EMERGING TECH – MoonShot by TechCabal

Emmanuel Lubanzadio

Africa Lead, OpenAI

Emmanuel Lubanzadio is the Africa Lead at OpenAI, where he leads strategic engagement across the continent at the intersection of policy, partnerships, and ecosystem development.

Prior to joining OpenAI, Emmanuel built a global career spanning Africa, Europe, and the United States, working at the nexus of technology, public policy, and government relations. His experience includes senior leadership and advisory roles such as Head of Government Affairs for Africa at Twitter, Policy Advisor to the UNICEF–ITU Giga initiative, and Consultant to Block (Square, Cash App, TIDAL, and Afterpay). Earlier in his career, he held roles with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Fresenius Group, the Center for International Private Enterprise, and the U.S. Congress.

Fluent in English, French, German, and Lingala, Emmanuel has been recognized as an Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader, an Atlantik-Brücke Young Leader, a Congressional Black Caucus Emerging Leader, and a Schmidt Futures International Strategy Forum Fellow. Drawing on his experience across the global technology ecosystem, he is committed to empowering people and institutions to harness technology as a catalyst for inclusive growth and societal transformation.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmanuel-lubanzadio-5ba64564/

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Emmanuel Lubanzadio

Africa Lead, OpenAI
Shalom Osiadi

Founder and CEO, Esca Finance

EMERGING TECH

Shalom Osiadi is the Founder and CEO of Esca Finance, a Web2.5 financial infrastructure company helping businesses seamlessly move between fiat and stablecoins across Africa and global markets. With a background in technology, data analytics, and entrepreneurship, he is building infrastructure that enables businesses to manage currency volatility, access cross-border liquidity, and scale internationally with confidence.

Under his leadership, Esca has processed over $1 billion in cross-border payment volume and works with leading financial institutions and fintechs to power enterprise payments and treasury operations.
Backed by Techstars, Polygon, and Prime Video, Shalom is passionate about the future of digital assets, financial infrastructure, and Africa’s role in the global economy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kemi-olajide-49907432/

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Shalom Osiadi

Founder and CEO, Esca Finance
Babacar Seck

Founder and Managing Partner, Askya Investment Partners

EMERGING TECH

Babacar Seck is the founder and Managing Partner of Askya Investment Partners, an investment firm dedicated to building a new generation of technology and artificial intelligence champions from Africa.

An experienced investor and operator, he has backed close to twenty startups, including two of Africa’s earliest unicorns. Since 2015, he has contributed to the development of Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, first as a founding member of Proparco’s $300 million venture capital program (the private-sector arm of the French Development Agency Group) and subsequently as Chief Executive Officer of Digital Africa. In these capacities, he supported the financing of iconic startups including Moniepoint, Jumia, Gomycode and Maad, and anchored the first generation of institutional venture capital fund managers on the continent.

He previously served as a board director of leading institutions and associations, including Bank of Africa, Sciences Po Alumni and Africa 2.0. He currently co-chairs the Investment Working Group of the Smart Africa AI Council and the Fintech Steering Committee of the Africa Financial Summit.

Babacar Seck today devotes his time to the building of a thriving Africa, driven by a new generation of visionary and responsible entrepreneurs.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kemi-olajide-49907432/

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Babacar Seck

Founder and Managing Partner, Askya Investment Partners
Jessica Hope

Founder, WImbart

EMERGING TECH

Jessica Hope is the Founder and CEO of Wimbart, an award-winning London-based PR consultancy specialising in African and emerging market communications across technology and business. Since launching in 2016, she has grown Wimbart into a 15-strong team across London and Lagos, delivering media strategies for over 230 organisations, from high-growth startups to institutional investors and public sector bodies.

Wimbart operates in both directions, helping international companies enter African markets with credibility, while taking the continent’s most ambitious tech companies onto the global stage. With more than 15 years’ experience, Jessica is known for turning complex, high-growth market stories into narratives that actually land and cutting through noise; she is vocal about challenging outdated perceptions and ensuring African businesses are represented with the depth and accuracy they deserve.

Jessica is an international speaker and host of The Wimbart Way podcast, and mentors emerging talent across the PR and African tech ecosystem. She has been named in PRWeek’s UK Powerbook from 2019 to 2026 and was recognised as Founder of the Year at the 2023 BME PR Pros Awards.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kemi-olajide-49907432/

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Jessica Hope

Founder, WImbart
Gillian Darko

Group Vice President of Strategy, Yellow Card

EMERGING TECH

Gillian Darko is a senior executive and strategist with extensive experience across fintech, blockchain, and financial services. She currently serves as Group Vice President of Strategy and a member of the executive team at Yellow Card, where she leads the company’s growth agenda across more than 20 markets, spanning revenue strategy, strategic partnerships, go-to-market, and market expansion.

Previously, she held senior leadership roles at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and JUMO, where she served as General Manager, Market Operations and concurrently as CEO of JUMO Ghana. Her earlier career includes roles at ICE Futures Europe and PwC, with experience advising major global financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, HSBC, RBS, Citigroup, and UBS.

A recognised voice in Africa’s fintech and digital asset ecosystem, she has spoken at leading global platforms including Forbes Leading Women’s Summit, GITEX Africa, Token2049 Singapore, and the Qatar Africa Business Forum. Her achievements include being named Fintech Personality of the Year (Female) at the 2026 Ghana Fintech Awards and serving on the Steering Committee of the Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS).

