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Technology leaders, investors and entrepreneurs have urged African innovators to stop building products based on assumptions and instead develop technology solutions rooted in customer feedback and local realities, arguing that this approach will unlock the continent’s next wave of digital growth.
The call was made at the latest edition of the UBA Business Series, themed “Building for African Realities: Turning Consumer Feedback into Technology-Driven Solutions,” held Thursday in Lagos, where experts explored how data, artificial intelligence (AI) and customer insights are reshaping innovation across Africa.
The event featured Ashim Egunjobi, Managing Partner at Octerra Capital; Femi Aluko, Co-founder and CEO of Chowdeck; and creative entrepreneur, investor and technology advocate M.I. Abaga, with technology leader and innovation strategist Adaora Mbelu serving as moderator.
Earlier in her welcome address, Mrs. Uzomaka Onyeka, UBA Group Head, said the Business Series was created to foster meaningful conversations that inspire innovation built around Africa’s unique realities.
She said UBA believes the most impactful solutions begin with a deep understanding of people’s needs, stressing that businesses must move beyond assumptions and actively listen to customers before developing products and services.
According to her, customer feedback lies at the heart of UBA’s Customer First philosophy and serves as the foundation for innovation, enabling organisations to build solutions that are relevant, inclusive, scalable and transformative.
“The most effective solutions are built not on assumptions but on listening to our customers and responding to their needs,” Onyeka said.
She added that Africa’s greatest opportunities for innovation lie in addressing the everyday realities of its people and urged participants to contribute actively to the discussions and generate ideas that would inspire better solutions across industries.
Speaking during the session, Egunjobi said many startups fail because founders become emotionally attached to their products instead of remaining focused on solving customers’ problems.
According to her, investors are less interested in attractive pitch decks than in founders who demonstrate resilience, adaptability and a clear understanding of market realities.
“Unless customers are willing to pay for what you’ve built, you don’t really have a business,” she said, adding that successful entrepreneurs continually adapt their products as customer needs evolve.
She also warned against viewing Africa as a single market, noting that consumer behaviour differs significantly across countries and even within regions, making local market knowledge critical for business success.
Sharing Chowdeck’s growth story, Aluko said the company’s expansion has been guided almost entirely by customer data rather than assumptions.
He explained that analysis of customer purchasing behaviour revealed significant changes in spending patterns throughout the month, prompting the company to expand beyond restaurant delivery into grocery and local market deliveries.
According to him, introducing grocery deliveries and strategically located dark stores enabled Chowdeck to meet changing customer needs while significantly reducing delivery times.
“We don’t build products simply because they’re popular elsewhere. We build them because the data tells us customers need them,” he said.
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Aluko stressed that businesses should rely more on customer behaviour than verbal feedback when making strategic decisions.
“If you’re not using your data deeply enough, you’ll build shallow products,” he added.
On artificial intelligence, M.I. Abaga described AI as one of the biggest technological shifts facing the creative industry, saying it should be embraced as a tool that enhances rather than replaces human creativity.
He noted that AI is already transforming music production, filmmaking, content creation and business operations by reducing production costs and automating repetitive administrative tasks.
“The creators who are truly exceptional today can become even more exceptional with AI,” he said.
Abaga also challenged African creatives to seize emerging opportunities in the global digital economy by using AI to deliver services such as video editing, sound design, animation, script editing and post-production to international markets.
He argued that digital platforms have fundamentally changed the media landscape by allowing creators to build direct relationships with audiences, giving businesses more precise ways to reach consumers.
Speaking on access to finance, Egunjobi acknowledged that Nigeria’s high interest rate environment remains difficult for startups but advised entrepreneurs to use expensive capital strategically to establish proof of concept before seeking lower-cost financing from development finance institutions and commercial lenders.
She urged founders to understand their business models, margins and capital structures before taking on debt.
Earlier, UBA executives said customer feedback has become central to innovation, stressing that businesses must move beyond assumptions to develop products that are relevant, inclusive and scalable.
They maintained that technology should solve everyday challenges faced by Africans rather than merely replicate solutions developed for other markets.
Closing the event, UBA’s Head of Digital Banking, Olukayode Olubiyi, identified innovation, creativity and data as the three major themes that emerged from the discussions.
He said businesses that successfully combine customer insights with technology will be better positioned to compete in Africa’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
Olubiyi also noted that while artificial intelligence is transforming industries, its effectiveness ultimately depends on the quality of human thinking, problem-solving and decision-making behind its use.
Participants agreed that Africa’s next generation of technology companies will be those that leverage customer data, local market insights and emerging technologies to build practical solutions capable of scaling across the continent.
