Moonshot by TechCabal unveils 2026 theme, “Courage & Conviction — Building for a New World”

TechCabal has revealed the theme for the fourth edition of Moonshot by TechCabal, its flagship pan-African technology conference: “Courage & Conviction — Building for a New World.” The two-day conference returns to the National Theatre in Lagos, Nigeria, on October 28 and 29, 2026.

The theme marks a deliberate shift in posture for African technology. Where Moonshot 2025’s “Building Momentum” recognised an ecosystem turning a corner after the funding corrections of 2022 and 2023, Courage & Conviction begins from the premise that the corner has been turned and that the question is no longer whether Africa’s tech ecosystem can survive but what it looks like in today’s world. 

The case for ‘building a new world’

The theme responds to a fast-changing global order marked by shifting capital flows, growing demand for exits and disciplined execution, and the rapid restructuring of entire industries by AI. 

Rather than framing Africa’s tech ecosystem as adapting to this new world, Moonshot 2026 positions it as actively building one as it owns more of the value it creates, designs solutions from first principles, and competes globally while enduring locally.

“African tech made it through by adapting quickly, rebuilding where necessary, and continuing to ship products and build companies in one of the most complex operating environments in the world,” said Olanewaju Odunowo, the head of TechCabal Insights. “Survival was never the ceiling. It was always just the floor. Moonshot 2026 is where we explore what it looks like when African tech decides to win.”

The five convictions shaping Moonshot 2026

Programming, speaker selection, and narrative across all nine content tracks will be anchored in a five-pillar Courage & Conviction manifesto:

• Be brave enough to build like winners: celebrating bold bets, hard pivots, and the unglamorous but critical work of building infrastructure.
• Build so it can last: operational discipline, sustainable business models, and corporate governance are treated as competitive advantages rather than aspirations.
• Radical innovation, designed here: homegrown breakthroughs across AI, climate, hardware, creative industries, and commerce, built from African complexity with the ambition to define global standards.
• Conviction is the difference: spotlighting the founders, investors, and policymakers who stayed, doubled down, and made unconventional bets that are only now making sense.
• A promise to ourselves: positioning African tech not as a side market in the story of global innovation, but as a centre.

What to expect

Moonshot 2026 will retain the nine content tracks introduced across previous editions.  Future of Commerce, Creative Economy, Emerging Tech (AI & ML), Government & Policy, Startup Festival, FUEL: The Investors Conference, Clean Tech & Climate, Big Tech & Enterprise, and Entering Tech, with each track’s programming anchored to the manifesto.

Attendees can expect deep dives that do not shy away from failure, candid conversations about exits, M&A, and strategic consolidation, and showcases of Africa-first technology built for the global stage. This year’s edition is designed to be “a room full of people who have earned the right to be ambitious and who understand that ambition, without discipline and honest reflection, is just noise.”

Building on a record of impact

The theme arrives on the back of Moonshot’s emergence as the fastest-growing technology conference in Africa. The 2025 edition drew 6,000 attendees from 39 countries, part of a three-year run that has convened more than 12,650 participants from 44 countries since 2023. 

Investors attending the conference have collectively deployed over $5 billion through their funds, startups exhibiting on the Moonshot floor carry a combined estimated valuation exceeding $15 billion, and the conference’s TC Battlefield pitch competition has awarded $105,000 to 14 early-stage winners drawn from 960 applicants.

Moonshot 2026 is headline sponsored by Grey, the global cross-border payments company serving nearly three million users across more than 70 countries.

Confirmed speakers, the full session programme, and ticket pricing, including bundle access to co-located events, will be announced in the coming weeks. To stay updated, visit moonshot.techcabal.com.

About TechCabal

TechCabal is Africa’s leading technology media publication, providing reporting, data, and context on African technology, business, and innovation since 2013. TechCabal covers startup funding, mergers and acquisitions, fintech, policy, the creative economy, and the people building the continent’s digital future. TechCabal is part of Big Cabal Media, which also operates Zikoko, Cabal Creative, and TC Insights.

For more information, visit techcabal.com and moonshot.techcabal.com.

Media contact

Stephen Agwaibor stephen.agwaibor@bigcabal.com +234 816 4430 193

Tolu Adebayo tolu@bigcabal.com +234 814 0356 210