My 2025 Wrapped: Building Infrastructure for African Voices
December 29, 2025. Nneka Mogbo, Founder of Úrú Collective.
I'm sitting here in the quiet after the holidays, reflecting on a year that feels like it quietly reshaped everything I thought I knew about this work. 2025 wasn't loud or flashy—it was steady, deliberate, and deeply grounding. The kind of year where progress sneaks up on you, and suddenly you realize you've laid foundations that will hold for years to come. Not perfect, not complete, but undeniably real.
This year taught me, more than any before, what infrastructure truly means for African voices. It's not just about creating moments—it's about building systems that allow those moments to endure, to multiply, to belong to us. Infrastructure is the quiet backbone: the partnerships that align visions, the archives that preserve our stories, the ecosystems that let talent breathe and grow without compromise.
Watching Afrobeats Intelligence, presented by OkayAfrica, evolve under Joey Akan's unflinching lens reminded me of this profoundly. Scaling to millions of engagements across seasons, handling production, guests, distribution—seeing those conversations with artists like Timaya, Bella Shmurda, and others resonate so widely... it wasn't about the numbers. It was about proving that when we invest in proper platforms for our storytelling, the world listens on our terms. We're already shaping Season 5, and the depth we're reaching feels like confirmation: African media doesn't need permission. It needs infrastructure.
Signing Mimi Chaka felt like one of those rare alignments where everything clicks into place. In just months, she's built communities like Moments in The Sun, created beautiful content for places like Lakowe Lakes, hosted gatherings that felt intimate yet expansive, and brought Tinsel Town to life at the Foodie in Lagos Festival—thousands coming together in Lagos for culture, family, and joy, backed by partners like Desperados and Moniepoint who truly understood the vision. Mimi's intention, her pace, her refusal to dilute authenticity—watching her reminded me why Úrú exists. We don't manage talent in isolation. We build ecosystems where creatives can own their narratives fully.
The archive work this year grounded me in a way I didn't expect. Documenting Magixx's homecoming in Oke-Ira, capturing the emotion of Timaya Day in Bayelsa—these weren't just projects. They were acts of preservation. In a world that often overlooks our textures, our emotions, our complexities, choosing to document on our own terms felt revolutionary. These are our archives now. Proof that we are here, shaping and safeguarding our stories.
Piloting The Joey Akan Experience with Glitch Africa was an experiment in expansion—taking that sharp storytelling into visual spaces. We're pausing to find the right partnerships, but the vision remains clear: premium platforms for authentic African narratives. If it aligns with cultural depth and real impact, it's worth the patience.
Then there was the Pride of Wofford Award. Receiving it for professional achievement brought everything full circle—from my time as a Bonner Scholar, Fulbright in Algeria, to building Úrú. It wasn't just honor; it was a reminder that this path—bridging Africa, the Middle East, global stages—is legacy work. It's personal, it's cultural, it's necessary. And it reaffirmed that betting on our voices matters, long after the recognition fades.
At our core, Úrú Collective is about amplification with intention. Representing thought leaders shaping culture across Africa and the Middle East. Developing platforms like podcasts and media that resonate deeply. Managing productions end-to-end. Curating speakers for global conversations. Forging partnerships that last. We prioritize legacy over trends, authenticity over polish. 2025 crystallized that for me: virality comes and goes, but infrastructure endures.
What lingered most from this year were the lessons in patience and persistence. Infrastructure isn't built in highlights—it's in the consistent showing up, the strategic alignments that honor everyone's essence, the early bets on talent like Joey and Mimi before the world fully sees. It's refusing to smooth away the edges that make us unique. It's understanding that true bridges—between worlds, between visions—take time to strengthen. I founded Úrú to create space for voices that might otherwise be sidelined. This year showed me those spaces are expanding, holding weight, becoming institutions in their own right.
Thank you—to Joey, Mimi, and every creator who trusted this vision. To partners like OkayAfrica, Glitch Africa, Lakowe Lakes, Desperados, Moniepoint, and beyond—who saw the long view. To the audiences who engaged deeply—you make this real.
As we close 2025, I'm grateful for the quiet growth, the hard-won clarity. From Lagos to global platforms, from ideas to enduring systems—this is still just the beginning.
With love and reflection,
Nneka Mogbo
Founder & MD, Úrú Collective