Digital Product Leader · Strategy & Growth
You are not your customer.
End-to-end product strategist. For nearly a decade I’ve built, transformed and commercially managed digital products at one of Africa’s leading telecom groups, taking products from first insight, through product-market fit, to scale and renewal.
Thinking beyond the product
Observations on products, people, markets and the systems around them.
Business & Markets
How T-Series Quietly Beat Sony and Universal and Changed Bollywood Forever
The future of global content won’t be decided in California boardrooms. It will be streamed from Lagos, listened to in Lucknow, and monetized in Mombasa. Sony Music Entertainment still has the gloss. Universal Music Group still has the Grammys. But T-Series has the people. And in the end, it’s not who plays the loudest. It’s who makes you sing along.
History & Product
What the Ottoman Empire Can Teach Product Teams Today
History shows that power used to control can collapse, while power used to connect, collaborate, and respect local wisdom can endure. I’ve been reading about the Ottoman Empire and comparing it with European colonialism in Africa. The contrast made me wonder: What can the Ottoman Empire teach us about product organizations today? Maybe the next breakthrough in tech isn’t a new framework, but an old lesson from history.
Observation
Betting Apps Have Everything to Go Wrong. Yet They Work: The Classic Product Design Paradox
The Classic Product Design Paradox: why do products with poor UX still succeed? Betting apps are a perfect example. Sometimes, the motivation behind a product (money, hope, convenience, or need) is stronger than the friction in the experience. What makes people tolerate a bad experience?
The Why
You are not your customer.
Most digital products fail because they’re built for the people in the boardroom, not the people holding the phone. I help organisations close that gap with strategy, discovery and evidence, not opinions.
The How
Start with the problem. Ship small. Measure everything.
From discovery to launch, adoption to monetisation, I build products the way customers actually behave, not the way we wish they would.
The What
Digital products people actually use.
Apps, portals, fintech, content and digital channels, serving more than 2 million active customers across the portfolios I lead.
The lifecycle
Product-market fit is a milestone. The lifecycle is the work.
Most organisations staff the launch and abandon the rest. I work across the whole curve, from the first customer conversation to the reinvention of a mature product.
01 · Discover
Understand the customer before the roadmap. Research, insight and problem framing that de-risk the idea.
02 · Find product-market fit
Test the value proposition with real users, tighten the offer, and prove people will use it and pay for it.
03 · Launch
Go-to-market, onboarding and channels, turning a validated product into one customers actually adopt.
04 · Scale
Growth loops, monetisation and performance, compounding adoption, engagement and revenue.
05 · Renew
Mature products need reinvention. Refresh the proposition, the experience and the business model before decline sets in.
The evidence
2M+ active customers across the portfolios I lead.
Multi-year revenue growth across digital product portfolios in one of Africa's most competitive telecom markets.
Products taken from idea to launch and scaled to millions of active users.
Consistent double-digit growth in adoption, engagement and monetisation.
Co-founder of RIHA Wallet. SASA Startup of the Year 2019.
Work with me
The areas I work across.
Need an outside view?
Digital Product Review
An independent view of an existing product, proposition or customer experience.
Have an idea that needs validation?
Product Discovery / Validation
Customer and problem validation before significant investment.
Have a product that isn’t growing?
Growth & Monetisation Advisory
Practical support on adoption, engagement, retention and monetisation.
Product Strategy
Product strategy, product-market fit, portfolio decisions, product performance and agile product management.
Discovery & Innovation
Customer discovery, problem validation, innovation and new product opportunities.
Growth & Monetisation
Adoption, engagement, retention, monetisation and commercial performance.
Digital Transformation & Experience
Digital transformation, customer experience and digital channels.
Ecosystems & Partnerships
Digital partnerships, platforms and ecosystem opportunities.
Shipped, not slideware
A portfolio of 50+ products & partnerships.
Scroll to explore →
Streaming · Monetisation
MyMuze
A local audio platform for music, podcasts and radio, built for emerging-market connectivity and mobile billing.
Visit
Fintech · 0-to-1
RIHA Wallet
Co-founded a mobile wallet from first idea to market validation. SASA Startup of the Year 2019.
Visit
Segmentation · Lifestyle
Só Pra Elas
A dedicated platform for women, with beauty, fashion, wellbeing and cooking content designed around one audience.
Visit
Ecosystems · Innovation
PuxaP
A corporate–startup partnership fostering digital business for young Mozambican entrepreneurs.
Visit
Digital Transformation
Web & Self-Service Channels
Customer portals and self-service journeys serving millions of subscribers nationwide.
Visit
Video · Sports · TV
Global Media & Sports
Partnerships bringing international sports, short-form video and mobile TV to local audiences: NBA League Pass, Yabadoo and Vuclip Videos.
Gaming · Comics · Quizzes
Games & Interactive Entertainment
Casual gaming, tournaments, digital comics and quiz services: MobiWin, PlayInc, Vuclip Games, House of Comics and Quiz Master.
SMS · Carrier Billing
SMS & Value-Added Services
30+ subscription services: ringback tones, live football alerts, news, career and job alerts, beauty tips, love and motivational messages, culture and curiosities.
Trusted by & trained at
