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Top 15 Exceptional User Experience and Product Designers in Africa 2022
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, user experience (UX) and product design play a crucial role in determining the success of a product. With a growing number of startups and tech companies in Africa, there’s no shortage of talented designers making their mark.
In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the top 15 exceptional UX and product designers in Africa who are pushing the boundaries of design and shaping the future of the industry.
From experienced veterans to rising stars, this list showcases some of the most innovative and creative minds in the field, who are delivering outstanding designs that improve the experience of users and businesses alike.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into the list of top 15 exceptional UX and Product Designers in Africa.
1. Oluwagbemiga Joshua (Nigeria)
Oluwagbemiga Joshua is a UK-based Nigerian Product Designer. He is currently the Principal Product Designer at Synthesia- a technology company that specialises in artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions.
Their focus is on developing AI tools for automating and improving various aspects of human-computer interaction, such as natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, and speech recognition. Synthesia AI offers products and services that allow businesses and organisations to enhance their digital presence and improve user experience through the use of AI technology.
Some specific applications of their technology include virtual assistants, chatbots, and intelligent recommendations systems, among others.
In the past, he has served as Senior Product Designer at InVision, Senior User Experience Designer at Intelia, amongst others. He got his BSc. in Computer Science from Bowen University Iwo, Nigeria. He is passionate about design, animation as well as interaction design. Joshua is also a futurism enthusiast.
2. Parklins Ifeanyichukwu (Nigeria)
Parklins Ifeanyichukwu is a Lead Product (UX) Designer with over six year’s experience in early-stage and high growth companies. He has experience leading teams (both remote and co-located) in designing and implementing digital products that are used by millions of people every day.
Parklins has a Master of Arts degree in User Experience Design from Falmouth University Cornwall, and a CertHE in User Interface & User Experience Design from Ravensbourne University, both in the UK.
He currently is the Lead UX Designer at InMobi; a company that is focused on powering advertisers’ and publishers’ growth with high impact experiences and innovative solutions that help them activate their audiences and drive real connections with today’s consumers.
Previously, Parklins has led and worked across product teams in problem spaces like EdTech (DataCamp), FinTech and Retail (PayPecker, now Kloud Commerce), and also co-founded a user experience design agency, where he built and led the user experience team for about 3 years.
3. Ndubuisi Anyaoku (Nigeria)
Also on the list of trailblazing African UX and Product Designers is Ndubuisi Anyaoku, the Lead Product Designer, Revolut. The University of Benin graduate of Computer Engineering is a digital designer with a focus on visual identity development, interaction design and cross-platform deployment.
He combines that with a proven track record of success in building, testing and refining user-centred digital interfaces and experiences from on-demand economy to electronic commerce.
Ndubuisi strives to be critically relevant in today’s fast-paced global village by effectively using his knowledge of digital design, technology and strategy to enhance lives, delight senses and inspire change that actually matters.
His past roles include Senior Product Designer, Revolut, Product Designer, Silicon Bear, amongst others.
4. Felix Obinna
Felix is a seasoned Nigerian Product Designer with almost a decade in experience.
An alum of Graphics Design from the University of Nsukka, Nigeria, he has been a professional in this field working with businesses and teams to build products for over seven years. He has a demonstrated history of moving between high-level strategic thinking and detailed interaction problems, connecting the dots between organisational strategy, products, services, and interfaces.
Previously, Felix led the design team at Chinook Capital(Youverify.co), built products and processes at Devcenter, and is currently leading a Product Design team at Flutterwave, San Francisco, Carlifornia.
He has a proven track record of leading and scaling design teams, defining the product design process, and mentoring designers across the product development lifecycle.
5. Sharon Wangari (Kenya)
She is a Kenyan Product Designer whose giant strides have earned her a spot on this list.
Sharon Wangari is a Service and Systems designer & a Design Researcher. She has been a designer for over 6 years and has worked across Eastern and Southern Africa. Sharon is inspired daily by the opportunity to design meaningful products, and to increase access of services to communities with low resources and low access.
