At the centre of that change is financial technology. Beyond payments and mobile wallets, fintech has become a growing engine for job creation, skills development, and economic inclusion.

Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem is now one of Africa’s fastest-growing. According to Financial Times Fastest Growing Fintech in Africa 2025, PalmPay was ranked the number 1 fintech in Africa.

The Dealroom 2025 Global Tech Ecosystem Report ranks Lagos among the world’s leading emerging tech hubs, while Fintech News Africa notes that the country hosts more than 430 fintech companies, a 70% increase in just one year.

Each new startup means more roles in engineering, product, customer experience, compliance, and operations.

The message is clear: fintech isn’t just building apps. It’s building careers.

How PalmPay Is Developing Talent

PalmPay is one of the companies turning this growth into an opportunity. Through its Purple Woman initiative, the company is investing directly in young Nigerians, especially women, with practical, career-ready skills.

Over the past two years, the PalmPay Purple Woman programme has trained young women in software engineering, data analysis, product management, DevOps, digital marketing, and UX/UI design.

Designed to close the gender gap in tech, the initiative combines hands-on learning with internships inside PalmPay’s teams, giving participants real workplace exposure and a pathway to employment.

This matters. Women currently represent just 17% of Nigeria’s tech workforce, according to Women in Tech Nigeria.

By focusing on access and experience, PalmPay isn’t just teaching skills, it’s opening doors.

Its graduate trainee programme follows a similar approach, helping recent graduates transition from classroom theory to real-world practice through mentorship, structured training, and performance-based employment opportunities.

Why It Matters in the fintech ecosystem 

Nigeria’s workforce is young, ambitious, and increasingly tech-savvy, yet many struggle to find jobs that match their skills. Fintech is helping close that gap.

By investing in training, internships, and graduate pathways, companies are not just hiring talent, they are actively building it.

As the sector scales, it is creating careers, strengthening skills, and laying the foundation for long-term economic growth and shared prosperity nationwide.

The Economic Cost of Weak Product Leadership

This shift has real economic implications. Companies burn capital on feature factories that produce bloated, unfocused products. Engineering teams waste months building capabilities that get minimal adoption.

Customer acquisition costs rise because products lack clear differentiation. User retention suffers when experiences feel disjointed and over-complicated.

When product managers become order-takers rather than strategic leaders, companies ship faster but build worse. They respond to every stakeholder demand, every competitor feature, every customer request, and end up with software that tries to be everything and excels at nothing.

The rare products that break through share a common thread. They’re ruthlessly focused. They solve specific problems exceptionally well. They say no far more often than yes.

Behind each one sits a product leader who understood that their job wasn’t to keep everyone happy, but to keep the user experience coherent.

How The Role Changed

As product management professionalized, it accumulated process. The role became more about facilitation than vision, coordinating between engineering, design, sales, and leadership rather than driving toward a clear product philosophy.

Cross-functional collaboration morphed into something else entirely. Product managers started treating every input as equally valid. Engineering constraints, sales objections, executive opinions, and customer requests all carried the same weight. The PM became a human voting system, tallying preferences rather than making calls.

Consider a typical product planning cycle. Sales reports losing a deal because a competitor offers a specific feature. That feature lands on the roadmap. A major customer threatens to churn unless their custom workflow gets built. That gets prioritized. Leadership sees a competitor’s demo and panics. Everything gets reshuffled.

Six months later, the team has shipped a dozen features. Few get meaningful usage. The product feels cluttered. New users struggle to understand the value proposition. This isn’t collaboration. It’s abdication.

The Feature Factory Problem

In a mid sized SaaS company, they might be able to ship fifteen features per quarter, thus responding diligently to every stakeholder’s need.

And at the same time, they could have usage data that reveals that 70% of their features serve less than 5% of the actual users.

The core workflows that drive value remain buried under optional capabilities that most people never touch.

Users recognize when a product lacks coherence. They feel the cognitive load of navigating bloated interfaces.

Some companies claim that they’re being customer-centric by building everything customers ask for.

However, real customer-centricity means having a good understanding of what the users need even when they can’t clearly articulate.

This means protecting the experience from requests that would ultimately make the product worse.

What Real Product Leadership Requires

What problems really deserve to be solved, identifying the clearest path to solving it, these are the convictions product leaders start with.

A good example is product managers gets extensive feedback from different sectors.

The best product decisions often start with subtraction. What if we didn’t add that feature? What if we didn’t try to serve every use case equally well?

Product managers with clear vision disappoint people strategically. They tell executives that pet projects don’t align with product direction. They kill features that stakeholders love because those features don’t serve core user needs. They defend roadmaps even when it creates tension.

The Path Forward

Organizations should evaluate product managers on outcomes, not output. Stop celebrating how many features shipped. Start measuring whether the product is becoming more valuable and easier to use. Reward product leaders who have the courage to say no.

Leadership needs to accept that good product management creates tension. When a product manager pushes back on a request, that’s potentially a sign they’re doing their job.

Product managers themselves need to rebuild the muscle of conviction. Stop defaulting to consensus. Develop a point of view about what the product should become, more importantly they need to learn to make calls based on that vision, and not just when it’s convenient alone, even when it’s uncomfortable.

The alternative to this?

Well, that’s going to be a tech ecosystem filled up with products that lack direction, bloated, and that the customers themselves don’t care about.

More than just fancy titles, what the industry needs is product managers who are ready to lead again, experts that are ready to develop a conviction and ultimately stand to defend it.

