Zainab Azeez: A Rising Force in Product Leadership and Award-Winning Innovation in Africa’s Tech Ecosystem
In a technology landscape driven by innovation, agility, and user-centred thinking, Zainab Azeez has emerged as one of the most promising product leaders shaping the future of digital solutions across Africa and beyond. With a career rooted in FinTech, product management, and digital platforms, Zainab’s work reflects a rare blend of strategic thinking, execution excellence, and people-focused leadership.
Her impact was recently recognised on a national stage when she received the Most Promising Tech Product Development Manager of the Year award at the Nigeria Technology Awards (NiTA), 2025—a testament to her growing influence, consistent results, and leadership in product development.
Currently based in the United Kingdom and working across global and African markets, Zainab continues to design, scale, and optimise products that serve over 150,000 users, while mentoring teams and contributing thought leadership to the tech community.
Zainab Azeez is a highly driven Product Manager with over four years of experience delivering impactful digital products across FinTech, sustainability, and community safety platforms. Certified in PRINCE2® Practitioner and Scrum Master, she excels at turning complex business needs into scalable, user-focused digital solutions.
Her strengths include:
- End-to-end product lifecycle management
- Agile delivery and roadmap execution
- Customer journey mapping and user research
- Data-driven decision-making and analytics
- Stakeholder and regulatory engagement
- Building inclusive, high-performing product teams
Beyond her core role, Zainab is also a tech writer and thought leader, regularly sharing insights on Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, building tech startups and product innovation through Medium and Substack.
AWARD & INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
- Most Promising Tech Product Development Manager of the Year
Nigeria Technology Awards (NiTA), 2025
This prestigious recognition celebrates Zainab’s exceptional contribution to product development, her leadership in building scalable digital platforms, and her growing impact within Africa’s technology ecosystem.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
| Organization | Role / Position | Duration | Key Responsibilities & Achievements |
| PennyTree | Senior Product Manager | Jul 2024 – Present | Leads product strategy across savings, payments, and investment solutions serving 150,000+ active users. Spearheaded a digital wallet infrastructure overhaul that reduced transaction failures by 41% and customer support tickets by 17%. Drives growth initiatives with executive leadership and represents the company at fintech industry forums. |
| PennyTree | Product Manager | Sep 2023 – Jul 2024 | Introduced agile practices that reduced feature release cycles by 36%. Acted as liaison between engineering, business, and regulatory teams. Redesigned onboarding journeys, reducing user drop-off by 31% and improving first-time deposit conversion. |
| Atunlo SusTech | Product Manager | Apr 2022 – Aug 2023 | Led the full lifecycle of a data visualisation and analytics dashboard. Expanded client portfolio by 68% YoY and improved Net Promoter Score from 72% to 91% through structured feedback programs. Managed distributed teams across three continents. |
| TradeTreegar | Product Manager | Jan 2021 – Dec 2021 | Defined and executed product vision and go-to-market strategy. Led the design and launch of web and mobile platforms within nine months, achieving 10,000+ downloads in the first quarter post-launch. |
| Winter HQ | Head of Operations | Nov 2019 – Jan 2020 | Coordinated finance, customer service, and product teams to support operational readiness and new product rollouts. Reduced procurement and logistics costs by 18% through process optimisation. |
| Will & Action Consulting Services | Junior Business Analyst | Mar 2019 – Nov 2019 | Supported process optimisation projects, developed business documentation, and contributed to executive dashboards that improved decision-making and reduced onboarding time by 20%. |
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
| Institution | Qualification | Field of Study | Duration |
| University of Lincoln | Master’s Degree | Project Management | Sep 2022 – Aug 2023 |
| Obafemi Awolowo University | Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) | Education & English Language | 2014 – 2018 |
CERTIFICATIONS
- Scrum Master Certified (SMC)
- PRINCE2® Practitioner Certification
- Agile Product Management Training
CORE SKILLS & TOOLS
- Product Strategy & Roadmapping
- Data Research & Analysis
- Customer Journey Mapping
- Stakeholder & Vendor Management
- Risk Analysis & Process Optimisation
- Go-to-Market Strategy
- Tools: Jira, Trello, Mixpanel, MySQL, Figma, Adobe XD, Miro
Zainab believes that great products live at the intersection of user needs, business goals, and technical possibility. Her approach to product management is grounded in clarity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
She is particularly passionate about mentoring emerging talent, building inclusive teams, and creating products that deliver measurable value while remaining simple, intuitive, and scalable.
Zainab Azeez represents a new generation of African product leaders—strategic, data-driven, and globally relevant. Her recognition at the Nigeria Technology Awards (NiTA), 2025 is not only a celebration of her achievements to date, but a signal of even greater impact ahead.
As she continues to scale products, mentor teams, and shape conversations around product innovation, Zainab remains a name to watch in the global tech ecosystem.
Connect with Zainab Azeez:
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/zainabazeez-
Medium: https://medium.com/@zainab.azeez1