Through her work, she has had the amazing opportunity to immerse herself in different cultures and communities and collaborate with individuals with diverse expertise of different backgrounds.
Sharon is the Product Design Lead at Paystack where she oversees design efforts by the teams. She has served in many capacities in the past including Senior UX Designer & UX Chapter Lead, Sendy Ltd., Senior Designer and Design Manager, Nairobi Design Institute, as well as Design Fellow, Dalberg amongst other roles.
6. Hadeel Ahmed Mohyi (Egypt)
Hadeel is a versatile Product Designer from Egypt. She has spent over seven years working in the information technology and services industry. Skilled in Website, Web Application, and Mobile Application Design, she is a strong information technology professional with a Master’s Degree focused in Industrial and Product Design from Helwan University, Cairo.
Hadeel also bagged a first degree in Design and Applied Arts from the same university. She is the Product Design Lead, Intercom Enterprises, where she oversees the company’s design efforts and leads the team to excellence in practice, production, and execution with attention to corporate and functional strategies as well as design vision.
Her previous roles include Product Designer Lead, Cornet Elevated, Senior UI/UX Designer, Origin Technology Solution, amongst others.
7. John Doddy (Kenya)
John has been described as a very talented designer who has a great understanding of human centred design. He is very talented in both research and design and has a good grasp of the end to end design process.
He is a Product Designer from Kenya, keen on leveraging technology and user-centered design to create impactful experiences and products.
Currently the Product Design Lead at Interswitch Kenya, he has worked in various industries including financial technology, talent development, and education management.
John Doddy has worked as UX Design Fellow, The Room and UX Design Apprentice at ALX.
He has also volunteered as a Learning Community Ambassador with Andela where he supported aspiring Software Developers on the Andela Learning Community program to find solutions to technical challenges that they encountered with their learning.
8. Precious Madubuike (Nigeria)
Precious Madubuike is a self taught Nigerian Product Designer who is obviously thriving in the industry. Currently working as a Product Designer at global tech giant, Meta, London, for almost two years, Precious has also served as a UX Designer at Booking.com in the Netherlands.
His other past roles include Lead UI/UX Designer, TechAdvance, Lead Product Designer, Helium Health, and others.
9. Chidinma Aniugbo (Nigeria)
Chidinma is a stellar Product Designer who has worked across the world.
She can be described as one who solves complex problems, drives measurable growth, and helps product teams achieve their goals. Recently, she led the design of a digital epidemiology network in Africa that’s improving disease surveillance and detection, and her work has had a significant impact on accurate COVID-19 testing.
In addition to public health, Dinma has designed best-in-class digital product experiences in financial services and education.
She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Chidinma currently is a product designer at Shopify, Germany. Her past roles include freelancing as a Product Designer at Toptal, Product Designer at Babbel and more.
On a part-time basis, She’s on Youtube creating content that would help newbie designers on their journey to becoming better.
She has also volunteered as a UX design mentor with DearDesigner, a mentorship program founded to bridge the experience gap within the design industry for young designers in Nigeria.
10. Adebimpe Adebowale (Nigeria)
Currently the Senior Product Designer, Stablehouse – a fintech company, Adebimpe is a UK-based Nigerian Product Designer with over five years experience. She has worked in more than 5 countries across the globe as a product designer and software engineer.
Adebimpe loves to design innovative products that solve problems, are impactful, and create delightful user experiences.
Her career started in front-end development and along the line, she picked up design. Over the last five years of professional experience, she has led design across various companies helping drive innovation at scale for companies & projects like AKQA X IBM, AKQA X Mayo Clinic, BMW Performance Centre, Runbuggy, Urbansitter, Indicina, and Bumpa.
Adebimpe is passionate about helping the world be a better place through user-centric digital experiences that are seamless to use and make living a lot less stressful. My design work focuses on usability, accessibility, and information architecture while keeping scale in mind.
She recently completed a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction Design at the University of Leicester, graduating with distinction.