The tech industry needs passionate and experienced industry experts who have a good understanding of their job, and are aware that their job isn’t just about making sure everyone is happy, but rather building products that solve real problems with clarity and focus.

About the writer:

Brian Omoruyi is a design-led product manager with experience building products across HR tech, fintech, logistics, and health, bringing creative problem-solving and strategic focus to product development.

The temptation is to think: “If AI can do all these, what’s left for us as product managers in the workplace?”

As AI reshapes how we work, emotional intelligence and our humanness have become the real competitive edge. It is what remains uniquely ours, and what’s becoming exponentially more valuable.

The Evolution of Product Management

I’d paint a picture of how product management (PM) has evolved. Some years ago, being a great PM meant being the person who documented the roadmaps, comprehensive PRDs, and the sharpest analytical insights, among other things.

Today? Those roadmaps can be auto-generated, PRDs and other written and visual documents are AI-assisted, etc., when given the right contextual prompt, and these things are done at high speed.

Now, Product management has always been part strategy, part execution, and part people leadership.

However, the people aspect is often underestimated, where you must align stakeholders, lead teams, and empathise with customers’ frustrations or desires.

AI can generate many things, but it can’t read the disappointment or excitement in your customer’s voice, irrespective of the words they are using to express themselves, or sense hesitation during a user interview.

AI can’t also raise or solve internal team conflicts or communicate good reasons for alignment to stakeholders to ensure they are satisfied with certain outcomes. That’s where emotional intelligence comes in.

Some Core Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence

Simply put, Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise, understand, and manage one’s emotions and those of others.

These are some core components:

1. Self-awareness: Self-awareness is developing and recognising your own emotional patterns, strengths, triggers, and areas for improvement. It’s recognising when your attachment to a particular solution is clouding your judgment, or when your stress is manifesting as impatience in team meetings.
2. Self-regulation: Product management is inherently high-stakes and high-pressure because deadlines shift, priorities change, and stakeholders have conflicting needs. Your ability to remain calm, thoughtful, and solution-oriented in these moments directly impacts your team’s performance and morale. Self-regulation is about choosing your response. When a stakeholder pushes back on a timeline, do you react defensively, or do you pause to understand their concerns? When they challenge your strategy, do you dig in your heels, or do you care about their perspective?
3. Empathy: Understanding others’ perspectives. Not just hearing customers’ words, but sensing the frustration behind them. When churn increases, instead of just asking “what happened?” you should ask and want to genuinely know “what did our users experience that led them to leave?” It extends beyond user research and customer interviews; you should also be empathetic towards your internal stakeholders, especially your direct team members.
4. Social awareness: Perhaps the most complex part of emotional intelligence is the ability to read social dynamics, build influence, genuine relationships, trust, and collaboration across diverse teams. Every interaction either builds or erodes trust, and that sustainable influence comes from genuine relationships.

Why Emotional Intelligence (EI) Matters More in the AI Age

As AI handles more of the analytical heavy lifting, three trends are making emotional intelligence increasingly critical for product success:

Interpretation: EI helps you ask the right follow-up questions, probe beneath surface-level insights from data, and then piece together various clues to paint a complete picture. As automation increases, the human role shifts from execution to interpretation and connection.

Connection: In our increasingly distributed, hybrid work environment, the ability to build genuine connections across digital channels has become a core competency. Teams that feel connected, understood, and aligned consistently outperform those that don’t, regardless of their technical capabilities.

Authenticity: As AI-generated content is everywhere, audiences crave more authentic human connections. Products that feel genuinely human stand out.

EI in Action: A Practical Example

Let’s think about customer support automation. Chatbots can resolve common issues at lightning speed. Still, when a customer is angry or extremely frustrated because a payment didn’t go through, no script or algorithm can replace a calm, empathetic human who acknowledges their frustration and restores trust.

In fact, the customer gets even more frustrated when they know they are chatting with a bot and the chatbot just doesn’t understand how they feel. The issue often aggravates, and trust might be lost, or the customer may even churn.

The same applies in product management: a data dashboard can tell you churn is up by 10%, but it takes human empathy and EI to sit with customers, hear their frustrations, and rebuild the experience.

How to Sharpen Your EI as a PM

Building emotional intelligence is about developing new habits and practices that, over time, fundamentally change how you show up as a PM.

• Practice active listening: Practice listening to fully understand rather than to respond.
• Ask better questions: Develop emotional curiosity when you encounter resistance, frustration, or conflict. Think about what might be driving this behaviour? What needs aren’t being met? What fears might be present? This curiosity often reveals solutions that pure logic misses.
• Build reflection time: Build regular reflection into your routine. After challenging conversations, ask yourself: How did I show up? What impact did my energy have on others? What would I do differently? This practice accelerates your self-awareness development.
• Seek feedback: Invite trusted colleagues to share how you come across in high-pressure or tough situations. Ask specific questions: “When I’m stressed, how does it affect the team dynamic?” “What do you notice about my communication style when the stakes are high?”

The Human Advantage

On one side are product managers who view AI as competition and try to out-optimise, out-analyse, and out-execute the machines, which is humanly impossible, and that’s not where our strength lies.

On the other side are product managers who embrace AI as a powerful tool while doubling down on their uniquely human capabilities.

They use AI to handle some heavy lifting while they focus more of their time on finding the right problems to solve, building trust, fostering collaboration, inspiring teams, and creating products that resonate on a deeply human level.

