New benchmark puts the spotlight on the critical go-to-market strategy talent that converts African innovation into global success
For years, the story of African tech has been defined by founders, engineering talent, and venture capital. However, a new index, launched today by the African Product Marketing Pioneers (APMP), officially recognises the critical, often unsung, operator class responsible for translating revolutionary technology into product-market fit and mass adoption: the Product Marketing Leaders.
The APMP Top 20 Product Marketing Leaders Index in Africa is the continent’s first-ever definitive ranking of the professionals driving Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy across the highest-scaling African tech companies. It serves as a data-backed benchmark for excellence, moving the conversation beyond mere product creation to strategic market execution, a crucial factor as African startups navigate a tighter funding environment.
The Rise of the strategist-operator
The Index highlights a significant shift in the African tech workforce: the maturation of the product marketing function from a support role to a strategic, C-suite driver of revenue and retention. This is particularly relevant in high-growth, high-complexity markets like Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, where user education, trust-building, and localised GTM are non-negotiable for success.
“African tech has always been capital-light, meaning our ability to achieve significant market penetration is dependent on hyper-efficient GTM strategies,” says Omolara Sanni , CEO of the African Product Marketing Pioneers (APMP). “This inaugural Index is not just a celebration; it’s an institutional acknowledgement that Product Marketing is the vital bridge between a developer’s code and a customer’s wallet. They are the architects of the Flutterwave, Paystack, and M-Pesa growth stories.”
The ranking, which includes leaders from the fintech, e-commerce, and agritech sectors, used a proprietary methodology that combined peer nominations, documented market impact (e.g., successful product launches, market expansion campaigns, and measurable revenue contributions), and leadership in upskilling the next generation of African tech talent.
Nigeria dominates, signalling a maturing ecosystem
The inaugural list is notably anchored by Nigeria, underscoring its position as the continent’s largest and most competitive tech market. Among the Top 20, eleven prominent Nigerian leaders are celebrated for their significant contributions to high-growth ventures:
- Everest Nwagwu: Recognised for his work in orchestrating successful pan-African expansion in the B2B SaaS space, demonstrating how PMM can be a growth engine for enterprise solutions.
- Precious O’Dahunsi is a pioneering voice shaping the future of product marketing for e-commerce SaaS and subscription-based products targeting African businesses. Aside from defining what onboarding, adoption, churn management, and retention look like for African consumers adopting e-commerce SaaS for the first time, she has also trained over 200 marketers across Africa in content and Product marketing.
- Israel Ogunseye: Honoured for intensely localised consumer product launches such as PalmPay, etc., that achieved mass adoption in challenging markets, a core competence for African fintech.
- Elizabeth Ogunseye: Celebrated for leading product marketing teams that significantly improved customer retention and reduced churn, driving sustainable growth over rapid acquisition.
- Adedamola Adeloye: His frameworks bridge the gap between product design and real-world usage, driving clarity and trust in a sector where confusion often blocks access. He has helped launch major financial products, including Nigeria’s first fully digital private bank, ensuring they resonate with emerging-market users.
- Bolaji Anifowose: recognised as one of the top voices in building GTM systems that leverage data, structured experimentation, and customer insight to drive predictable growth. His work has helped high-growth companies simplify complex acquisition challenges and scale more efficiently across multiple markets.
- James Praise is recognised for his work in B2B SaaS and through the Marketing In Action (MIA) newsletter and community, trusted by over 5,000 founders and marketers across Africa, the US, and Europe. He has supported more than 20 companies, contributing over $10M in pipeline, 15 launches, and double-digit MRR growth. “Marketing and sales succeed when they move as a unified GTM team, sharing ownership of outcomes and executing from the same playbook.” This is James’ unified GTM philosophy.
- Salimon Toheeb is an African product marketing leader, known for turning complex Fintech, B2B, B2C and SaaS products into simplified, clear, human-centered stories that drive adoption of financial innovations. He has led go-to-market strategy, brand positioning, and growth marketing for key fintech products across 40+ African markets, strengthening millions of user engagements through retention-focused storytelling and helping product teams build trust in underserved communities.
- Ebuka Chidube is one of Nigeria’s leading performance marketers, having managed over £1 million in ad spend across 20+ brands, including PiggyVest, Lenco, AltSchool Africa, and i-Fitness.
- Lade Falobi is one of the operators shaping how African startups understand and practice product marketing. Through Marketing For Geeks — her newsletter and community that documents African growth playbooks and translates them into actionable insights- she delivers practical, culturally grounded PMM insights to thousands. Her multidisciplinary path has included leading marketing for Motherboard, SocialKit, and Rivva, while supporting GTM, messaging, and positioning for brands such as Flutterwave, Disha, and Wicrypt.
- Kadijat Okeowo continues to champion data-backed decision-making, experimentation discipline, and user-centric design as the foundation of long-term product success. Her work aligns cross-functional teams around actionable insights, accelerating how products are launched, scaled, and iterated across the African market. She works with brands such as Afriex, Emergency Response Africa, Grip, MonieWorld by Moniepoint, Mkobo Bank, and Ultra App.
Everest Nwagwu, a Top 20 honoree, reflected on the recognition: “In a market as diverse as Africa, Product Marketing is less about shiny campaigns and more about cultural translation. We sit in the middle, ensuring the product speaks the language of the market, whether it’s a farmer in Kano or a financial analyst in Cape Town. This index validates that strategic work.”
Furthermore, the inclusion of several leaders who have successfully transitioned from local startups to multinational corporations (and vice versa) indicates a highly mobile and globally competitive talent pool.
The APMP projects a 40% increase in senior Product Marketing roles across Africa in 2026, driven by a renewed focus on profitability and efficiency in the post-funding boom era. The Index is designed to be an invaluable resource for VCs and founders seeking proven expertise to navigate complex, multi-market expansion.
“The days of ‘build it, and they will come’ are over. This Index provides a roadmap for the talent that understands the ‘how’ to acquire, how to retain, and how to scale sustainably,” concluded Omolara. “It’s a declaration that the Product Marketing Leader is the new essential hire for any African startup aiming for unicorn status.”
The full APMP Top 20 Product Marketing Leaders Index is available at https://www.apmpioneers.com/leaders.html
