Why building products for Nigerians requires different approach — Olaoluwa Simeon

By Chioma Obinna

Nigerian product leader Olaoluwa Simeon has identified trust, reliability, and a deep understanding of local consumer behaviour as the defining factors for building successful products in Nigeria, describing the country as “its own operating system” that demands solutions designed specifically for its unique realities.

Drawing from over a decade of experience building products across fintech, payments, enterprise software, and commercial banking, Simeon believes many promising products fail because they are designed and positioned around international best practices rather than how Nigerians actually think, transact, and make decisions.

“Nigeria is not simply another emerging market. It has its own behavioural patterns, cultural influences and economic realities. Products succeed when they are designed around those realities instead of imported assumptions.”

According to Olaoluwa, one of the biggest misconceptions among founders is believing their primary competition is another technology company.

“In many cases, your biggest competitor is not another startup. It’s existing behaviour.

“For products like insurance, financial planning or wealth protection, many Nigerians naturally rely on faith and optimism before considering preventive solutions. If your product is framed around fear, customers may reject it before they even understand its value,” he explained.

He said businesses should instead position products around hope, growth and protecting people’s aspirations rather than preparing them for misfortune.

“If you build from how Nigerians actually behave, and not how a model says they should, the market rewards you again and again,” he said.

He noted that trust remains the most valuable currency in Nigeria’s digital economy, where customers have experienced failed transactions, unreliable platforms, and inconsistent service delivery.

“The first question customers ask is not whether a product is innovative, but whether it will work when they need it. You earn that confidence one successful transaction at a time.”

Olaoluwa explained that product reliability has become a minimum expectation rather than a competitive advantage, particularly within Nigeria’s payments ecosystem, where downtime and failed transactions can have immediate financial consequences for individuals and businesses.

He also challenged the notion that Nigerians are solely price-driven consumers, arguing that customers are willing to pay for products that consistently deliver value, speed, and convenience, while rejecting unnecessary friction and hidden charges.

Nigerian consumers, he observed, generally prefer maintaining control over their spending, making rigid subscription models less attractive than flexible, usage-based alternatives.

“Nigerians are comfortable paying for value. What they don’t like is feeling locked into payments they cannot control. That’s why pay-as-you-go models continue to resonate across multiple industries.”

He added that this preference extends beyond affordability, reflecting the need for financial flexibility in an economy where income can be unpredictable.

Olaoluwa also challenged the assumption that products targeting lower-income consumers should be designed with minimal experiences or stripped-down branding.

“Nigerians are incredibly aspirational,” he said. “People want products that make them feel respected, capable, and upwardly mobile. Good design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about preserving people’s dignity.”

That aspiration, he argued, is reinforced by a generational shift. Nigeria, like much of the world, has entered what he describes as a second digital wave.

“The first generation had to be convinced to adopt digital services. Today’s younger consumers grew up with smartphones, mobile banking and digital payments; they are digital natives. They no longer need convincing. They expect seamless digital experiences by default.”

He said this shift presents significant opportunities for founders building products for the next generation of Nigerian consumers.

Speaking on product adoption, Olaoluwa stressed that effective distribution remains just as important as innovation itself, noting that even the most sophisticated products struggle to succeed if they are not easily accessible through the channels customers already use.

He further highlighted the importance of designing products around Nigeria’s informal economy, where traders, merchants, and small business owners continue to account for a significant share of economic activity.
“When a product genuinely removes friction, people adopt it. The best businesses don’t just create new technology; they replace pain points with something significantly better.”

Fintechs, he said, have demonstrated that sustainable growth comes from consistently solving everyday problems rather than relying solely on aggressive marketing campaigns. “When customers trust your product, they become your sales team.”

Turning to enterprise buyers, Olaoluwa highlighted a changing mindset among Nigerian businesses, noting that organisations increasingly expect technology investments to deliver measurable business outcomes rather than simply digitising existing processes.

“For enterprise customers, software must clearly reduce costs, improve productivity or increase revenue. Features alone rarely justify adoption. Decision-makers want measurable return on investment.”

He emphasised that products capable of creating economic opportunities for multiple participants often scale faster within Nigeria’s entrepreneurial economy.

“When customers, agents, merchants and partners all benefit financially from using a platform, growth becomes much easier to sustain. Shared prosperity has powered many of Nigeria’s biggest technology success stories.”

On marketing, Olaoluwa cautioned founders against prioritising publicity over operational excellence.
“Hype can attract attention, but trust is what keeps customers. In Nigeria, users are remarkably forgiving of ambitious companies, but they are far less forgiving of repeated failures, hidden charges or unreliable service.”

He added that companies should invest in resilient infrastructure before investing heavily in advertising, arguing that reputation compounds over time while poor customer experiences spread quickly through word-of-mouth.

He also urged founders and product teams to treat regulatory compliance as a core component of product design rather than an afterthought, given the pace at which policy changes can reshape financial products and digital services.

He concluded that while Nigeria remains one of the world’s most complex markets, it is also one of the most rewarding for founders willing to embrace its unique characteristics.

“Building for Nigeria isn’t harder than building anywhere else. It simply demands a deeper understanding of people. Once you get that right, the market rewards you in ways very few others can.”

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