice and data into cloud services, fintech and intelligent platforms layered on top of its network infrastructure.

“History punished everyone who hesitated,” he warned. “So don’t really wait for the perfect time to come in, only take that big bold step.”

In closing, he stressed that the race has already started. Africa is not arriving late anymore, but hesitation could still leave it watching others disrupt.

“Revolution,” Shodunke said, “it punishes hesitations.”

This recent investment, a blend of debt and equity, brings the company’s total funding to $1.15 million. Key investors in the round include 54 Collective, alongside other angel investors, with previous backing from Savannah Fund and Microtraction.

The funding will enable Aya Data to scale its two flagship products: AyaGrow and AyaSpeech. AyaGrow provides AI-driven precision agriculture solutions, helping both smallholder and commercial farmers monitor crop health and field conditions. 

AyaSpeech, on the other hand, is a speech-to-speech platform that facilitates communication in local African languages, enhancing business, government, and consumer interactions.

Founded in 2021 by Freddie Monk and Ama Larbi-Siaw, Aya Data focuses on data collection and annotation services, essential for training large language models. The company employs a team of over 150 full-time data annotators, working towards building local expertise in high-demand technical roles such as data engineering and data science. 

Aya Data’s vision includes training over 1,000 data professionals in the near future, aiming to develop AI talent across Africa.

Aya Data is already working with a diverse range of global clients, including MIT, Unilever, and Nvidia, and generated $500,000 in revenue in 2023. While it currently serves around 20 active clients, the company is looking to expand its reach within Africa, supporting local businesses to become more competitive by leveraging AI technology.

In keeping its operations fully based in Ghana, Aya Data prides itself on delivering projects efficiently without relying on third parties. This in-house control is key to the company’s competitive edge, according to Gillian Hammah, the firm’s Marketing and Strategy Officer. 

The company also competes with global firms in consultancy work but maintains its core strength in managing all aspects of data collection locally, which ensures faster delivery times.

Aya Data’s founders are focused on building a centre of AI excellence in Africa, ensuring that the continent doesn’t just benefit from the technology but also contributes greatly to its development.