MarTech Unravelled

The Imagination Dividend: Decoding Africa's Next Billion Voices

Africa's Gen Z and Gen Alpha are often described as "the future." But that framing misses what is already happening. Across the continent, the youth are actively reshaping how markets function, how culture evolves, and how institutions are held accountable. Their influence is not emerging — it is already embedded in how Africa operates today. Representing over 75% of the population, this generation is often misunderstood. Their boldness can feel disruptive, even uncomfortable. But what we are witnessing is not audacity for its own sake — it is a renegotiation of power: who gets to create, who gets to participate, and who gets to decide. For brands, development partners, and policymakers, the opportunity is not simply to understand this generation — it is to co-create with them.In a recent episode of MarTech Unravelled, I hosted the team from Reel Analytics to unpack their foresight study, The Next Billion Voices. I was joined by Christopher Anuro, Research Manager, and Jasmine Otieno, Research Assistant, who walked through a research approach grounded in ethnography, digital diaries, and foresight labs — designed to capture lived realities, not polished narratives.What emerged from the study is not a set of trends, but a series of market signals — early indicators of deeper structural shifts shaping Africa's consumer and civic future.

AdTech and Talent in Emerging Markets

Today's episode of MarTech Unravelled podcast looks at the world of AdTech - what it is vis a vis MarTech, challenges in driving ROI in emerging markets and the talent requirements to serve an ever changing consumer landscape.  Our guest for this episode is a seasoned advertising executive with over 20 years experience working at the intersection of marketing, technology and business. Stanislas Martins is the Managing Director for West Africa at Aleph, a global digital media sales powerhouse. In this role, he oversees the company's operations and growth across platforms such as X, Spotify, Snapchat, Pinterest, Taboola, and Audiomack across West Africa.  His career includes leadership roles at Meta SSA, Jumia, and Insight Publicis. Stanislas is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) UK and the President of the Association of Digital Marketing Professionals of Nigeria (ADMARP).

Winning Customers in Long Cycle Industries

On the third episode of Season 2, Namrata Sinha VP of Digital Business and D2C at BSH Appliances, a subsidiary of Robert Bosch Group based in Germany, graced the podcast to talk about "Winning Customers in Long Cycle Industries". She is a passionate Consumer Marketing & Digital Transformation leader with over 15+ years of experience driving digital-first engagement strategy and optimizing consumer lifecycle experiences. Namrata has worked in Consumer Goods, Technology, Banking, and Automotive sectors leading Consumer Experience Journeys, Direct to Consumer eCommerce, Go-to-Market strategies, Performance Marketing, and Digital Innovations. She champions Data–driven Marketing and Consumer Experiences.

The evolution of the CMO Role

Is the role of the CMO changing or have some CMOs lost sight of the basics? We tackled this topic with Dr Mzamo Masito, a seasoned brand and business executive, currently the Africa Regional Lead for Canva and the immediate former CMO for Google Africa. Dr Masito has over 27 years of experience in technology, telecommunications, sport and consumer goods. His illustrious global career has seen him hold various positions including VP Brand Building at Unilever, Chief Brand Officer at Nike Africa where he successfully led the brand positioning for the 2010 World Cup, Marketing Executive at Vodacom Africa and Global Head of Brand Engagement at Vodafone. His ultimate mission is to "Democratize Opportunity and increase Transcendence for Every African" In recent months, a discussion on how CMO roles are evolving given the rise of data, tech and AI has been trending. In addition, the notion that some CMOs have lost their essence/effectiveness as storytellers and brand custodians let alone lost credibility in the C-suite.

Product Management: The Glue of Great Digital Products

Opening the second season of MarTech Unravelled is Jason Masai Head of Product - Digital at M-Pesa Africa. We open this season talking about Product Management: The Glue of Great Digital Products. This discussion is timely in an emerging market like Kenya and Africa as a whole where digital transformation is accelerating across all sectors. Jason Masai is a digital transformation leader working at the intersection of Technology, Customer, Business, and Design. His career spans over 17+ years in Banking,Telco and Fintech with experience in leveraging technology to drive a competitive advantage for organizations through innovation while delivering customer value. At M-Pesa Africa he is leading the digital transformation of M-Pesa across the continent, by offering innovative solutions on the M-Pesa super app across 6 markets.