Abayomi Sowemimo is a certified project manager and technical writer working on software product development, information security, and financial institution records management. He is also certified by CertiProf and Google on the Scrum framework and digital skills for Africa, respectively. In this interview with REMI FEYISIPO, he speaks about ways to thrive in business and career through innovation and resilience, among other issues. Excerpts:
How can business African owners leverage innovation to compete favourably with their Western peers in the corporate world?
For me, it is more about collaboration than competition. By working together locally and globally, business owners can share knowledge and access new markets. In technology, leveraging existing APIs or applications allows us to build new solutions and bring value to users more quickly. In other words, integrating with partner systems provides the building blocks to scale quickly and together we create stronger businesses that can thrive globally while driving
innovation at home.
Money can solve money problems, but not purpose problems. What helped you solve your life’s purpose problems when money could not solve them?
I think that will be the gift of people that God used in my life. They gave me the privilege to stand on their shoulders and provided guidance at every critical point in my life. Worthy to mention is Mr Olukunle Makinde, of blessed memory, who gave me my first job in technology
and believed in my potential when I was just a rookie.
What advice do you have for young African entrepreneurs striving to scale their businesses amid today’s harsh economic realities?
My advice will be to ensure your product is solving real user problems in the economy and to adopt technology as an enabler to scale your business. Also, build relationships and explore partnerships. In all, trust the process on the journey you have embarked on, and never stop being a solution provider.
You were recently awarded The Iconic Brand Africa (TIBA) Award. How does the honour reflect what you do as an entrepreneur or career professional?
I was awarded as one of the Top 10 Technology Professionals of the Year, which aligns closely with my career journey. It has been an impactful year. I built and launched digital products with
my team, published my book ‘Arise O Product Managers’, mentored aspiring product managers who later got jobs, contributed to conversations at digital summits and tech events, and led social-impact initiatives that supported digital literacy development in schools.
The theme of the 2025 TIBA Awards and Conference is ‘Thriving in business and career through innovation and resilience’. How do you perceive the theme given Africa’s current economic outlook?
The theme is timely, given Nigeria’s and Africa’s tough economic climates. Necessity, they say, is the mother of innovation. This needs to motivate us to create new solutions or improve
existing ones. Resilience can be related to a popular methodology in tech, which is Agile, and it is by being flexible and responding quickly to change. So, it is not just about introducing something innovative but staying adaptable enough to meet evolving user and market needs.
