031 Adekunle Adeyemi
Head of Marketing Communications, OPay
Adekunle Adeyemi was most recently Head of Marketing Communications at OPay, Nigeria’s largest fintech platform with 50 million registered users. Before that he had various marketing and strategy roles at Sterling Bank in a five-year stint.
“Offline referral marketing in rural and semi-urban areas - especially for commercial banks in Nigeria.”
The interview
What’s your coffee ritual?
I start the day with an Americano - it keeps me mentally alert and focused.
What was your first marketing job?
I handled sponsorships within the marketing team of a commercial bank. It was fun but stressful balancing company objectives with multiple initiatives proposed by different departments.
What finance apps do you have on your home screen?
OPay for daily transactions, Guaranty Trust and Access Bank Plc for traditional banking, and Asset & Resource Management Holding Company (ARM HoldCo). - my preferred investment app.
Which newsletter, podcast, or book do you recommend most?
Anything from marketing thought leaders like Rory Sutherland or leadership gurus like Jim Rohn.
What’s an underrated growth channel in fintech?
Offline referral marketing in rural and semi-urban areas - especially for commercial banks in Nigeria. The focus is often towards digital channels in major urban centres, leaving out huge untapped markets driven by trust and word-of-mouth from the immediate friends and families within their spheres of influence.
What keeps you up at night?
The unpredictability of marketing campaign outcomes - especially when trying to measure the true and quantitative impact of awareness-led channels like OOH or forecasting the effectiveness of influencer campaigns. How many people actually saw the work and how many made the buying decision because of the ad on this channel?
What are the most useful measurement tools you use in your work?
Google Analytics.
What’s one fintech brand (other than your own) that’s getting marketing right?
Moniepoint Group - especially how they’ve built trust, visibility, and their heavy penetration within the merchant / business segment.
Why is marketing so hard?
Marketing is hard because:
1. What worked before might no longer be effective
2. Consumer behaviour constantly shifts
3. There’s a saturation of marketing channels
4. There’s often pressure to deliver immediate ROI, even in channels that require long-term investment to produce meaningful results