Expert Advocate Data Driven Marketing for Business Growth in Africa

By Tosin Clegg

Oluwaseun Badmus, a leading marketing expert, has advocated for data-driven strategies that enable African businesses to harness consumer insights for sustainable growth.

She disclosed this in a media statement recently, highlighting the importance of predictive analytics in understanding local consumer behavior and driving successful product adoption.

“Businesses in Africa cannot rely on intuition alone if they want to thrive,” Badmus said. “We have the data already; what we need is to interpret it correctly to understand what consumers truly want and need. Evidence-based decision-making is key to achieving meaningful growth.”

According to Badmus in her statement, organizations that integrate data into marketing and product strategies can identify trends, anticipate customer needs, and tailor solutions that resonate with local markets.

Predictive insights allow businesses to minimize costly errors during product launches and create offerings that are more likely to succeed. “The next African tech success story won’t be built by guesswork it will come from businesses that respect the signals in their data,” she noted.

She emphasized that adopting data-driven marketing is not just about technology, but about understanding consumers and market realities.

Companies that leverage local insights can design campaigns and products that genuinely address consumer needs, increase adoption, and strengthen brand loyalty.

While underscoring these industry trends, Badmus shared how her own work bridges global standards with local market realities.

“While many people think of marketing as just advertising, my work is much more technical. I built the data infrastructure that allows global technology companies to understand and capture emerging markets, translating insights into product features that drive adoption,” she said in her statement.

Over 11 years, Badmus has refined her methodologies at major multinationals such as Transsion Holdings.

Her most significant contribution is the development of the Cultural Intelligence Framework for Market Penetration, which helps global brands translate technology into culturally relevant narratives for African consumers.

“Instead of just selling camera specs, we positioned devices as tools for indigenous storytelling, partnering with local creators to demonstrate value in ways that felt native. This drove adoption rates far beyond expectations and delivered double-digit market share growth,” she explained.