The choice before us isn’t to embrace AI or not; I believe that decision has been made for us. It’s more around how we can position ourselves and lean more into our humanity, while using AI to speed up our processes.

Double down on your humanity.

*Princess Akari is a product manager at Africa’s fastest-growing financial institution, Moniepoint Inc.

This significant occasion marks a major step in the country’s commitment to digital transformation and skill development.

Launched in November, the 3MTT program culminated in a grand graduation ceremony that recognized the accomplishments of the fellows.

Of the initial 784 enrolees, 377 completed the program, gaining expertise in high-demand areas such as Software Development, UI/UX Design, Data Analysis & Visualization, Product Management, Data Science, Animation, AI / Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, and DevOps.

In her opening address, Cecilia Adenusi, the co-founder and the program director HSProjects Technologies, expressed deep gratitude towards the Federal Government for its pivotal support, specifically noting the donation of 20 laptops which significantly enhanced the learning experience for the students.

The ceremony was attended by luminaries from the tech industry, including the Honourable Minister Dr. Bosun Tijani, who has been instrumental in the visionary leadership under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The event also featured insights from esteemed mentors Uloma Cynthia Okenyi and Samuel Aramide, who delivered talks on “continuous learning and internship” and “How to build your CV, Social Media handles, and WhatsApp status to attract clients,” respectively.

Another highlight was a speech by Prof. Vincent, who advised the new graduates on forging successful careers in tech, focusing on entrepreneurship and personal branding.

Prof. Vincent specifically urged the graduates to view their tech careers as businesses, encouraging them to give these ventures distinct names as a source of ongoing motivation.

This program aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broader strategy, overseen by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, to create 2 million digital jobs by 2025. The initiative aims to build a robust pipeline of technical talent, critical for enhancing Nigeria’s digital economy.

As the graduates’ step into future opportunities, they carry not only advanced technical skills but also the collective hopes for a technologically empowered Nigeria.

President Tinubu’s administration has been commended for its role in providing a fertile ground for such transformative educational endeavors, setting a strong foundation for the nation’s digital future.

This outlook was reiterated by the fintech giant’s sponsorship of The Dive 2023, a Product Leadership Conference organized by the Product Management Community, Product Dive.

The conference, which was held at Zone Tech Park, Gbagada, Lagos on August 12, 2023, proved to be an invaluable platform for the exchange of ideas, insights, and strategies that will undoubtedly shape the future of product leadership in Nigeria and beyond.

It brought together Product Managers, Heads of Product, start-up founders and ambitious leaders from various industries to enrich their expertise, forge connections, and ignite innovation within their organizations.

Speakers and facilitators at the conference included Ebi Atawodi, the Director of Product at Google, who delivered the keynote; Nnanna Enyi, Principal Product Manager at Amazon (and ex-Interswitch) and Bunmi Ayeh, Product Lead at Meta.

Through this partnership with Product Dive, Interswitch sustains its ongoing support for the Product community as part of its commitment to foster development in the tech ecosystem.

Commenting on the essence of the event and Interswitch’s partnership with the event organizers, Tomi Ogunlesi, Group Head, Brands and Communications at Interswitch, noted that the company remains committed to identifying and nurturing platforms that will drive the growth of product professionals and tech talent as a whole.

He said, “Our support for The Dive 2023 aligns with our pursuit of empowering the tech community and reflects our belief in the transformative potential of collaboration and skill development. We are resolute in our mission to contribute to a thriving ecosystem where innovation and expertise intersect harmoniously.”

Interswitch’s engagement with The Dive 2023 is just a glimpse its sustained dedication to the product community.

Building upon the success of The Dive 2023, Interswitch is poised to make yet another substantial contribution to the Product industry as the headline sponsor for the upcoming Inspire Africa Product Conference, scheduled to take place in September 2023 in partnership with the renowned Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG), affirming its commitment to catalyzing positive change and growth within the tech industry.

With Interswitch’s continued support, the firm is not only solidifying its position as a market leader but also nurturing an ecosystem that fosters innovation, collaboration, and excellence, demonstrating its holistic approach to driving industry growth and elevating product professionals across the continent.

However, there are product managers and there are those who stand out amongst them, especially great Women-In-Product-Management.

This is a kind of appreciation post to these women and others because product management, have historically been underrepresented yet they stand firm; assisting companies and group to accomplish results.

There are many talented and accomplished African women who are making great strides in this field and deserve recognition.

ALSO READ: PMI Identifies New Skill Set for Project Success in Nigeria

In this article, we will highlight the top 10 African women in product management in no particular order as each of them has made significant strides in the industry.

These are our top 10 Women-In-Product-Management to watch in 2023:

1. Ronke Majekodunmi

She is a Top Instructor & Director of PM, and also a former senior PM at PayPal. Ronke Majekodunmi has been in the world of Product Management for years now, and she has never looked back.

Curating products that help bring a company’s vision to life is what she loves to do. Throughout the years, she has led successful teams that develop outstanding, customer-centric products at companies including PayPal.

She is currently working at Promevo as their Director of Products.

These African women have made incredible contributions to the field of product management and serve as inspirations for others looking to break into this industry. We hope that this list will help to highlight their achievements and inspire more women, particularly those from Africa, to pursue careers in product management.

2. Maureen Ogwu

Maureen is a leader in the Tech Industry with a vast track record of exceptional performance in Product Management in the EdTech and FinTech sectors.