In her spare time, she mentors early-career designers through Designlab, providing guidance and advice as they navigate their UX design careers.
11. Mosope Adebowale (Nigeria)
Talk about an ambitious and adventurous person, that’s Mosope Adebowale. Currently a Product Designer at Meta, he is an experienced designer fascinated by the relationship between human interaction and technology.
Much of his work has been dedicated to designing better user experience onto products.
Mosope’s long-term goal is to make technology easy to use and accessible to everyone. His design journey started with graphics design, then transitioned into UI design and, finally, ‘the sweet spot that is UX design’ in his own words. He is excited by big ideas and brands that build products that enhance the human experience.
His past roles include User Experience Designer at KPMG Canada, Lead Designer, Andela, and also a freelance visual designer.
Mosope has a dream of visiting countries in the 7 continents of the world to better understand human culture and society.
12. Daniel Abayomi (Nigeria)
Daniel is a Nigerian Product Designer, Mentor, and Co-Founder of Growteq- a non-profit for teens and high school students to train them in tech through no-code roles.
His current role is that of Product Designer at Meta. He is invested in helping companies implement real solutions through product design..
The Lagos-based product designer with years of design experience, and 3 years of experience as a Frontend Engineer, has worked on a variety of products ranging from small non-profits to large tech companies with ambitious goals.
He has vast experience in Fintech, Healthcare, Hospitality, Blockchain, Education, and Automobile Industries. He has a unique talent for seeing the big picture potential in a product or brand and then bringing it to life.
In the past, he has worked as Design and Product Lead, Brass, freelance Product Designer at Toptal, amongst others.
13. Kweku Bennin (South Africa)
Kweku Bennin is a South African UI Designer currently serving as the Lead User Interface Designer, Xneelo (PTY) Ltd.
He is a multi-skilled digital designer with 10 years experience working within the Digital space, creating beautiful, intuitive, and functional user interfaces for brands both large and small.
Kweku has a passion for digital products and particularly thrives from all things that make for wonderful web experiences. Having a keen eye and proficient hand for UI as well as great UX understanding, and being well-versed in both design and code, his experience in production enables him to handle projects right through to implementation.
He has been described as a brilliant creative, confident, fun to work with and whip smart.
He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree, Graphic Design from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design.
His past roles include Senior UI Designer at Xneelo, UI Designer at TotallyMoney, Product Designer at Supernova, as well as other roles.
14. Davie Mwangi (Rwanda)
Davie is a Senior Product Designer, KOKO Networks whose goal is to help teams build meaningful and engaging experiences for people.
With over 10 years of design experience working across East Africa on various high-impact projects that seek to improve the way of life for people through Human-Centred Design, she is setting the bar for product designers across the continent.
She has a Diploma in Web Design and Development from Nairobits Digital Design School.
Davie has previously worked in Bank of Kigali, Rwanda as Design Lead and Product Owner, Kytabu Nairobi as Design lead, and she also founded Tumbili, an online shop specialising in high quality children’s toys where she designed and developed the e-commerce website, branding and publicity collateral before she shut it down.
She has a good number of certifications and licences in design, and has been described as very creative, hands-on, organised, and is always open to discuss ideas and suggestions.
15. Samuel Allotey (Ghana)
Samuel is a skilled Product Designer, and Podcaster who won the Artpreciate UI/UX Designer of the year 2022 award.
He currently serves as the Senior Product Designer at SecondSTAX.
With over four years of experience, he has designed products ranging from Forex apps, and shopping platforms, to messaging widgets. He has worked in the fintech, e-commerce, and recruiting industries so far and is also looking to explore new industries and take on new challenges.
Having worked in multiple startups over the years, he is able to own the end-to-end process of designing a product from concept right into the launch and after.
He is a teamplayer and always works with his product managers and engineers to allow clear communication of ideas and ensure everyone on the team is in sync with the work that needs to be done.
When Samuel is not designing, he usually likes to mentor other UX Designers. He also co-hosts a design podcast where he talks about design topics with three other co-hosts.