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kemi-olajide-49907432/

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Gillian Darko

Group Vice President of Strategy, Yellow Card
Stephanie David

Growth and Marketing Lead, Monica

EMERGING TECH

Stephanie David is a strategic Growth and Marketing Lead at Monica Technologies, where she leads strategic initiatives focused on business expansion, brand positioning, customer acquisition, and long-term market growth. With a strong passion for innovation and digital transformation, she specializes in creating impactful marketing strategies that connect technology solutions with real-world customer needs.

Having built her career through in-depth and practical experience in software marketing, Stephanie developed a solid reputation for understanding both the technical and business sides of digital products. Before rising into leadership, she worked extensively as a software
marketer, helping bridge the communication gap between users and development teams.

Her ability to simplify complex software solutions into relatable customer benefits contributed significantly to improved product adoption, customer engagement, and user satisfaction. At Monica Technologies, Stephanie oversees growth-focused campaigns that strengthen brand awareness, improve customer retention, and position the company competitively within the fintech ecosystem. She combines data analytics, customer psychology, digital strategy, and product storytelling to drive measurable business results while ensuring the company maintains a strong and recognizable market presence.
Known for her strategic mindset and strong interpersonal skills, Stephanie is passionate about helping businesses scale through innovative marketing, effective communication, and customer-centered growth strategies. Her professional journey reflects a deep commitment to
connecting technology, businesses, and consumers through meaningful engagement and impactful brand experiences.

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Stephanie David

Growth and Marketing Lead, Monica
Alex Tsado

Co-Founder and Board Member, Alliance4AI

EMERGING TECH

For the past decade, Alex Tsado has championed initiatives making AI cheaper and accessible for innovators worldwide. He deployed the first Nvidia AI GPUs to the largest cloud providers globally, and now focuses on putting Africa on the AI innovation table. He currently works with key African governments to operationalise their AI strategies and has launched the Africa GPU Hub platform, where Africans can rent GPUs for their ambitious AI projects.

linkedin.com/in/gbagboola

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Alex Tsado

Co-Founder and Board Member, Alliance4AI
Mercy Emmanuel

Stablecoin/Blockchain Commercial Lead, Flutterwave

EMERGING TECH

“Mercy Emmanuel is the Stablecoin/Blockchain Commercial Lead at Flutterwave, where she leads the development and growth of the company’s stablecoin business. Her work focuses on identifying practical use cases for stablecoins, shaping go-to-market strategies, building partnerships, and driving adoption of stablecoin-powered payment solutions across Flutterwave’s markets.

With over eight years of experience across technology, fintech, blockchain, e-commerce, and financial services, Mercy has built a career at the intersection of growth, marketing, partnerships, and emerging technology. Her experience spans product marketing, business development, market research, and go-to-market strategy, with a focus on translating complex technologies into solutions that create meaningful value for customers and businesses.

Before joining Flutterwave, Mercy served as Growth and Operations Manager at Binance, where she oversaw market research and emerging market trends while supporting the company’s regional expansion efforts. She currently sits on the board of Sentz Global and has held leadership roles at organisations including CARS45, DealDey, and Xend Finance, leading growth initiatives, strategic partnerships, and marketing programmes across emerging markets.

With a background in law and a strong interest in technology and innovation, Mercy brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her work, combining commercial strategy and market intelligence to help build and scale products in rapidly evolving markets”

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kemi-olajide-49907432/

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Mercy Emmanuel

Stablecoin/Blockchain Commercial Lead, Flutterwave
Emeka Afigbo

Convener, Africa Deep Tech Foundation

EMERGING TECH

Chukwuemeka “Emeka” Afigbo is the Convener of the Africa Deep Tech Foundation (ADTF), which builds structured pathways for African technologists working on frontier innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotech and robotics. Through the Africa Deep Tech Challenge, the Africa Deep Tech Conference in Lagos, and initiatives such as the Laptop LLM Challenge for offline AI, ADTF connects builders, researchers, investors and policymakers across the continent and its diaspora.

He is also Senior Director of Developer Success at Okta, the San Francisco-based identity security company. He previously spent several years at Facebook (now Meta), driving its global developer community programs strategy and leading Platform Partnerships for the Middle East and Africa. Before that, he led developer programs across Sub-Saharan Africa at Google. He holds a degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, a Master’s in Technology Innovation Management from Carleton University, and an MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kemi-olajide-49907432/

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Emeka Afigbo

Convener, Africa Deep Tech Foundation
Adetayo Bamiduro

CEO & Co-founder, MAX

EMERGING TECH

Adetayo is the CEO at MAX. He leads the team, sets strategic direction, and drives partnerships at MAX.
He studied Computer Science at the University of Ibadan, where he built one of Nigeria’s first mobility platforms. He moved on to build a stellar career as a Software Engineer, Product Manager and Management Consultant at leading companies such as the UAC Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, NLNG (a Shell subsidiary), Konga.com and Dalberg.

Adetayo previously delivered a Production Optimization Platform that generated $100M in revenue in Year 1 of operation. He studied for his MBA at the MIT Sloan School and London Business School from 2013 to 2015.
While at MIT, he co-founded MAX alongside Chinedu Azodoh. Adetayo is now focused on building MAX into a Unicorn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kemi-olajide-49907432/

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Adetayo Bamiduro

CEO & Co-founder, MAX