Chimdinma

Adriel

Adimekwe

ABOUT ME

I am an astute and accomplished product and project manager with a legal background and expertise in taking real customer requirements and developing products that are valuable, innovative, and successful.

I graduated from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 2016 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2018. Since 2016, I have worked in Ernst&Young Nigeria (Consulting), Bambooks (EdTech), Voriancorelli (AgricTech) and Capsa Technology (FinTech).

When not working as a Product Manager, I can be found reading, reviewing books and talking about African Literature. I also enjoy volunteering with NGOs that promote and advocate for literacy amongst young people from low-income communities. I also mentor new and aspiring Product Managers through my community for Product and Project Managers - The PMist.

You can find me at the intersection of Tech, Law and Literacy

TECHNOLOGY

LITERACY

MY WORK

I’m a Product Manager with Capsa Technology - Sub-Sahara Africa's first Invoice Factoring Platform and a Tech Stars backed Company. We help SMEs exchange their unpaid invoices for cash within 48 hours while creating new asset classes for our financiers.

I drive overall project management initiatives for the Company's factoring platform (GetCapsa) through planning, prioritizing, documenting and leading development of customer experience elements across product, operations & support disciplines; while managing a portfolio of vendors, financiers, anchors and large product initiatives united under a clear product strategy that generates over $10M in annual revenue.

Prior to Capsa, I was a Product and Content Acquisition Executive at Bambooks - Africa’s first digital and subscription library that offers users access to thousands of books, magazines and comics from any internet connected device - where I grew Bambooks’ book bank by 50% through a strategic product partnership with Wiley Publishers (200 years old American Multinational Publishing Companies – One of the biggest in the world).

My work at

Capsa Technology

Introduction

Capsa Technology is Nigeria's first Invoice Factoring digital platform. Capsa is addressing this age-long challenge via an exciting digital invoice financing marketplace that de-risk lending to SMEs by leveraging the credit profile of the large corporates these small businesses provide goods/services to.

This approach eliminates all the bottlenecks associated with the traditional invoice financing solutions currently available.

Capsa Technology has built a digital invoice financing solution that allows a smarter path to cash for businesses – especially SMEs – to meet their growth and working capital needs.

The Problem

Businesses in Nigeria and Africa have traditionally been constrained by limited access to growth and working capital, and in other instances, exploitative rates from lenders due to their perceived high risk.

Studies have revealed that SMEs also face problems of cash flow for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), that struggle to get paid on time by their customers.

It became necessary to build a platform that will support SMEs through their working capital needs and empower them to grow their businesses without the bottlenecks that come with accessing funds.

My role

Leading a team of Engineers and Designers, I am involved in:

• Defining and implementing product management best practice and processes.
  
• Supporting & managing the product lifecycle including the creation and execution of end or life plan.
  
• Managing a cross-functional team across three continents and stakeholder communication (users, engineering, marketing, communications and C-level suite executives) while overseeing product development from inception to implementation.
• Driving overall project management initiatives for the Company through planning, prioritizing, documenting and leading development of customer experience elements across product, operations & support disciplines.
• Creating & driving ideas on strategy, planning and execution of the next generation of products, bringing people on the journey & delivering outcomes.
  
• Managing product financials including forecasting, tracking, analysis and reporting of products within a product suite, family, programme or product community ensuring that it meets business needs in terms of profit contribution.
  

The Solution

Design and develop a digital (mobile) product for a factoring platform that makes it easy for vendors to exchange their invoices for cash within 48 hours while also creating a new asset class for financers.

Deliverables included:

User research & Customer development

System design & feature list

Android app

iOS app

User Research and Product Reviews were also critical as they enabled us get better understanding of the competition and major pain points of customers.

After speaking with some prospective users and gathering feedback on similar products, the following were identified as popular issues that potential users experienced:

Vendors:

Long wait times for invoice payment

Difficulty in predicting cash flow

Difficulty in managing and forecasting expenses

Difficulty in obtaining traditional financing

Financiers:

Difficulty in finding high-return investment opportunities

Difficulty in finding a solid and reliable invoice factoring platform

Difficulty in understanding the invoice factoring process and how it works

Difficulty in finding a platform that offers transparent and competitive fees

Buyers:

Difficulty in predicting cash flow

Difficulty in managing and forecasting expenses

Difficulty in obtaining traditional financing

Difficulty in maintaining good relationships with vendors due to delayed payments

Result

Based on the work done so far, Capsa Technology has hit the following milestones:

• Empowered business on the GetCapsa platform with over N6bn ($13M) in working capital support.
  
• Onboarded over 200 active vendors in its first full year of operation.
  
• Capsa Technology was the only startup from Africa, selected as one of the 12 Techstars Detroit 2022 Companies.
  

GetCapsa on Google Playstore

GetCapsa on iOS App Store

My work at

Bambooks Limited

Introduction

Bambooks is the largest digital library in Nigeria that gives people access to thousands of books, magazines & comics through a reading app on any internet connected device. From romantic fiction to entrepreneurship, religion, and educational books, Bambooks is loaded with content for every type of reader.

Our research indicated that the limited reading rates prevalent among the African population primarily stem from challenges associated with low literacy levels and the obstacles faced in accessing essential reading materials.

Additionally, we saw a wealth of African authors producing high-quality content deserving of a broader readership and financial compensation for their literary contributions. Therefore, there was a need for the establishment of a centralized online platform dedicated to publishing content and monitoring the performance of literary works, with the aim of addressing these critical issues.

Solution

I worked with a brilliant cross-functional team to design and develop a mobile product for a subscription-based digital library that makes it easy for users to read books, comics, and magazines on the go. Some Deliverables included:

• User research & Customer development
  
• System design & feature list
  
• Android app
  
• iOS app
  

User Interviews: We conducted user interviews (using the existing web application at the time) to help us understand the current experience users have while reading (ebooks & traditional books). This helped us understand their pain points and also gave insights to features that they would like to see.

Product reviews: To get a better understanding of the competition, we carried out product reviews on similar platforms to identify their strengths and weaknesses. We also gathered feedback from customers which included their favourite features and major pain points. Some of the information gathered included:

‍

Result

• User-centered onboarding process and improved design.
• Conversion rates (Premium members) have increased by over 100%.
• Increased revenue for all stakeholders: Authors, Readers and the Company.
• Increase in number of users by 150% as a result of strategic partnership and great UIUX.
  

MY WORK PROCESS

PRIMARY SKILLS

Culture

Vision

Coaching

Product Discovery

Product Strategy

Product Execution

Product Delivery

A little

about The PMist

I started this community for aspiring and new product mangers to ease them into their new career, using real life stories and experiences of those already in the profession. I understand how lost new PMs might feel starting a new career, especially coming from a non-technical background.

The goal of this community is to fuel creativity and passion that will enable PMs excel and thrive as a Product Managers.

The PMist also has a bi-weekly Newsletter on everything product management: tips, tools, book recommendations, book reviews, interviews with: product managers, project managers, engineers, designers and CEOs.