She is currently a technical sourcing specialist with Meta, one of the largest tech companies in the world, specialising in sourcing for Product Managers and Engineers.

Previously, she worked with GlobalCharge ltd as both Product Manager and Digital Marketing expert leading the engineering and marketing teams.

Prior to that, she served as a Product Marketing trainer and mentor with Utiva. She has also served as a Paid Marketing Specialist at Digital Marketing Skill Institute, an EdTech Company.

She has been recognised for her extensive experience leading digital transformation initiatives and managing the development of highly innovative tech product marketing. She holds an MBA degree from the University of East London.

3. Adebola Olomo

By constantly innovating and challenging the norm, Adebola has been known to push the boundaries of thought leadership and goal setting.  With a deep passion for Customer Experience, Products, Product Marketing, and Communications using Technology Innovation, she made the move from Law to Tech.

Currently the Product Marketing Manager, Platforms at Hubspot, she is making her mark and enjoying the amazing opportunity of working with Developers globally – sharing their experience and enabling their journey in working with HubSpot and contributing to HubSpot’s continued growth.

Prior to joining HubSpot, Adebola had a demonstrated history in Marketing, PR, Digital Innovation, Communications, and Web Development in both the private and public sectors with a focus on Finance, FMCGs, and NGOs.

She is also the Founder and CEO of Deefrent Limited- a digital branding agency as well as the co-owner of Sasibi Online Marketplace.

4. Ebi Atawodi

Ebi Atawodi is currently the Director of Products at Google, building for YouTube Studio. She is also an Angel Investor and Product Advisor at Origin. Before that, she was a Director of Products at Netflix for Payments EMEA.

She has also worked at Uber, leading the Amsterdam Product team. While at Uber, she got to work with over 120 talented product managers, designers, engineers, and data scientists, making every company experience even more seamless.

Prior to that role, she was General Manager at Uber West Africa, tasked with growing the business from 15 cars to a top 20 market in the EMEA region.

Ebi is also widely known for being the creator of the Etisalat Prize for Literature, which was named Africa’s most prestigious literary prize.

5. Ngozi Ofoche

Ngozi is a product strategist, technologist, licensed attorney, and entrepreneur. Her personal mantra is “Fostering innovation that is inclusive of law, policy, and ethics and curates experiences with responsible technology solutions.

She is the founder of Black Women in Product, an intentional community that provides a safe space for Black Women and femmes who either work or are interested in working in a Product-related role.

Currently the Reality Labs Privacy Product Strategist at Meta in New York, United States, she has in the past served as the Privacy Product Manager of Capital One, New York, VC-in-Residence at Pipeline Angels, New York, Product Manager at Hana, New York, amongst other roles.

6. Monica Adibe

This phenomenal woman is a collaborative and entrepreneurial product and strategy leader with a solid number of years of experience, working across big tech, digital health and consulting companies.

With a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University, she proudly has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She works with Meta as a Business Product Strategist, amongst other significant roles in the past.

7. Uche Adegbite

Uche Adegbite is the Director of Strategy and Insights at Google. She had led the role as the Senior Director of Product Management for Global Markets at Twitter. She is a high-energy, results-oriented leader with excellent interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills that brings a wealth of experience in innovation, planning, designing, and building products in complex global and diverse environments.

Uche’s key strengths also include Program Management where she is experienced with requirements discovery, business prioritization, UX design, writing detailed technical specifications, and project management for complex projects.

As well as the ability to problem-solve, adapt and work with ambiguous and evolving requirements.

Additionally, she has over 6 years of experience in Project Management especially with planning, developing, deploying, and maintaining scalable applications and software as a service.

Uche holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT and has more than 13 years of experience working at top tech companies such as Microsoft and Twitter.

8. Mamuna Oladipo

Mamuna Oladipo is a tech-leading Product executive with a track record of building products that have scaled to millions of users.

She is currently the VP of Product at Shopify. Before this, she was SVP of Product, Design, and Engineering at Kickstarter, where she managed product management, product design, brand design, and engineering teams. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Product at SeamlessDocs and Vice President of Product Marketing and Design at Sony Music Entertainment.

She has 10 years of experience in Product and has demonstrated the ability to work at the strategic level, generating bold and innovative ideas for growth, creating partnerships to generate results, and targeting opportunities in growth markets.

9. Tolu Alabi

Tolu is passionate about how technology simplifies lives. She is currently working at Stripe, a company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet, as a Product Manager.

Former Computer Science Teacher assistant at Grinnell College and FX Algorithmic Quant in Goldman Sacks, her product career journey started after an Internship at Whatsapp while coursing an MBA at Stanford.

After that, Tolu was an Entrepreneur in Residence at IT Inkubator GmbH, a start-up accelerator, where she developed a business plan to commercialize a real-time facial reenactment technology.

At Amazon, she was a Senior Technical Product Manager for Amazon Logistics and later for AR Shopping.

10. Joy Eneghalu

Joy Eneghalu is a skilled product manager with 7 years of experience in the industry. She has a strong background in both technical and business aspects of product development, with a focus on driving growth and revenue.

Joy transitioned from the communication space to the product management space. In her role as a product manager, she gained a deep understanding of the development process and the technology behind products. Since her transition to product management, she has honed her skills in product strategy, road mapping, and go-to-market planning.

Throughout her career, Joy has successfully launched several products, each with its unique set of challenges.

She has a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams, collaborating with stakeholders and partners, and driving product vision to execution.

