Elizabeth Ogunseye is a product marketing manager using her love for promoting innovative products with real life solutions to transform the lives of consumers of Fintech products across Africa. In this article, she talks about her passion for crafting winning marketing strategies of products that simplify daily financial needs through technology.
Tell us about yourself
Thank you very much for this opportunity to share my journey.
My name is Elizabeth Ogunseye. I’m passionate about product marketing with a proven track record in the Fintech industry. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with innovative teams and organizations where I bridged the gap between cutting-edge financial technologies and the needs of my customers.
My focus pretty much has been on creating and executing campaign marketing strategies that drive product adoption, increase user engagement, and ultimately contribute to financial inclusion, particularly in undeserved markets. And through my experiences, I’ve not only gained expertise in data-driven marketing and consumer engagement, but also developed a strong understanding for how Fintech solutions can transform lives.
Wow, that’s wonderful!
Have you always been in the Fintech industry?
Not reallly, I have not always been in the Fintech industry. I just transitioned two to three years ago. I’ve always been in entertainment, then I moved into the health industry and back to entertainment. Then I found myself in the Fintech industry. So I joined two or three years ago.
Can you lay more emphasis on that? What was your first experience like working in Fintech?
So, I would say that my journey in Fintech has been a bit of both challenging and rewarding. Like I said, I took on a challenge, starting as a product marketing officer, professionally, to manage a crypto and gift card product. With a passion for understanding how technology can transform financial systems, I’ve been privileged to work with innovative organizations over the years, starting from Zabira Technologies, that prioritize customer-centric solutions in the Fintech space.
So, I led the marketing campaigns that introduced the crypto currency and gift card to previously undeserved demographic, emphasizing accessibility and ease of use. Later at Zabira, I played a critical role in driving adoption for gift card products, ensuring that users saw the value of those gift cards, the crypto, their digital wallets, over doing peer-to-peer. because in that space peer-to-peer known as P2P is the known way of trading to people.
Joining the team, I was able to position the crypto space and digital app for people to know that, it’s safer to trade on an app like this, that is secured, than to trade peer-to-peer. Because, you can get scammed, you can get stolen from and all of that. So, this experience has really taught me the importance of balancing innovation with simplicity, ensuring that, you know, all these Fintech products solve real-world problems, while being intuitive to our end users.
That’s very interesting. I already have a lot of questions from that but let’s start with this: Compared to the other industries you’ve worked with as a product marketer, how has Fintech shaped your career?
The truth is the Fintech space has honestly shaped my career by pushing me to think beyond the traditional product marketing strategies and adopt a more innovative customer-centric approach unlike the industry where I started in where we focus solely on brand awareness and sales.
The Fintech industry requires a deep understanding of your customer behavior, trust building because the truth is if they are not satisfied with the product you’re dishing out to them, they’ll probably just move to the next place. So, it requires the ability to simplify complex financial solutions for a diverse audience.
In Fintech, I’ve also learnt to balance innovation with stability. For example, making a payment app for a digital saving product means addressing real customer pain points such as financial literacy, skepticism about digital tools and so much more. So this has sharpened my ability to communicate value In a way that resonates with both tech savvy users and new digital banking users.
We’ve talked about your past experiences, let’s get to your current role. Take us on what it’s like being a product marketer in your current company?
Being a product marketing manager in my current company is an exciting and dynamic experience to be very honest. I work at Sterling Bank and my role sits in the intersection of both the product innovation, the customer engagement and business growth, which means that I don’t have the same day, every day of the week.
My typical day is mostly around working closely with the product team, customer experience team, marketing team, content, design, to ensure that the comms that goes out resonates with the users, the features we launch resonates with our customers and their needs. I also spend a significant amount of time analyzing customer data, the feedback to refine our marketing strategies and ensuring we are improving the way we communicate value to our users.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your role?
