The Onchain Festival 2025, held on Thursday, October 30, 2025, at Lekki Phase One, Lagos State, Nigeria, gathered founders, investors, engineers, and policymakers from across Africa and the United States. The event, which drew thousands, explored how data infrastructure, responsible innovation, and founder discipline can accelerate Africa’s digital economy. In a panel discussion, with Dr. Krishnan Ranganath of Africa Data Centres, Mr. Olu Oyinsan of Oui Capital and Mr. Durojaiye Adebayo of Ezyswap, speakers examined the links between local infrastructure, investment standards, and product-led growth.
Data sovereignty and sustainable infrastructure
Dr. Krishnan Ranganath opened the discussion with a strong message on the importance of local data infrastructure for Africa’s fintech and digital transformation.
He highlighted that most startups still depend on global cloud providers — a reliance that weakens Africa’s digital sovereignty. “Data hosted locally means control, compliance, and faster service delivery,” he explained.
Dr. Ranganath also addressed the environmental cost of the continent’s growing data needs. He emphasized that green, renewable-powered data centers are essential to sustainable digital growth. “Africa has the potential to lead globally in clean data innovation,” he said, “and this starts with investing in infrastructure that balances connectivity and sustainability.”.
Funding, collaboration, and value creation
Mr. Olu Oyinsan, Managing Partner at Oui Capital, offered a venture capital perspective, focusing on how data-driven insights now shape investment decisions across Africa’s startup ecosystem.
He explained that investors today evaluate real traction — “how many users trade, how many are active daily, how much value they generate, and how sustainable that growth is.”
He noted that many founders make the mistake of chasing trends instead of solving real problems. “Too many African startups are building similar products without differentiation,” he said. “The future belongs to founders who collaborate and build enduring, scalable solutions rather than isolated ideas.”
Mr. Oyinsan concluded by saying that collaboration and innovation, backed by reliable data, will determine which startups stand the test of time..”
Data-Driven Product Growth and Startup Scalability
Mr. Durojaiye Adebayo, Co-founder of Ezyswap and a Data Analyst, spoke on the role of data and analytics in product scalability.
Drawing on his experience in product development, he explained that the most successful startups treat data as a decision-making compass rather than an afterthought. “Data reveals user behaviour, product strength, and market direction — it helps you understand when to pivot and when to scale,” he said.
He emphasized that data discipline should start from day one of a startup’s journey. Founders must define measurable metrics — retention rates, transaction frequency, and customer satisfaction — and continuously track them to refine their products. “A good product is not built on assumptions,” he stated. “It’s built on insights.”
Mr. Adebayo closed by reaffirming that sustainable startup growth requires aligning creativity with analytical clarity — the balance that transforms ideas into global products.
Payment systems and methods are rapidly evolving. What does the future of payment in Africa hold
Panelists pointed to a mobile-first future that is fast, low-cost, and auditable. Local rails will interoperate with on-chain settlement, removing friction and improving transparency. The winners will blend compliant data custody, resilient infrastructure, and products that solve real customer problems at scale.
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