Skip to main content

Big Cabal Media raises $2.3mn to fuel audience growth & build new verticals


 Lagos, Nigeria: Big Cabal Media [BCM], a pan-African media company headquartered in Nigeria, has announced the close of its Seed Series fundraising round at $2.3million, led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Luminate, Unicorn Group, Future Africa and a range of angel investors.

BCM has previously raised about $620k in angel and pre-seed funding between 2016 and 2020. Known for creating engaging, agenda-setting content and journalism through its online platforms, TechCabal and Zikoko, as well as its content studio and digital consultancy arms, the new raise will allow BCM to grow its audiences, build out new technology products and further consolidate its position as one of the most important media and technology brands across Africa.

Launched in 2014, BCM has grown to become one of the most powerful media businesses covering technology and youth culture on the continent. Its publication, Zikoko, which reaches over twenty million readers monthly, reflects and amplifies the most urgent elements of youth culture in Nigeria.

TechCabal, the company’s flagship publication, is perhaps the most important publication covering Africa’s burgeoning technology ecosystem; combining high-quality reporting, daily newsletters and events that draw the biggest operators and investors together. In addition to building content and news platforms, BCM has grown its services to include Cabal Creative, an in-house content studio that has produced content for global brands such as Google, Uber and Coca-Cola; and TC Insights, a data analytics consulting service focused on custom research, industry strategy and digital transformation projects.

African startups raised an estimated $4.7bn in 2021, with fintech startups receiving approximately 63 percent of that volume. Digital media has not been a big part of that funding equation, despite Africa having one of fastest growing digital media sectors globally, with millions of Africans coming online for the first time looking for original and engaging content tailored for their needs.  

Speaking on the business opportunity and this funding round, CEO Tomiwa Aladekomo says,

Africa is seeing explosive growth across its tech industries, and content is a critical component of that. Today, Big Cabal Media (BCM) leads the most engaging conversations around innovation, entrepreneurship, culture and all the things that matter to a dynamic, growing continent. Our publications, TechCabal and Zikoko are some of the most exciting digital media brands anywhere in Africa, and we’ve shown real capacity for business innovation in growing the business and launching new units like Cabal Creative and TC Insights. We’re thrilled to have new funding and partners who recognize the opportunity to build a truly global media and technology operation from Africa. This round will allow us to invest deeply in technology products and our own tech stack, video production arm, and growing our reach across and beyond the continent.” 

Statista reports that 60 percent of Africa’s 550m internet users are under the age of 25. Nigeria, where Big Cabal operates from, is one the largest internet markets, with over 154m people on the internet and a fast-growing tech sector that is rapidly transforming the economy. Traditional media companies aren’t keeping up with the needs of this audience, evolving much more slowly than in America, Europe or even Asia; creating space for innovative media companies like Big Cabal to establish position ahead of competition from local players or even global brands looking to enter the market. 

Read also: Binance invests $200m in Forbes

With media business models in flux globally, Big Cabal is as focused on business innovation as it is on content and technology. Tomiwa notes that “we’ve always seen advertising as a critical but insufficient revenue basis for a successful media business. Our thesis is that we can build high-engagement media brands in valuable niche spaces, and build products and services - like Tech Women Lagos and Jollof Road - to serve audiences, advertisers and other partners. Part of what this investment will fund is the development of an evolved version of Zikoko Memes, a Giphy-like product focused on African memes, gifs and images, that we first launched in 2020 and has shown great promise.” 

We’re proud to enter this chapter with Big Cabal Media, as we fully believe in its massive potential for further success, scale and global impact,” said Marlon Nichols, Co-Founder and Managing General Partner of MaC Venture Capital, the lead investors. “Investing in Africa’s booming digital media sector aligns perfectly with MaC’s mission of supporting exceptional entrepreneurs building valuable technology companies that leverage shifts in cultural trends and behaviours. I have no doubt that BCM will seize this unique opportunity to continue leading conversations in culture and helping digital consumers access the information that matters most to them.”

Dr. Akintoye Akindele, Chairman of Unicorn Group, follow-on investors in the round,  said,  “since inception, Big Cabal has created original content that engages and resonates with audiences. This is reflected in its position as one of the best recognised African digital media brands globally. This seed series raise led by MaC Venture Capital positions the company to scale across the continent, deepen its technology stack, and diversify its brand & product offering to cater to Africa’s youthful & growing digital natives. We are excited by this next phase in Big Cabal’s growth.” 

The market for African content and culture is more global than ever and Big Cabal Media is creating the brands, content and products for Africa’s new generation of digital-first content consumers and the world.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nestlé Ghana Limited Wins Overall Best Industrial Company Of The Year at 13th AGI Industry & Quality Awards

  Nestlé Ghana Limited has been honored with four prestigious awards at the 13th Association of Ghana Industry and Quality Awards ceremony. The event, held in an esteemed setting, gathered prominent figures from Ghana’s industrial sector. Amidst the anticipation, Nestlé Ghana emerged as one of the evening’s notable winners, securing accolades in several key categories. This recognition underscores Nestlé Ghana’s relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation, marking a significant milestone that highlights the company’s substantial contributions to the manufacturing industry in Ghana. Nestlé Ghana's exceptional performance was acknowledged with the following awards: Overall Best National Quality Award, Diamond Category (Food) Overall Best Practices in Sustainable Manufacturing Best Company (Food Sector) Overall Industrial Company of the Year, affirming its status as a leader not only within the food sector but also across Ghana's entire industrial landscape. This success is a ...

Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi Mine tops 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards

 AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine has confirmed its status as sustainability champions by sweeping nine awards, the most won by a company at the 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards (SSI) held at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. The feat comes on the heels of a dominant performance in last year's event where AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine swept seven awards. The SSI Awards organised by Ianmatsun Global Services recognizes the most outstanding sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives in the country and beyond as well as the best teams and individuals who brought them to life. This year's event, which was the 8th edition, was under the theme "Climate Action Now: Accelerating Decarbonization and Building Resilience". The awards won by AngloGold Ashanti on the night include SSI Company of the Year, Best Company in Women Empowerment (project), SSI Company of the Year ( Environment), Best Co...

Zoomlion Advocates Community & Gender inclusive waste management for Climate Action at COP 29

 Africa's waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has advocated for an integrated approach to waste management that considers the interest of community members, women and vulnerable groups. James Deku, a Communications Officer of Zoomlion Ghana Limited made this call at the 29th session of the Conference Of Parties (COP 29) of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Azerbaijan, Baku whiles speaking on the topic "Community-Driven and Gender Inclusive approaches to waste management for Climate Action ". He said the waste sector is a major contributor of methane emissions which is a potent greenhouse gas causing climate change hence the need to manage waste in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Zoomlion's waste management model is designed and operated in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, local authorities engage community members in clea...