And I think one of the most rewarding aspects of my role is crafting the strategies for our new features. When these new features come, I’m able to sit down and analyze it, use it, see what works, and I’m able to know the problem it is solving for my users. I just enjoy developing the campaigns, not just only driving the adoption, but also to educate my consumers on how these products can solve problems in their financial lives.
For example, recently, we released a feature called Transaction Tracker. I worked on the execution strategy document to increase the adoption of this announcing it and all of that. I also leveraged targeting marketers and working with influencers. And I saw significant customer engagements during this week, a lot of people asking questions in the DMs on how they can use it and a lot of people being really happy that such a thing has happened.
So my role is about storytelling; I’m still getting better at it, I’m not yet there, but taking complex financial solutions and turning them into relatable, easy-to-understand narratives that resonate with my users can be both challenging and fulfilling, especially knowing that the effort I put into this contributes to financial empowerment and inclusion.
I also love the pace of the Fintech industry because it keeps me constantly learning and innovative. Everyday I’m somewhere reading or watching something, trying to be better, thinking ahead and checking my competitors to see how I can meet my customer expectation in this evolving market.
Wow you talk so enthusiastically about your job and I love that. Can you talk about one of the company’s products. How does it make the life of consumers easier?
Thank you. I think in particular, one of the products I’m proud of talking about is OneBank by Sterling, a fully digital banking product that is revolutionizing how customers interact with their finances. OneBank by Sterling is designed to simplify everyday banking, making financial transactions seamless, you’re able to book your card and request your card on your app. You don’t need to go anywhere to start, maybe you did a wrong transaction, you can do everything on your app without leaving your house.
And I think what makes OneBank truly impactful is its focus on convenience and customer empowerment, the innovation that comes with it. OneBank is not about your transactions at all, for instance, your financial management tools – it also helps you make smarter financial decisions, offering features like the budgeting app, the scheduling tool and the transaction tracker.
We also leverage data-driven insights to offer personalized products, recommendation, helping our customers access financial tools that are most relevant to their needs. One example I often share is how OneBank has enabled small business owners to manage their finances more effectively. Yeah, so as it is, OneBank is not just a banking app, it’s a financial companion, and that’s transforming how customers interact with their money, empowering them with tools and convenience that truly, improve their day-to-day life.
That’s a really great product. What’s one of the most challenging parts of working in Fintech?
One of the most challenging parts is meeting your customer needs, especially in this industry, because sometimes the data you need to make informed decisions are not available.
What’s one project you’ve been very excited to work on?
I think almost all of the products I currently work on at Sterling Bank – OneBank by Sterling, Switch by Sterling, USSD. Switch is a remittance payment created for Nigerians abroad to be able to connect with their people in Nigeria. It’s a very interesting product that I love so much.
What changes are you looking forward to see in the Fintech industry especially in Africa?
The Fintech industry in Africa has come a long way. I’m excited about the changes. Some of the things I’m looking forward to would be deeper financial inclusion, seamless cross border payments, increased collaboration between Fintech and traditional banks. Trust me, the future of Fintech is not about competition, it’s more about collaboration.
Is there anything else you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?
I believe that we’ll see the partnership between banks and Fintech to co-create hybrid solutions that can combine stability and trust of traditional banking with the agility and innovation of Fintechs. I really look forward to that happening and I don’t know who’s going to start it. Lastly, for Fintechs to thrive, regulators must evolve alongside the industry, they know who they are, so I’m not going to call names. So I’m really optimistic about seeing more regulatory framework.
I think I covered many things, but I’d like to say that, to be very honest, I enjoy the Fintech Space. I really appreciate the opportunity to share my journey. I’d also like to finish with a closing note that in every role that I’ve taken in the Fintech space, my focus has been on driving impact whether through innovative marketing strategies or customer centric product designs.
I believe that the Fintech industry in Africa is placed on immense potential and I’m thrilled to be part of the movement that is shaping the future of financial services for millions of Nigerians and I believe that it’s going to be a good 2025. Thank you!
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