The Kraft

On smart engineering trade-offs, Mono’s bet on junior talent, and building resilient systems | Ahmad Alfawwaz Timehin (Software Engineering Manager, Mono)

Ahmad Alfawwaz Timehin has spent the last few years building—and rebuilding—the financial systems that power Mono’s infrastructure across Africa. In this conversation, he opens up about the hard trade-offs of engineering at a fast-paced startup, why Mono continues to bet on junior talent, and the qualities he looks for when hiring. We also get into the philosophy behind building resilient systems, how to cultivate taste as an engineer, the real value of mentorship, and the mindset shifts that accelerated his path from reverse engineer to engineering manager.

Product at Chowdeck: One of Nigeria’s fastest-growing delivery startups; local nuance, design leadership & the PM essentials | Precious Lamina (Head of Product, Chowdeck)

Precious Lamina is Head of Product at Chowdeck, where she’s obsessed with protecting one simple promise: open the app, order your food, and get out of the way. In this episode, we get into how her team runs a three-sided marketplace on hour-by-hour data, filters customer requests to solve root problems instead of quick fixes, and knows when to kill a shiny new feature that isn’t working. Precious also shares the design culture behind Chowdeck’s brand, what they’ve learned launching in Ghana, her path from agency designer to product leader, and why early-career builders should stop chasing visibility and focus on actually learning the work.

Marketing that shifts behavior and the “secret sauce” myth; on experimentation at speed, idea triage, and career proofing | Ugo Iwuchukwu (Head of Marketing, Bamboo)

Ugo Iwuchukwu has spent over a decade shaping the growth stories of brands like Helium Health and Bamboo, helping startups evolve into trusted names through sharp strategy, relentless experimentation, and storytelling that converts. In this conversation, he opens up about building Bamboo’s marketing engine from scratch, why good ideas have short shelf lives, and how to decide when to persist or pivot. We also dive into what makes influencer marketing in Nigeria “a hot mess,” why the best marketers obsess over execution, and how to build the courage — and preparation — to challenge ideas in a culture that often discourages it.

Design with regard for users, standards that hold you accountable; on product sense, filtering noise, and finding your signature style | Oyeleye Ogunsanya (Design Lead, Risevest; Mentor, ADPList)

Oyeleye Ogunsanya (widely known as Leye Connect) is a multidisciplinary designer and Head of Design at Risevest, where he shapes how thousands experience one of Africa’s most trusted wealth-building platforms. In this conversation, he shares why the best designs are “love letters” to users, how honesty accelerates growth, and why detaching ego from your work is essential. We dive into the phases of growth for designers: tracing and muscle memory, developing a distinct design style, how to filter signal from noise in feedback, and why long-term progress requires patience, curiosity, and intellectual honesty.

On strategy, ownership, playing the long game, and thinking beyond the code | Kolapo Kolawole (Senior Payment Operations Specialist, Rafiki; ex-Staff Engineer, Flutterwave)

Kolapo’s career has been anything but linear, starting in customer success at Flutterwave, moving through product and engineering, and now leading operations and strategy at NALA. In this conversation, he shares why he once took a pay cut to follow his passion, how cross-functional exposure prepared him to operate like a CEO, and the underrated skills—ownership, communication, and empathy—that set apart great operators and engineers. We also dive into what strategy actually means in a startup context, why curiosity beats clout, and how to invest in yourself to stay relevant in the age of AI.