“Ambition is contagious,” Shola Akinlade, CEO and co-founder of Paystack, would say at intervals during his 30-minute presentation on Wednesday, October 28, the opening day of Moonshot by TechCabal, at the National Theatre in Lagos.

Over the last decade, only a few fintech companies have operated on the scale that Akinlade’s Paystack has on the continent. Setting out as a platform that helps Nigerian merchants receive money online and growing into a more comprehensive multinational fintech with operations across other African markets like Ghana, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya, as well as regulatory approvals in Egypt and Rwanda – the sum of which represents 46% of Africa’s GDP – Akinlade was more than qualified to share “Paystack’s Perspective” on “What’s Next for Nigerian Fintechs?”, as posed by Moonshot.

Building more comprehensive infrastructure that continues to power the ambitions of various individuals and businesses was his underpinning response. In many ways, Paystack has been, and will continue to be, as its CEO reiterated, a flagbearer of the cause. He underscored this by taking stock of how his pan-African financial institution has implicitly passed on this ambition through its employees, several of whom have gone on to establish consequential businesses catering to the ecosystem: Selar’s Douglas Kendyson; Chowdeck’s Femi Aluko and Olumide Ojo; and Mono’s Abdulhamid Hassan, to mention a few.

The infectious ambition Akinlade spoke about at Moonshot last Wednesday has been evident across several African tech institutions, many of which were represented at the event. But the most visible expression on display is the very gathering that brought them together.

For the past three editions, TechCabal has, beyond any reasonable doubt, established Moonshot as Africa’s premier tech convergence. For its latest edition, it took an even grander step, moving from the Eko Convention Centre to the newly renovated National Theatre (now Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts). 

A lot has been said about the National Theatre’s suitability to host a multi-track event like Moonshot, especially following the first day, when scores of attendees were worn out by the arduous task of finding their way within the seven-floor maze. Though more on-ground and online corrective measures were deployed to ease navigation on the second and final day, the difficulties of the opening day had already left their mark. 

On your way to Moonshot? 👀

Here’s how to find your way around and get to where you need to be.

See you at #Moonshot2026! 🚀

#CourageAndConviction https://t.co/TB7OvQ6Qiw

— TechCabal (@TechCabal) October 29, 2026

Beyond the venue, this was a gathering that did not fall short of expectations: over 7,000 people from more than 40 countries converged for Moonshot 2026, with activities spanning nine tracks, ranging from The Creative Economy, Emerging Tech (AI & ML) and Clean Tech & Climate to FUEL: The Investors Conference and Government & Policy. Investors, policymakers, founders, builders, operators, creators and diverse talent came together for candid conversations that probed the policies and realities shaping their industries, while exploring opportunities for growth across the ecosystem. 

It takes experiencing the event live, as The Grid did, to truly appreciate what the gathering has grown into: a convergence of ambitious people across various sectors and stages. Following its latest edition last Wednesday and Thursday, Moonshot has proved to be the seminal gathering of the continent’s tech ecosystem.

“Our ecosystem is learning again what ambition costs,” Big Cabal Media (BCM) chief executive Tomiwa Aladekomo said in his opening remarks on Wednesday.

“What are we willing to pay for our ambition? This is our market. No one is coming to solve our problems; we’ve got to solve them. We need to move the needle (…) We need moonshots; we need ambition. We have people who have the courage and conviction to build an African tech ecosystem that solves real problems, delivers real returns and takes us and Africa to the moon.”

There were also tangible expressions of this ambition in the announcements made across the two-day event, including Grey, Moonshot 2026’s headline sponsor, unveiling Paycheck, a salary account for professionals earning in US dollars, British pounds and euros; Cirquu exiting stealth mode and opening its AI-powered business management platform to public sign-ups; and Mastercard announcing a collaboration with Interswitch to bring Google Pay to Nigeria.

All told, Moonshot 2026 delivered on its promises. When it returns next year for its first three-day run between October 26 and 28, at the National Theatre, as now seems inevitable, it would entirely be in keeping with the charm it has built across its previous four editions.