In the past, Samuel has worked as a Product Designer at Andela, Product Designer at Factory Fix, UX Designer at Hubtel, to mention a few.
In conclusion, these top 15 exceptional User Experience (UX) and Product Designers in Africa have proven their exceptional skills and expertise in creating innovative designs that meet the needs of users.
Their works have contributed to the growth and development of the tech industry in Africa and are a source of inspiration to young designers.
These designers continue to push the boundaries and set new standards in the field of product design and user experience design. It is exciting to see what they will come up with next and how they will further shape the future of technology in Africa.
Mafab Communications, operating under the brand Mcom, has officially activated its mobile service infrastructure and commenced offering telecommunications services — including voice, data, and SMS — with new number range, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can report.
Dr. Musbahu Bashir, founder Mafab, owners of Mcom
Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has also confirmed the entry of Mcom which listed 0724 as officially assigned to Mafab.
An insider at Mafab told this reporter that “ We are Nigeria’s first 5G standalone network provider, revolutionizing the telecommunications landscape. We are driven by a vision to foster a world where possibilities know no bounds with the power of technology”
Recall that the original 5G licence was awarded to Mafab in 2021, with an expectation that rollout would have fully commence by August 2022.
MTN Nigeria, the other winner of the license adhered to this timeline and deployed its 5G across major cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.
Mafab on the other hand, requested and was granted an extension of time, which it have finally taken advantage of by the recent launch.
Mafab Communications is owned by Dr. Musbahu Bashir, who is also the founder and chairman of the company.
He is the individual behind the Mcom 5G brand and has been instrumental in launching the company’s 5G services.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has vowed to intensify its collaboration with security agencies to arrest and prosecute individuals vandalising the country’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
Auwal Abdullahi, head of Quality of Service at the NCC, said this during a media engagement held in Abuja.
The move comes on the heels of the recent signing of the “Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024” by President Bola Tinubu.
The Order is aimed at protecting essential digital and communication systems from cyberattacks, vandalism, and related disruptions.
Speaking on the development, Abdullahi said: “The Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Act has provisions for prosecution, and the operationalisation of CNII falls under the purview of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). Anyone found liable for damaging or disrupting CNII will be prosecuted going forward. We are working with relevant agencies like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to tackle these problems and prosecute offenders.”
He recounted that some telecom operators recorded significant financial losses two years ago, largely due to exchange rate pressures and infrastructure vandalism.
“About two years ago, we noticed a situation where some of our key telecom operators were recording massive losses. Despite increasing revenues, they were struggling with heavy forex-related obligations that ate into their revenues. This led to poor quality of service,” he said.
According to him, the recent tariff adjustments have placed the industry back on a path to profitability and renewed investment.
“As a result, they are able to reinvest in their networks, which will lead to better quality of service and experience. We expect investments in the industry to increase significantly this year, more than what was seen in the last two years. The Nigerian telecoms industry has great promise, evident in its revenue growth and service delivery, despite the recent challenges,” he added
Also speaking at the event, Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman and CEO of the NCC, reassured stakeholders that the Commission remains committed to driving improvements in network quality across the country.
Represented by Mrs. Nnena Ukoha, acting head of Public Affairs, Maida challenged journalists to act on the knowledge shared at the forum.
“This is not for you alone. You now have this information, do not just sit on it. For instance, you were given figures on fiber cuts and thefts affecting NCC. Who is responsible for those infrastructures? The NSCDC. Ask them: ‘Of all these incidents, what are you doing about them? How many people have been prosecuted?’ Every state has legal departments. Go and ask them: ‘What are you doing to protect critical infrastructure?’ he queried.
Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies in Nigeria (ALTON) has revealed that 13 commercial banks have fully settled their outstanding Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service debts to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
The remaining three banks are nearing completion of their payments, having cleared over 95% of their respective debts, according to Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON.
This resolution paves the way for a new billing system for USSD banking transactions.
Going forward, charges for these services will be debited directly from customers’ airtime accounts.