Joy has been very instrumental in inspiring and helping young talents looking to get into tech to gain knowledge, collaborate and network with one another.

She has been featured on platforms like TechEconomy, TechCabal, Social Media Week Accra, Presidential Hustle UK, Bella Naija, She Leads Africa, Bella Naija, Leading Ladies Africa, Vanguard News, National Day, Sun News, Guardian, SME360, Classic FM, Africa Magic Igbo and so much more.

She is known for her keen ability to identify and prioritize the most important product initiatives.

She is also an excellent communicator and leader, able to effectively align teams and stakeholders around a shared vision. Joy is always seeking out new learning opportunities to stay current in the fast-paced world of technology and product management.

She is the founder of More Techies, a startup that develops African no-code talents in tech and provides companies with access to a high-skilled resource pool. Her startup, More Techies, was recognized as one of the global Edtech companies to look out for in the UK and also won the Storylab Project 2022 by Cardiff University, UK.

Joy holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria and a master’s degree in International Public Relations and Global Communications Management from Cardiff University, United Kingdom.

So, how did Akintunde Opawole (AO) find himself in the field of product management?

AO: This might sound like a cliché but I would say that I’ve been doing products without knowing I was doing product management. Over 10years ago, I worked on a product with a startup called V-campus solutions. Where I helped the startup to build a CBT application and then worked on some product videos at the time. I was the product lead on that project, and that was how my journey into product management began. At the time, I didn’t know that this was me setting a path for myself for a career in product management. When I got into Sidmach technologies, I was really interested in our products even though I was in marketing at that time.

I was heavily invested in specific products which I was championing, and that was how I got to develop a huge interest in product management. Over time after so many years and a series of training in brand management, and all that, I got to see that product management was the path for me and that was how I went full-time into it when there was an opportunity in Sidmach at that time.

ALSO READ: Why Zoho CRM is an Essential Tool For Businesses Aiming for Success- Ogundare

There was a product where we partnered with a company in the UK to launch into the Nigerian market. I was asked if I would like to lead the product at that time and I jumped right on it. That moment was how my product management journey started officially.

What is a typical day in the life of a product manager like?

AO: It depends on the organization, the role, size of the team, just to mention a few. Although, in between all of these variations, we still have some bit of similar typical day in life.

Well- depending on the day of the week, I start with-

• Planning and Documenting

First is, keeping tab on the Product Vision, developing and updating my Sprint/Kanban board to make sure it reflects my current priorities and progress and ensure we are well aligned with the vision of the product.

Then update my Product Roadmap to ensure product timeline is on track and all stakeholders are well updated by communicating through different channels such as product councils, end of the week updates on Slack channels, Sprint reviews amongst others. Also, refining the product backlog in preparation for sprint planning, and setting the sprint goal.

• Meetings and Communication

As a product manager, 70% of the time you will find us having series of meetings with different stakeholders at different point in time, ranging from meetings with your Development team, Product Team, Support, QA, Marketing and Sales amongst others. briefing and debriefing stakeholders.

• Researching & Analyzing

As a PM, we don’t stop learning. Consistent research and learning of customer behaviour, track metrics and key performance indicators, find bugs, gather user stories and customer feedback, collect data from the market, talk to your stakeholders and see what you can do to improve things.

You know, it’s usually a rollercoaster but as a product manager how I would sum up a day in life is being a nexus between stakeholders, working with the engineering team, ideating and thinking strategically on the product, and of course, balancing chaos.

What do you enjoy most about your profession?

AO: It’s the fact that I am working on something, ideating on something, or improving on something that can change lives, the way people work and the way people do things. That joy is limitless.

The fact that you can see your product in the market, somebody is using it and then you’re like Wow! Getting to hear from your users on how the product has helped them and played a significant role in their activities, is something that really gives me joy.

There is nothing more beautiful than you ideating something, bringing it to life, seeing what you thought about, seeing features that you thought about, and then you see it come alive.

Not just come alive and then see people use it and give you feedback (good and bad). Such things give me immense joy.

For me, it’s also seeing the wow factor anytime I am demoing a product. There is this particular amazing feature, and when I share it with everyone and they are like ‘Wow, the product’ can do this?

That wow factor releases lots of dopamine in my head (chuckles) and it gives me joy. That is something I love the most about my profession.

Did you come to Sidmach Technologies with a computer science background?

AO: I didn’t come to Sidmach technologies with a computer science background. I didn’t even study computer science as a matter of fact.

I studied microbiology but I knew even while I was in university that I wasn’t going to practice microbiology. I had started developing websites at that time using Joomla, Drupal, HTML, and CSS back in the day so that was my background that got me into Sidmach. It was because I could build something.

What is Akintunde Opawole ‘s favorite memory as a product manager?

AO: My favorite memory as a product manager would be when we had planned to build a data analytics product. We were to build the MVP in 14 weeks. We showed the prototype to the client, and the client loved the prototype so much that the client said that the product needed to be ready in 3 weeks. This is a B2B product.

The client insisted that they’d love to launch the product in 3 weeks and it was a final call. There was nothing we could do about it and I tried as much as possible to see how we could make that happen.

It’s my favorite memory because it was like impossible. 14 weeks for MVP, and then pinning that down to 3 weeks was a huge task for me. Again, because my team and I got to bond together for 3 weeks in the same location working day and night to make that happen. That is one of my favorite memory as a product manager because it brought us all together to see a goal that we all bought into and then make it happen.

What was your favorite project so far?

