Parent company to TechCabal and Zikoko, Big Cabal Media has secured the sum of $2.3 million funding in a seed series round.
The funding round was led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Luminate, Unicorn Group, Future Africa and a range of angel investors.
The funding is coming after the company had raised about $620,000 in its angel and pre-seed funding between 2016 and 2020.
BCM which was launched in 2014 is noted for its depth and coverage in both tech and the youth culture via its platforms, TechCabal and Zikoko.
As expected, the company intends to utilise this investment and grow its audience, build new technology products and strengthen its stance as one Africa’s most important media and technology outlet.
Zikoko, according to Big Cabal Media is a both a reflection and amplification of the Nigerian youth culture having over twenty million readers monthly. While TechCabal is the company’s flagship publication and in the past months of its operations been on of the most vital publication covering Africa’s ecosystem; which is a combination of standard reporting, daily newsletters and events that bring both the biggest operators and investors together.
Following its budding content community, BCM has also included Cabal Creative – an in-house content studio that has produced content for global brands such as Google, Uber and Coca Cola; and also, TC Insights – a data analytics consulting service focused on custom research, industry strategy and digital transformation projects.
According to Tomiwa Aladekomo, BCM’s CEO, “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.”
Based on reports by BenjaminDada.com 60 percent of Africa’s 550 million internet users are under the age of 25. Nigeria, where Big Cabal operates from, is one the largest internet markets, with over 154 million people on the internet and a fast-growing tech sector that is rapidly transforming the economy.
With media business models in flux globally, Big Cabal is focused on business innovation as it is on content and technology.
“We’ve always seen advertising as a critical but insufficient revenue basis for a successful media business,” Tomiwa stated.
He also added that “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.”
In 2021, it was reported that African startups did raise an estimate of $4.7bn, having fintech startups gaining up to 63 percent of the raise. Digital media in the African tech ecosystem hasn’t been a part of the funding statistics, although Africa has one of the fastest growing digital media sectors globally. Nigeria’s Stears, Dataphyte and Ghana’s OMG Digital are some of the digital media outlets that have recently raised venture capital.
According to 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.”