The update on debt settlements and the upcoming billing model were discussed , during the ‘ASK the Exec’ online meeting anchored by MTN.
Participants included Lynda Saint-Nwafor, chief enterprise business officer at MTN and Adebayo.
According to the ALTON Chairman, there has been substantial progress in resolving the long-standing debt issue.
“As of January, the outstanding debt from banks to MNOs for USSD services was N180 billion. Of the 17 banks with pre-API outstanding payments (excluding Heritage Bank, which is insolvent), 13 have fully settled their debts, and the remaining three are in the final stages of installment payments, with over 95% of the debt cleared”, he explained to journalists present at the call.
The clearance of historical debt is crucial as the industry moves to a new operational model.
“Banks with outstanding debts will not be excluded from the new system; they can either migrate to end-user billing once their debts are cleared or choose to remain on the old corporate billing model, provided they settle their outstanding obligations”, Adebayo pointed out.
Since 2021, collaborative efforts between the telecommunications and banking industries, supported by their regulators, have aimed to standardize charges for USSD banking transactions, resulting in a unified fee of N6.98 per transaction.
Saint-Nwafor, explained the upcoming change: “The most significant change is the transition to end-user billing, where customers will now be billed for USSD transactions directly from their airtime accounts instead of their bank accounts. This means deductions will no longer occur from bank balances but from airtime balances held with MNOs.”
Previously, banks directly debited customers’ bank accounts, a system that presented challenges regarding transparency and control.
To address this, an Application Programming Interface (API) was developed, granting banks full control over their USSD channels. For instance, a bank like GTBank with the USSD code *737# can now ensure a customer’s number is accepted by the bank before a transaction proceeds, after which the bank applies the N6.98 charge.
MNOs like MTN simply facilitate the connection, earning their N6.98 fee for providing the channel.
To ensure a smooth transition and consistent experience, a standardized process for end-user billing has been implemented across all operators and banks: Consent Message: Customers dialing a bank’s USSD code will receive a clear consent message informing them of the N6.98 deduction from their airtime and requesting acceptance.
Aggregator Communication: Upon acceptance, the MNO will contact a USSD aggregator to confirm the bank’s availability, preventing billing for unfulfilled services. Transaction and Billing: Once the bank confirms readiness, the MNO connects the customer and bills the airtime account.
All MNOs have also unified their messaging to customers, providing consistent communication on service levels and transaction outcomes, clarifying if a transaction failed due to issues on the bank’s end or the telco’s side.
Crucially, telco service purchases (airtime and data) from banks are zero-rated when customers use direct strings (e.g., dialing *737*10000# for N10,000 airtime instead of the generic *737#).
This informs both the MNO and the bank of the specific intent, making these transactions free.
Customers are strongly encouraged to use these direct strings to avoid charges, and extensive communication campaigns are planned. Any instance of double deduction (from both airtime and bank accounts) should be reported to the customer’s bank.
Adebayo addressed several key questions, reassuring the public about the implications for consumers and businesses.
He noted that for consumers, the shift to end-user billing has a zero net effect on cost, as they were already paying the N6.98 fee, albeit from their bank accounts.
Transparency and accountability are enhanced through standardized consent messages, inter-industry agreements, and MNOs’ commitment to provide monthly performance statistics to regulators.
“If a transaction fails due to MNO network issues, the customer will not be billed, or any deduction will be reversed. However, if the failure originates from the bank’s end (e.g., insufficient bank balance, bank system downtime), the customer will still be billed, with the reason for failure communicated”, ALTON Chairman explained.
The concern about USSD usage limiting access for those in unbanked areas or without airtime was also addressed.
“The N6.98 charge is considerably lower than alternative transport costs to physical banking points. Furthermore, customers can purchase airtime from their bank accounts at zero cost using direct strings, even if they have no airtime, as long as they have funds in their bank account. USSD is seen as a convenience channel, with all stakeholders contributing to the cost of providing financial services”, Adebayo stated.
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