By Juliet Umeh

Bunmi Balogun is a proven growth expert who has worked with top startups in planning and implementing product marketing within the tech ecosystem.
In this exclusive interview, he shares winning strategies startups can adopt for their product marketing strategies to attract customers, partners and investors. Excerpts:

Who is Bunmi Balogun? Tell us about yourself and how you kickstarted your career

Bunmi Balogun is a young and creative growth leader with vast experience in the growth space in Africa’s Tech market. From advisory, implementation, data analysis and integrated marketing communications, I have proven myself to be a disruptor that seeks to redefine the narrative in growth marketing.
I started my career at a Tech organization in the heart of Lagos where I grew to head its Growth and Data team within two years. This emergence led to setting up an AI product driven startup called SKYFIRE where I got viability in countries like Dubai, USA, Japan just to mention a few. I later stepped down to go into mainstream growth marketing for startups both within and outside of Africa.
Over the years, I have successfully led acquisitions in strong brands such as WallX, Devcenter, Sidebrief, Pocketfood, Quizac just to mention but a few. I have successfully acquired digital leads for businesses of up to the tune of 14 billion Naira and acquired up to 200,000+ users for business across Africa.

What motivates you as a Growth and Product Strategist?

For me, I’m driven by numbers. I enjoy seeing numbers and key performance metrics grow for businesses.
So a lot of the time, I randomly run audits on the top brands just to come up with strategies in my head I believe can cause them to scale.

What has the last five years been like for you in the startup Ecosystem?

Revealing is the word. So, in the last five years, including my final year in school, I have been involved in a lot of solutions finding both for startups and for non-government organizations. And it has been revealing. I have seen firsthand a lot of the challenges in the ecosystem and seen how most organizations are solving it. I have also seen a lot of problems still pending and no one is yet to fully crack those codes.

Can you tell us about your experience driving growth for Lendigo? How were you able to achieve over 100,000 app downloads in less than 5 months?

Paid advertising, partnerships and value proposition. Lendigo solves a major problem in Africa. Which is providing loans to SME’s. Now that is a value proposition. But how well the messaging, content and visuals are placed is a different ball game. With paid advertising, I achieved that. with partnership and communities looking for loan solutions. I successfully closed three partnership deals all within my first few months with the company.

What was your approach to digital acquisition for Sidebrief Africa, and how did you work with the partnership team to achieve success? How did getting into Techstars Lagos impact the company’s growth?

Sidebrief’s acquisition was largely community focused and word of mouth. I attended events, programs and was able to sell the value to businesses.
I handled its email marketing, content strategy as well as work with the partnership team to hold interviews, events and programs. I was responsible for kicking off its digital events in partnership with other startups, VCs and business owners. I ran all of its digital campaigns on Google ads as well as social media. Imagine having a community of over 13,000 people ready to receive your emails, offerings and newsletters. That is building loyalty.
Getting into Techstars brought more visibility to the organization and with more visibility comes higher growth.

You’ve been credited with creating the ambassador strategy for Pocketfood that significantly increased growth in a short amount of time. Can you walk us through that strategy and how it was implemented?

I joined the brand in January 2023 to manage its growth after about five months of its operations. Pocketfood ambassador programme is largely having lovers of our food subscription meals in their offices or communities and having them sell our story even in our absence. The initiative saw over 16 brand ambassadors interested in joining the team and selling its stories in their communities.

We currently have ambassadors in some of the biggest organizations in Nigeria today and it’s been amazing how well the result has been. Last month, the organization saw a growth of up to 23 percent in revenue.

In your opinion, what are some of the key challenges facing tech startups in Africa?

One of the most significant challenges for startups in Africa is access to capital. Without sufficient funding, startups cannot invest in marketing and growth initiatives, making it difficult to gain traction in the market. However, with the right marketing strategies and execution, startups can attract investors, partners, and customers, leading to growth and increased revenues.

This is why I always push for proper growth marketing strategies. Effective marketing in Africa requires a deep understanding of the local market, culture, and customer needs. Startups must tailor their marketing messages to resonate with the local audience while utilizing the right channels to reach them effectively. Digital marketing, social media, and mobile platforms have become increasingly important in Africa, providing startups with cost-effective ways to reach a broad audience.

Looking ahead, what are your plans for continued growth and success in your current role, and what advice do you have for other emerging leaders in the industry?

I have intentions of building a unicorn. So, keep following up on the startup I will be driving to unicorn status. To emerging leaders, my advice will be to always document your hypothesis. In this space, we do lots of testing to find what works for an organization and document our successes and failures to help us with making better decisions in the future.

Can you share any insights or lessons learned from your experience working in the tech industry in Africa?

While Africa presents a large market with untapped potential, the challenges of operating in the continent cannot be ignored. Africa is home to over 1.2 billion people, with a fast-growing middle class. This presents a huge opportunity for startups to tap into a large and growing consumer base. However, startups must be aware of the unique challenges of operating in the region, such as poor infrastructure, bureaucratic hurdles, and varying regulations across different countries. Also, Africa is a diverse continent with different cultures and languages. It is important for startups to understand the local context and tailor their marketing efforts accordingly. This requires a deep understanding of local customs, values, and languages. Startups that can effectively localize their products and marketing efforts are more likely to succeed in the region.
Lastly, partnering with local businesses and organizations can help startups navigate the complex regulatory environment in Africa. Collaborating with established businesses can also help startups gain credibility and access to local networks.

Finally, how do you balance the need for rapid growth with the need to maintain a high level of product quality and customer satisfaction? What strategies have you found to be effective in achieving this balance?

Set clear customer satisfaction goals: Before kicking off any growth plan, ensure your customer is the key focus. You should ensure upon interacting with your product, customers should be satisfied as you are the platform that is solving their need. With a well-structured goal in mind, you will know if your marketing messages, placement and others are exactly what the customer needs to see and lastly pay attention to feedback. As they always say, the customer is key.