The city of Lagos played host yesterday to a landmark event as the New Media Conference celebrated its tenth anniversary at The Podium in Lekki. The gathering, convened by media entrepreneur and blogger Oluwatosin Ajibade, popularly known as OloriSuperGal, drew creators, brand leaders, technology executives, and media professionals from across Nigeria and beyond.

What began a decade ago as a modest attempt to bring together bloggers and online storytellers has evolved into one of Africa’s most influential media events, shaping the way the continent’s creator economy is discussed and understood.

Since its inception in 2015, New Media Conference has served as a powerful forum for accelerating digital transformation in Nigeria and across the continent. Each year, the conference brings together industry leaders, policy-makers, creatives, tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, students, and influencers from across Africa and beyond.

The mission is to ignite conversations that spark change, foster innovation, and elevate standards in digital marketing, technology, advertising, content creation, and the arts.

The 2025 edition of the conference carried the theme “A Decade of Disrupting New Media: Shaping Africa’s Future,” and it lived up to its billing as a convergence of ideas, debates, and networking opportunities. Attendees filled the halls of The Podium, eager to hear from an impressive line-up of speakers that included brand executives, influencers, legal experts, comedians, and digital strategists.

Among those who mounted the stage were Lakinbofa Goodluck PR Manager of MTN Nigeria; Yinka Adebayo of Omnicom Media Group; Bayo “Lion” Adedeji, the CEO of Wakanow; Yemisi Odusanya, better known as Sisi Yemdymie on YouTube; and popular comedian Layi Wasabi. Their diverse backgrounds underscored the wide reach of new media and its relevance across multiple industries.

Over the course of the day, the conference featured panel sessions and keynote speeches that tackled some of the most pressing issues facing content creators and media practitioners. One session traced the journey of the digital industry from its early blogging days to today’s sophisticated creator economy, highlighting how far the ecosystem has come in only a decade.

Another panel focused on the opportunities and challenges of monetisation in 2025, especially as artificial intelligence, shifting algorithms, and new platform policies continue to reshape the terrain for creators. There were frank conversations about the struggle many creators face with contracts, intellectual property, and delayed payments, as well as open debate about the responsibilities of brands and agencies that rely heavily on influencer marketing.

A highlight of the event was the unveiling of the inaugural “NMC 100,” a carefully curated list celebrating one hundred individuals, agencies, and organisations that have shaped Africa’s digital media space over the last ten years.

The recognition drew applause from the audience, many of whom described it as a long-overdue effort to document the pioneers and changemakers of the industry. For some, the announcement was also a personal validation of their years of hard work in an often unpredictable sector that has not always received mainstream recognition.

In her opening remarks, Tosin Ajibade reflected on the journey of the conference. She recalled how uncertain the first edition felt and how little confidence she had that it would endure. “When we started this ten years ago, I could not have imagined that it would become what we are celebrating today,” she told the audience.

In an interview with Lagos Junction, she said:

“For us at the New Media Conference, it’s been a decade and to celebrate the landmark decade, we’ve looked at what has happened over the years in terms of New Media. From Creators to Storytellers to tech and now, it’s even artificial intelligence.”

Her words captured the spirit of a conference that has consistently sought to provide not only inspiration but also practical tools for the professionals who attend, also give people who want to go into content creation or storytelling the opportunity to meet experts in all fields.

She also stated that one of the key things she looks at in the panel sessions is for creators or storytellers to have one applicable skill they can take back.

The significance of this year’s edition was also reflected in the scale of partnerships and sponsorships. Support came from the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, ProvidusBank, Wakanow, Onburd, BlackHouse Media, and ID Africa, among other partners.

Their presence signaled how firmly corporate Nigeria has embraced the creator economy and how conferences like NMC have become strategic points of engagement between brands and digital talent. Several of the sponsors hosted breakout sessions and networking lounges, where creators could engage directly with company representatives to discuss potential collaborations. This approach reinforced one of the central promises of NMC: that it should not be a talking shop alone but a place where opportunities are generated.

Attendees expressed a mixture of excitement and sober reflection as the day unfolded. For younger content creators, it was a chance to rub shoulders with veterans and hear firsthand stories of persistence, failure, and eventual success.

For more established professionals, it was an opportunity to debate the sustainability of the industry and explore ways to institutionalise practices that protect creators from exploitation. Many noted that the inclusion of panels on legal frameworks, contracts, and intellectual property signaled a maturity that was absent in the early years of the conference.

The presence of comedians, YouTubers, and lifestyle bloggers alongside brand managers and policymakers highlighted the diversity of the ecosystem. Layi Wasabi, whose comedy skits have become viral sensations, drew laughter as he shared his journey from obscurity to mainstream success.

Yet his comments about the difficulty of maintaining consistency and the pressure to monetise underscored the less glamorous realities of the digital economy. Similarly, Sisi Yemmie spoke about the challenges of maintaining authenticity while working with brands, reminding attendees that the line between creativity and commerce can sometimes be difficult to balance.

The broader significance of the conference was evident in the conversations around Africa’s future in digital media. Speakers argued that the continent is not merely catching up with global trends but is carving its own unique path.

With Nigeria’s population of young, tech-savvy citizens, there is enormous potential for growth, but this potential can only be fully realised if issues of access, fair monetisation, and digital literacy are addressed. The conference therefore doubled as both a celebration of progress and a call to action for stakeholders to commit to building a more sustainable ecosystem.

As the day wound down, the corridors of The Podium buzzed with conversations among creators, investors, and journalists exchanging contacts and ideas. Many left with a renewed sense of possibility, convinced that the next decade of new media in Africa could be even more transformative than the last.

For Tosin Ajibade, the success of the tenth edition seemed to validate the risks she took in 2015 when she convened the first gathering. Her journey from blogger to convener of one of Africa’s most influential media events mirrored the very trajectory the conference sought to highlight: the transformation of new media from a marginal pursuit into a cornerstone of the modern economy.

The New Media Conference’s tenth anniversary has now entered the books not only as a milestone for its founder but also as a defining moment for Africa’s creator economy. By combining celebration with serious conversation, recognition with critique, and networking with tangible opportunities, the conference once again demonstrated why it has remained relevant for a full decade. If the energy in Lagos yesterday is any indication, the momentum built over ten years is far from over, and the conversations started on its stage will echo long into the future of Africa’s digital media.