AO: I would say there are two products that are my favorite so far:

One is a workflow management product. I love that product because it involved us solving a need internally for the company. Then building it, tailoring it to the needs of the company, and then seeing it in use. It’s mind-blowing!

The second is a data product. Building a product with 150 million rows of datasets and then bringing it to life. Those two are my favorite so far. That’s Approval flow and Edustat.

Has Akintunde Opawole witnessed any moment as a product manager which he wished never happened?

AO: The sun-setting of a product that had so much potential and I was really passionate about due to dissolution of contract with a critical partner.

We have seen Product Managers (PM) being described as the CEO of a product…what are the qualities a PM must have??

AO: In no particular order of hierarchy, they are

• Excellent communication Skills
• Leadership abilities
• Strategic thinker
• Empathy
• Time-Management
• Passionate
• Ability to Analyze and Prioritize

How viable is the field of PM today?

AO: The field of Product Management is really viable as their many jobs in demand today. Product Managers are also relatively well paid and are very important stakeholders in any organization.

Thank you Akintunde Opawole for this opportunity to learn from you.

AO: It is my pleasure.​

These individuals were selected not by reputation alone, but by demonstrated impact: measurable product adoption, user growth, revenue performance, training reach, market penetration, and leadership influence within their disciplines.

In a landscape where hype often outpaces execution, these professionals stand apart because their contributions are evidenced in numbers, business outcomes, and user responses.

Their work illustrates how Nigerian talent is actively shaping the continent’s digital evolution, and ultimately, the global technology narrative.

Tomilola Akigbogun: Driving Fintech Growth at Scale

As Head of Marketing at Bundle Africa, Tomilola has delivered campaigns that translate into measurable user engagement and brand visibility.

His role goes beyond messaging, he executes market strategies that materially drive adoption of financial technology services.

Having previously worked on major brands like Coca-Cola and McVities, he brings an international-standard marketing discipline into Nigeria’s fintech environment.

Tomilola’s contribution lies in his ability to build cohesive and emotionally resonant brand strategies that create familiarity and trust in a rapidly evolving digital financial landscape.

Damilola Olatoye: Championing Accessible Digital Finance

Damilola’s influence in cryptocurrency and payment systems is grounded in active product delivery within Patricia Technologies and Furex Technologies.

Her work demonstrates a commitment to financial inclusion, building tools that make complex systems accessible to non-technical users.

Critically, she also contributes to talent development by mentoring aspiring product managers and serving underserved communities.

Her dual impact, product innovation + community building, reinforces her position as a leader invested in both ecosystem growth and human development.

Ololade Giwa: Turning Data into High-Growth Fintech Products

At Glover Technologies, Ololade leads product decisions backed by quantifiable outcomes. She has overseen 50,000+ app downloads and over 11,000 verified sign-ups within weeks, while driving $15.7M in payout volume and $2.6M ARR, results that reflect both user trust and monetization strength.

By deploying AI-powered segmentation and experimentation frameworks, she has improved trial-to-paid conversion rates by 38% and optimized onboarding by reducing time-to-first-value by 33%.

Ololade exemplifies executional excellence: she builds products that succeed not just at launch, but throughout the customer lifecycle, from acquisition to retention to revenue.

Abdulrahman Jogbojogbo: Connecting Technology with Market Need

At Paystack, Abdulrahman supports the scaling of payment solutions across Africa through a combination of technical competency and marketing strategy.

His work bridges product capability and market demand: translating complex payment infrastructure into persuasive narratives that resonate with businesses and developers.

His contribution is strategic, expanding business opportunities by framing fintech solutions in ways that communicate relevance, reliability, and opportunity.

Onyinyechi Nneji: Building Brands and Championing Diversity in Tech

From GTBank to Earnipay to Let’s Enhance, Onyinyechi has built brand identities that reflect authenticity and user empathy.

As a marketer and entrepreneur, she has designed messaging that strengthens trust and clarifies value propositions at scale.

Her role as a mentor on ADPList expands her reach, building not just products, but people. Onyinyechi’s impact is both structural and cultural: shaping brand architecture while elevating representation for women in tech.

Hamdalah Hanafi: Expanding Digital Competency Nationwide

Hamdalah’s influence is tangible: over 2,300 individuals trained through Google’s Digital Skills program.

This is ecosystem development in quantifiable form, the expansion of digital literacy at the population level. Her consulting work with startups supports their real-world visibility and customer traction.

Her legacy is scale: she accelerates business growth while also increasing Nigeria’s digital talent capacity.

Esther Christopher Ubeng: Designing Engagement-Driven User Experiences

Esther’s work in fintech product development includes user-centric solutions such as customer reward systems that actively increase engagement and loyalty.

Her vision extends beyond fintech, into health tech, logistics, and education, signaling multidisciplinary leadership potential.

Esther represents the next generation of product leaders who approach design with creativity, unit economics understanding, and impact-orientation.

Olubukayo Ewuoso: Crafting Powerful, Revenue-Yielding Brand Narratives

With over a decade in marketing and brand growth, Olubukayo has shaped customer perceptions of brands like Coca-Cola, MTN, and Airtel, symbols of mass-market penetration.

At Pisi Mobile Service, he continues to create measurable market outcomes through data-informed storytelling.

Olubukayo exemplifies long-arc brand influence, with results visible in memory, loyalty, and sales.

