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Top 10 African Women in Product Management
It is no secret that women in the tech industry, particularly in product management, have historically been underrepresented. However, there are many talented and accomplished African women who are making great strides in this field and deserve recognition.
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.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Uche Adegbite
Uche Adegbite is 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
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. Celeste O.
Simply known as Celeste O., there’s absolutely nothing simple about this woman when it comes to product management. She is a Product Leader, Speaker, Mentor, and Programme Director amongst others.
Celeste can be described as a result-driven, logical and proactive person when it comes to achieving tasks and objectives.
She has a track record of building PM teams and coaching and mentoring across different industries including Fin-Tech, Oil & Gas, Fashion, Beauty, Healthcare, Ed-Tech, Telecom, and Prop-Tech.
She is currently a Remote Product Lead and Independent Consultant in the London Area of the United Kingdom.
Her experience includes VP Senior Product Manager, Digital Business Banking, Barclays, London, Senior Product Manager Miladebeauty, Founder and Creative Director
Ann-Celeste London, just to mention a few.
In a significant milestone for women in tech, TD Africa officially launched the TecHERdemy program yesterday, 13th November 2024, an initiative aimed at equipping 400 young Nigerian women with essential digital skills to succeed in today’s technology-driven world.
Participants and the Executives of TD Africa at TecHERdemy program held recently
The launch event, held in the Yudala Height Building of the company and co-sponsored by global brands like Huawei, Microsoft and Cisco, brought together participants who had completed a series of online assessments to secure a spot in this highly anticipated program.
Mrs. Chioma Ekeh, ceo of TD Africa, expressed her enthusiasm for the TecHERdemy program, emphasizing how closely it aligns with TD Africa’s mission of “Empowering You.”
She reiterated that the training would offer the participants invaluable skills and insights to help them thrive in the technology sector.
“TecHERdemy is not just a training program; it’s a launchpad to a brighter future for each of you.
“I encourage you to seize this opportunity, as it is a chance to bring positive change, not only in your lives but also to empower others in your communities and beyond,” Mrs Ekeh remarked.
As the co-sponsor of the program, Huawei was represented by Gary Li, Channel Director, who expressed Huawei’s commitment to partnering with TD Africa to make this initiative a success.
“Huawei is proud to be part of TecHERdemy, a program that mirrors our commitment to innovation and equality in the tech sector.
“We are dedicated to supporting each participant’s journey, ensuring they gain industry-relevant skills to meet global standards,” said Mr. Li.
Participants were introduced to the core courses they will undertake over the next six months, which include Cybersecurity, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Software Development.
Each course will be delivered by industry experts to ensure hands-on, practical learning that meets international standards. Successful graduates of TecHERdemy will receive certificates and job placement validating their new skills and expanding their career prospects in the fast-growing tech sector.
The launch of TecHERdemy underscores TD Africa’s commitment to bridging the gender gap in the tech industry by fostering a more inclusive and equitable landscape for all.
By investing in the next generation of female tech leaders, TD Africa and its partners are contributing to a more empowered and digitally savvy Nigeria, paving the way for a brighter future for women in technology.
European Union has fined Meta nearly €800 million for violating antitrust laws by automatically granting Facebook users access to its classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace.
The European Commission accused Meta of abusing its dominant position by imposing unfair trading conditions on rival classified ad providers who advertise on its platforms.
“This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. Meta must now stop this behaviour,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, in a statement.
Meta announced plans to appeal the decision, arguing it misrepresents the competitive environment in Europe. “Facebook users can choose whether or not to engage with Marketplace, and many don’t.
“The reality is that people use Facebook Marketplace because they want to, not because they have to,” Meta said.
This penalty ranks among the 10 largest antitrust fines ever imposed by the EU and follows a series of actions against Big Tech companies.
The Commission emphasized that Facebook Marketplace’s integration with Facebook gives it a significant advantage over competitors, stating that all Facebook users automatically access and are exposed to the service regardless of their preference.
The Commission also accused Meta of imposing unfair conditions on competitors in the classified ads sector. It alleged Meta leveraged ad-related data from other advertisers for the exclusive benefit of Facebook Marketplace, a claim Meta denies.
Meta said it has “built systems and controls” to prevent such practices, calling the Commission’s actions against its free service “disappointing.”
The fine of €797.72 million reflects what the Commission described as the “duration and gravity” of the violations. Meta’s revenue last year was approximately $135 billion.
This decision is part of the EU’s broader regulatory push against Big Tech, backed by new legislation like the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act.
Earlier this year, the EU accused Meta of breaching digital rules with a “pay or consent” system requiring users to either pay to avoid data collection or agree to share their data.
In response to regulatory pressure, Meta recently introduced less targeted ads for free users in the EU and lowered subscription rates for ad-free services.
MTN Nigeria CEO, Karl Toriola, at the TeXcellence 2024 conference, emphasized the telecommunications sector’s crucial role in advancing Nigeria’s digital economy.
Highlighting the evolution from a traditional telecom company to a full-fledged technology powerhouse, Toriola outlined MTN’s journey and the broader industry’s transformative potential.
Reflecting on MTN’s significant footprint, Toriola highlighted how telecoms have been the backbone of the nation’s digital transformation. “The telecommunication sector has been a critical driver of economic growth in this country, accounting for 14% of the nation’s GDP.
“MTN on its own contributes 7% to Nigeria’s GDP and its evolution into a Techco could propel the nation to unprecedented economic heights”.
From the groundbreaking days of GSM licensing in 2001 to the launch of 5G in 2022, MTN has consistently been at the forefront of technological advancement.
Toriola underscored the shift in revenue dynamics, with data now surpassing voice services as the primary income source despite slimmer margins.
He acknowledged the challenges posed by increased competition and external factors, including economic pressures and currency devaluation.
Yet, he stressed that these hurdles are driving the need for innovation in areas like financial inclusion, IoT, AI, and the development of digital ecosystems.
The MTN CEO shared insights into the company’s ambitious projects, such as constructing the largest data center in West Africa and expanding 5G services to deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity.
He also emphasized the importance of affordability in expanding digital access, pointing out that 71% of Nigerians face challenges maintaining regular internet connectivity due to cost.
Wrapping up, Toriola called for collaboration among industry stakeholders, international partners, and the government to harness Nigeria’s potential and nurture a culture of curiosity and innovation.
“Our biggest asset is our people—their drive and ingenuity. By fostering this and investing in our digital infrastructure, we can achieve the vision of a trillion-dollar economy,” he concluded.
Karl Toriola’s keynote address at TeXcellence 2024 revealed that with determined leadership and unified efforts, Nigeria’s telecom and tech sectors are poised to lead the continent in digital transformation.
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