‘Tage Kene-Okafor, known as “@ulonnaya” on X, resigned from TechCrunch and has now joined African drone startup Terra Industries, which just announced a $11.75 million seed raise. Last week, Tage announced his departure from TechCrunch, concluding a five-year tenure that made him a crucial link between African startups and global tech audiences, publishing about 700 articles. "I’m old enough to remember when TechCrunch only ran two stories a month on Africa tech. In those days, pitching and jostling for Jake Bright’s attention at Wimbart would sometimes start 6-8 weeks ahead of press day," Jessica Hope, Founder and CEO of Wimbart, told Condia. "Tage and Annie’s appointments allowed a more fluid and frequent cataloguing of African tech." He resumed at TechCrunch in January 2021, during the ZIRP era, when significant international interest and investment were flowing into African startups. That year and the following year (2022), African startups raised over $4 billion, the most recorded in a year till date. For context, this year, which has been better than the last two years, has seen only about $3 billion flow to African startups. At TechCrunch, Tage published fundraise and M&A announcements—InstaDeep’s $100 million Series B, Wasoko and MaxAB merger; investigations—Flutterwave and Kuda allegations; features—YC’s influence in Africa, Moniepoint’s rise to unicorn status and Binance regulatory crisis in Nigeria, to name a few. Before then, Tage was a reporter at TechPoint Africa, a leading local tech media platform, where he reported on a similar beat – startups and venture capital. "In my years of reporting, it has become clear that Africa does not lack software innovation..But that alone can only take us so far. If we want to build truly thriving economies for the world's youngest population, we must invest in infrastructure, industrial capacity, and the physical systems that drive economic growth,” Tage said. A deprioritisation of African markets by global publications Tage’s exit follows a broader pattern of high-profile exits at international media publications that covered Africa. In August 2024, the former Africa Editor of Rest of World (RoW), David I. Adeleke, left. Among other things, the Africa Editor was responsible for story commissions from Africa. Since Adeleke departed over a year ago, no new Africa Editor has been appointed. And while his former direct report, Damilare Dosunmu, is still at the company, there have been reduced Africa commissions, expectedly. In March 2025, Annie Njanja, a Kenya-based journalist, left TechCrunch. Alongside Tage, they covered Africa for TechCrunch. No new hires have been made to fill that gap. Instead, the recent fundraising announcement from Terra, Tage’s new employer, was reported by New York-based Dominic-Madori Davis. Perhaps, where this market deprioritisation is most visible is in the case of the Financial Times. Aanu Adeoye, the former West and Central Africa correspondent, is now the acting global pharmaceuticals correspondent for the Financial Times and is based in London. No one else has been publicly named to Adeoye’s previous role, nor has a region-specific story been widely circulated. Of the big five that covered the African tech ecosystem, Quartz, Rest of World, TechCrunch, Financial Times and Semafor, only one remains. Quartz Africa is dead. Many of its staffers, including Idris Abubakar and Yinka Adegoke, formerly Africa reporter and Editor of Strategic Initiatives at Rest of World, respectively, have moved on to other things. Room for disagreement: It's not just Africa "These developments need to be understood in the context of wider structural shifts reshaping global newsrooms. Media organisations everywhere are adjusting to shrinking budgets, changing audience economics and leaner reporting models. 'Bemi Idowu, Founder/MD of TalkingDrum Communications, told Condia. TechCrunch has changed ownership four times in the last 20 years, and it recently exited the UK and European markets, with multiple rounds of layoffs. "It is not necessarily a signal that stories from Africa have gone out of fashion - nor does it represent a permanent deprioritisation. In some cases, publications are actively recruiting replacements," said Idowu. The Financial Times has just hired Jacob Judah as its West Africa Correspondent. Semafor Africa, which now boasts Adegoke and former TechCabal reporter, Alexander Onukwe as Editor and Africa correspondent, respectively, is still focused on Africa. They just raised $30 million. "We’re seeing a slight recalibration of reporting from global media houses on Africa; Quartz and Rest of World have deemphasised how they document the ecosystem, but Semafor, the BBC and CNN, amongst other platforms, have certainly stepped up the intensity of their reporting," said Hope. African builders are now forced to rethink attracting global attention. Reputable local media publications like Condia and TechCabal, with global audiences, will become the de facto place for news coverage again. "Global media remains highly influential, but too many founders continue to treat it as a silver bullet rather than one tool within a broader storytelling armoury. In doing so, they often overlook local and regional media, treating it as a consolation prize instead of the launchpad it has proven to be for many category-defining companies," said Idowu. Other creator-led media platforms, like Bayomi and Big Tech This Week, will offer an additional avenue for reporting on the African tech ecosystem.