Frank Chimenum Okoro: Building Thoughtful, User-Centered Products

Frank’s approach to product development is grounded in empathy and calm strategic analysis. From early roles as an Associate Product Manager, he has demonstrated consistency in delivering solutions that meet real-world user needs.

Frank stands out for his ability to balance collaboration with decisive product direction, making him a steady and reliable figure in product development leadership.

David Udeagu: Scaling Product Impact and Human Knowledge

David’s work at Enyata includes meaningful contributions to solutions like Kafene and SeedFi, illustrating versatility and technical depth.

But his influence extends beyond organizational walls, through his podcast Modules, and speaking engagements that demystify product craft.

David represents leadership through knowledge dissemination, building understanding as much as technology.

Conclusion

These achievers were selected because their careers already demonstrate verifiable traction and outsized impact: trained minds, onboarded users, activated markets, expanded revenues, and uplifted communities.

Collectively, they reveal a deeper truth: Nigeria’s tech future will be built by practitioners who execute, measure, and deliver.

Their stories speak to excellence not as aspiration, but as evidence. As Nigeria continues its rise on the global technology stage, these trailblazers will serve as both pathfinders and proof that world-class innovation can emerge from African soil and scale to global relevance.

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There are product managers and there are those who stand out amongst the many. There are currently over 1.2 million product managers on LinkedIn alone; and with more probably not registered on the platform, the numbers are higher.

As long as a company has a product, it requires a product manager. However, it goes beyond having a full resume to being not just a good product manager, but a great one. With many startups being birthed ever so often and innovations in technology, there is a constant need for people to fill this role.

A great product manager must possess a litany of skills- both hard and soft, to stand out.

So per adventure you are a CEO of a startup or a recruiter or really just trying to become a great product manager, here are 7 things that from my experience in product management, can help you distinguish a great product manager from a basic one.

1. Good Research skills

Product discovery is a vital part of the product development cycle and the product manager is a key player in the system. No good product can be built without research. The ability to properly conduct research/ customer interviews to understand the target customer, the customer’s pain points, the demand for the product, and the competitive landscape is a must-have for a product manager.

2. Strategic/Critical Thinking skills

Product managers need to exercise critical thinking at every stage of product development. A product manager is often the go-to person for questions or product feedback.

They are expected to remain objective and assess the product on behalf of the potential end user and the overall business objectives. This often requires market research and integrating customer feedback into the product vision and roadmap.

A product manager is a mini-CEO of sorts. He needs to understand the current product strategy and how it aligns with the overall company strategy. He needs to know the product vision, how it will generate customer value, and what is the differentiating advantage over its competitors. Product managers are problem solvers and must be quick in making customer and product-centric decisions.

3. Emotional Intelligence

A good product manager may know the dos and don’ts of a customer interview, but the best product manager has the ability to empathize with customers in that interview, is tuned in to their body language and emotions, and can aptly identify and understand the pain points that the product or feature will address.

A product manager who possesses a high EQ has strong relationships within their organization and a keen sense of how to navigate both internal and external hurdles to ship a great product.

4. Collaborative leader

Building a product is a collaborative process and it takes a product manager with a collaborative nature to pull it off. Product requirements come from various cross-functional groups and customers and they all are considered important by those contributing to them. In such an environment, a product manager cannot be dictatorial. He/She needs to clearly communicate decisions, e.g. why a particular feature was chosen over another one for the current release. At the same time, confidence, assertiveness, and charisma are necessary.

5. Analytical skills

Product managers need to conduct data analysis to make educated product decisions. Once market research has been completed, the product manager needs to extract insights from the data in order to inform the entire product roadmap. Can the product manager identify customer needs, and use their analytical skills to ensure the product is solving those pain points?

This should be one of the strong points of a great product manager. 

6. Execution

Product managers must be able to execute everything planned in the product development cycle. They need to get things done. In order for a product to be shipped there are hundreds of things to get done and a product manager should be able to get down and dirty to get them done. A product manager needs to do anything needed to make the product a success.

7. Technical skills

Lastly and one of the most important things to look for in a great product manager is technical skills.

Product managers would always benefit from a good knowledge of basic technical skills — such as design, coding languages, and even sales/marketing. A good product manager is almost a “know it all”.

At the end of the day, product managers need to make things happen. Getting great results is the goal.

About the writer:

Maureen Ogwu ​is currently a technical sourcing specialist with Meta, one of the largest tech companies in the world. Previously, she worked with GlobalCharge ltd as both Product Manager and Digital Marketing expert leading the engineering and marketing teams. Prior to that, she served as a Product Marketing trainer and mentor with Utiva. She has also served as a Paid Marketing Specialist at Digital Marketing Skill Institute, an EdTech Company. She has been recognised for her extensive experience leading digital transformation initiatives and managing the development of highly innovative tech product marketing. She holds an MBA degree from the University of East London.

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As a young girl fresh out of university with a degree in mass communication, I was eager to see what the world had for me. I went to serve in Osun state, Nigeria for my NYSC and that was where I crossed paths with the technology space.

I started out learning digital marketing skills like writing, website design and social media management but I figured there was more.

One of the skills I also came across was product management. In this post, I will share my experience transitioning from a communication field to starting a career in product management.

Why Product Management?

For starters, it is a highly sought-after job role because global corporations and startups will keep building tools and technologies to make every aspect of living, working and playing seamless. Secondly, it is one of the roles in tech that you can easily transition to.

Product management is the process of defining, developing, and delivering a product to market. It involves a variety of activities, including market research, product planning, pricing, promotion, and distribution. Product management involves both business and technical skills.

