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Big Cabal Media Raises $2.3mn to Fuel Audience Growth & Build New Verticals

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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.

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.

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70% of Christians killed in 2024 are African – Group

ORJI ISRAEL reports that the group accused ANC of maintaining silence on religious persecution, while deepening ties with ideological extremists in Tehran

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70% of Christians killed in 2024 are African gettyimages
Women crying during killings in Benue State, Nigeria

Recent reports indicate that over 4,400 Christians were murdered for their faith last year, while over the past decade, jihadist violence has driven 16 million Christians from their homes, millions of which are African citizens.

This is according to global Christian charity, Open Doors, which also confirms that for every five Christians, one will face persecution in Africa specifically.

Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List reveals the top 10 most dangerous countries for Christians are dominated by Islamic states in the Middle East and Africa, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Nigeria. A more detailed UK Parliament briefing recently noted that 70% of Christians killed in 2024 were indeed in Africa. 

Over the last six months, the brutality against Christians in Africa has escalated to alarming levels, with a series of devastating attacks across the continent. Just last month, ISIL-affiliated rebels stormed a Catholic church in Komanda, DRC, murdering close to 50 worshippers, including women and children. That same month in Mozambique, Islamic State fighters captured and beheaded six Christians from Natocua village, just across South Africa’s border. A month earlier, in June 2025, armed militants in Nigeria massacred nearly 200 Christian civilians in Yelwata village. 

“What we are witnessing is not random violence or isolated attacks. It is a deliberate, coordinated campaign by jihadist networks to wipe Christianity from vast regions of Africa and the Middle East,” says SAFI spokesperson, Bafana Modise. “These acts of terror are the early stages of a genocide against Christians, and history will record who spoke out and who shamefully looked away. Tragically, the ANC has chosen the latter.”

This silence is even more damning in light of last week’s news that South Africa’s military chief, Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, met with Iranian Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami in Tehran to discuss deepening military and strategic ties, when Iran remains one of the world’s most notorious persecutors of Christians.

A recent report by the Middle East Africa Research Institute (MEARI) warned that Pretoria’s deepening ties with Tehran has compromised South Africa’s democratic foundations by defending Iran at the UN and IAEA, downplaying its human rights abuses, and potentially benefitting from covert support, including speculation around the ANC’s repayment of a multi-million-rand debt shortly after filing the ICJ case against Israel.

“These atrocities are not just crimes against individuals; they are part of a war against the freedom of religion itself,” Modise warns. “This is religious genocide, and it is gaining momentum as it edges closer to South Africa’s borders.”

Instead of defending religious freedom, the ANC government has remained silent. It has issued no meaningful condemnation or rallying call to protect persecuted Christians: “The ANC has done nothing to defend the rights of Christians,” says Modise. “Instead, it has squandered South Africa’s moral standing on discredited genocide charges against Israel – the one country in the Middle East where Christians live in safety and equality.”

This betrayal is even more unforgivable in a nation where 80% of South Africans identify as Christian. Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, but the ANC, once the global champion of human rights, has made its bed with regimes and groups that have used Islamic law to suppress and destroy those freedoms.

“The ANC’s alliances make it clear: they have abandoned South Africa’s Christians, choosing friendship with the very forces driving this campaign of genocide,” Modise concludes. “Silence in the face of such evil is complicity, and the ANC is guilty of both. They have aligned themselves with Jihadist Islamic ideology, without further thought.”

We call on every pastor, every congregation, and every believer to demand that the ANC account for its indifference and betrayal. The blood of persecuted Christians cries out from across the African continent. If South Africa will not stand with them now, the day may come when their fate becomes our own.

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Government Should Support Media with Tax Incentives, Relief on Import Duties – Soneye

….Media Sustainability: Soneye Advocates Tax Reliefs, Independent Fund for Journalism

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Femi Soneye
Femi Soneye

Former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Mr. Femi Soneye, has called on the Federal Government to support the Nigerian media with targeted incentives, including tax reliefs and import duty waivers on essential media tools.

Soneye made the appeal in Abuja on Tuesday after receiving the NUJ FCT Excellence in Corporate Communications Award, conferred on him by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council.

The NUJ leadership, led by Chairperson Grace Ike, alongside the Deputy Chair, Secretary-General, and other executives, described Soneye as a consummate professional who has distinguished himself with tact and excellence in the communications field.

In his remarks, Soneye noted that while the Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, it continues to grapple with systemic challenges that weaken its effectiveness.

“The Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, but it also faces systemic challenges, financial, political, legal, and technological that weaken its effectiveness. The government can play a supportive role by granting tax incentives or relief on import duties for newsprint, broadcast equipment, and digital infrastructure,” he said.

He also urged the Federal Government to establish an independent media development fund to support investigative journalism, community radio, and newsroom innovation, drawing parallels with models in South Africa, the United States, and Canada.

The award underscores Soneye’s long-standing contributions to journalism and corporate communications, as well as his advocacy for a stronger, independent, and sustainable Nigerian media.

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Lagos NIPR elects new executives

Reporter: Sandra Ani

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Members of the newly elected executive of Lagos State Chapter NIPR
Members of the newly elected executive of Lagos State Chapter NIPR

… GFD Executive Director emerges chapter Vice Chairperson* 

The Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has elected a new executive council at the close of its flagship Lagos PR Fest 2025, reinforcing its commitment to professionalism, innovation, and societal impact.

In elections supervised by NIPR Registrar, Chief Uzoma Onyegbadue, Samuel Ayetutu emerged as Chairman, while Eniola Mayowa was elected Vice Chairman in a closely contested race.

Other members of the executive include Secretary Samuel Adeyemi, Assistant Secretary Rita Ali-Nock, Public Relations Officer Ogochukwu Okeke, Financial Secretary Bassey Nta, Treasurer Olabamiji Adeleye, Welfare Officer Funmilola Akintola, and Ex-Officio Provost Marshal Quadri Adeleke.

In his acceptance remarks, Ayetutu pledged to drive professional standards, promote inclusiveness, and foster collaboration among members to enhance the chapter’s influence locally and nationally.

This year’s PR Fest, themed “Urban Farming for Food Security: The Role of Communication”, convened communication professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore innovative strategies for tackling food security through effective public engagement.

Over the years, the Lagos PR Fest has evolved into a leading platform for advancing the role of public relations in societal development, with the 2025 edition underscoring the Institute’s mission to position communication as a driver of sustainable development in Nigeria.

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