As a product manager, you need to understand the market and customer needs as well as the technical capabilities and limitations of the product. It is a hands-on role that requires strong strategic thinking, problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.

In my experience as a product manager, I have come across different job roles in the product management field and this largely depends on the kind of product you are working on, your skillset and your field. Let me take you through some of these job roles.

Product Owner:

A product owner is responsible for defining and prioritising the features and requirements of a product. They work closely with the development team to ensure that the product is delivered on time and meets the needs of the target market. 

Product Manager:

A product manager is responsible for the overall strategy and direction of a product. They work with the product team to define the product roadmap and ensure that the product is delivered on time and within budget.

Product Marketing Manager:

A product marketing manager is responsible for positioning and promoting a product to the target market. They work closely with the sales team to develop marketing campaigns and materials, and they often conduct market research to understand customer needs and preferences. 

Technical Product Manager:

A technical product manager is responsible for the technical aspects of a product, including the design and development process. They work closely with the engineering team to ensure that the product is technically feasible and meets the needs of the target market.

UX Designer:

A UX (user experience) designer is responsible for creating a seamless and intuitive experience for users of a product.

They work closely with the product team to design wireframes, prototypes, and user flows, and they conduct user research to understand user needs and behaviours. 

Business Analyst:

A business analyst is responsible for analysing data and market trends to inform product strategy and decision-making.

They work closely with the product team to identify opportunities for growth and improvement, and they often use tools such as financial models and market research to inform their recommendations.

You have to understand that each of these job roles plays a crucial role in the product development process, and they often overlap and work closely together to ensure the success of a product. In my job as a product manager, I have worked with a UI/UX designer because they have to design the interface of the product that we are looking to launch. I have also worked with software developers, UX writers and product marketing managers. Together, we all work to bring our product to market successfully.

Getting into the product management space has been interesting, challenging yet rewarding. Being responsible for defining and driving the direction of a product was a huge task and so I knew I had to take the right process to transition fully and learn as much as I could to deliver results.

The first thing I had to do was to take a program in product management. I didn’t stop there. I also had to learn some marketing, management, and business skills because product management also involves these. As soon as I got my certification, I applied for an internship with a company called Influensah in 2016.

In three months, I was made an associate product manager and this was how my journey literally began. As an associate product manager, I worked with my team on idea mapping, research, and creating product requirement documents. I had to create the user flow and worked with the UI/UX designer for the initial sketch of the product.

Product management is a hands-on role, so it’s important to have practical experience in the field and I also advise you to do the same. Write to a startup, volunteer or intern with them to hasten up your learning and build your portfolio.

At that time, and I still do, I placed a premium on networking and constantly learning to stay at the top of my game. This helped me to get access to senior managers who served as mentors and shared resources with me. I was invited to join communities that served as a safe space for me to ask questions and seek advice. I also volunteered to work on some of their products in my free time.

Working with my team helps me bring to the fore what I learnt in class about being a product manager. As a product manager, I am responsible for defining the product vision and strategy. This means that I have to clearly define and communicate the direction and goals of our product.

This involves understanding the target market, conducting market research, and identifying opportunities for growth and differentiation. After that, I will then create and prioritise the product roadmap that outlines the key features and milestones for the product. I also have to prioritise features and ensure that the development team has a clear understanding of what needs to be delivered and when.

Considering that I work with a variety of teams, including development, design, marketing, and sales, to ensure that the product is delivered on time and meets the needs of the target market, I am the hub for communication and coordination, and I ensure that all team members are aligned on the product vision and goals.

Bearing this in mind, measuring and analysing product performance is important. On my job, I use a variety of metrics and tools to measure the performance of our product and identify areas for improvement. This analysis includes user data, conducting market research, and working with the development team to implement changes and updates.

Product management is a slice of every pie and you can imagine what a tasty treat that can be. I can say that my job has helped me build relationships with other product managers that helped me learn about the industry potentially opening doors to job opportunities. I will also encourage you to consider joining communities for product managers, attend industry events, or connect with product managers on LinkedIn.

Another thing that came up during my course of work, as I mentioned earlier, was managing people. As a product manager, you are the mini-CEO of that product and this means that you lead the team. It is not all about learning about wireframes and PRDs, there are varieties of soft skills that you must possess. Skills like strategic thinking, problem-solving, communication, and leadership. Beyond learning them, you must have practical experience.

While you are interning or volunteering, make sure you create your resume, review your LinkedIn profile and have a strong online presence.

With the online space, you never can tell who is watching. Share your work, contribute to product conversations on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, network with industry leaders, and reach out to startup founders pitching yourself and the value you can contribute to them and the company.

Make sure you highlight your relevant experience and skills. Be sure to include any internships, side projects, or relevant coursework on your resume. Most importantly, always publish and/or talk about your work. That can never go out of style.

Final Opinion

Just like me, you can start a career in product management. I have met product managers from a variety of backgrounds and education levels. Remember that the job role of a product manager is multifaceted and requires a range of skills and experience.

We play a crucial role in the success of a company by defining and driving the direction of a product and ensuring that it meets the needs of the target market. By following these steps and putting in the necessary work, you can start a rewarding career in product management.

Author’s Bio

Joy Eneghalu is a skilled product manager who is passionate about building and launching products that delight customers and drive business success. She is open to exploring new opportunities to put her skills to work. She has a strong background in product development, with a focus on driving growth and revenue.