Our Krafter

Ahmad Alfawwaz Timehin is a Software Engineering Manager at Mono, where he leads the teams responsible for financial integrations across Africa’s banking and fintech ecosystem. His work spans architecting secure financial services, driving engineering excellence, and building high-reliability systems that power Mono Connect, DirectPay, and other mission-critical infrastructure.

Ahmad joined Mono as a Reverse Engineer, where he worked on dissecting bank and fintech applications to enable stable, secure open-banking integrations. He later became Engineering Lead, Financial Services, overseeing the evolution of Mono’s integrations layer before stepping into management.

Beyond fintech, Ahmad is the co-founder of Bonadocs, a developer-first platform that simplifies Web3 protocol integrations. At Bonadocs, he leads the entire technical vision and has secured ecosystem grants from leading protocols including Compound Finance, the Arbitrum Foundation, and Optimism.

Previously, he built and deployed resilient backend systems at Deimos, enforced high testing rigor as a C# engineer at Trilogy, and led end-to-end development of enterprise systems at Yuscomsoft and various freelance projects. His work consistently prioritizes reliability, system design, and developer experience.

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What We Discuss

In this episode, we explored:

* Why Mono continues to intentionally hire and grow junior engineers

* The limitations of relying only on senior talent in Africa’s tech ecosystem

* How curiosity, humility, and passion show up in the strongest junior candidates

* What good mentorship actually looks like, and why it’s a career accelerator

* How juniors should think about “taste” and craft in their work

* How Ahmad thinks about trade-offs, over-engineering, and building “for now”

* How Mono maintains high standards in a fast-paced environment (docs, tests, reviews)

* How to filter engineering noise, choose what trends to care about, and stay grounded in fundamentals

* Practical ways Ahmad uses AI for documentation, tests, and “first-pass” review

* The mindset shifts that helped him grow from reverse engineer to engineering manager

* Why extreme ownership and people skills are as important as pure technical ability

Timestamps

* 03:50) Meet Krafter Alfawwaz

* (05:42) Kicking off with Mono’s summer internships and junior hiring

* (06:28) Why many companies undervalue juniors and how Mono thinks differently

* (09:18) Curiosity, humility, and passion as the core traits Ahmad hires for

* (16:08) Why good mentorship is a catalyst for early-career engineers

* (17:43) Taste and craft: how Ahmad defines them for engineers

* (21:40) What mentors are actually responsible for in a mentee’s growth

* (25:38) Lessons from optimizing Mono’s systems and learning the hard way

* (27:28) Making deliberate trade-offs and avoiding over-engineering

* (33:23) Balancing speed, user experience, and performance in real systems

* (38:09) How Mono maintains high standards with documentation, tests, and reviews

* (45:24) Filtering noise in engineering trends and focusing on fundamentals

* (55:57) How AI has concretely improved Ahmad’s work (docs and tests)

* (1:00:21) Extreme ownership and the mindset that drove his leadership growth

* (1:08:34) The one principle he’d teach in a 5-minute engineering class

* (1:10:09) The non-technical skill that made him a better engineer and manager

Resources and People Mentioned

* Mono

* An 86x PDF Optimization Story (by Alfawwaz)

* Mono’s summer internship program

* Gemini, ChatGPT

Where to Find Me & The Kraft

* LinkedIn | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcast

* Email me: thekraftwithemmy@gmail.com

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Our Krafter

Precious Lamina is the Head of Product at Chowdeck, where she leads product strategy and design, driving cross-functional collaboration across product, operations, and engineering. Before stepping into this role, she served as Product Design Lead, helping shape Chowdeck’s customer and merchant experiences from the ground up.

Her career spans design leadership and hands-on creative work across fintech, logistics, and technology startups. She previously held roles at Check - rising from Junior Designer to Product/UI Design Lead over five years - along with design stints at Allianz Partners & FinCode.

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What We Discuss

In this episode, we explored:

* Protecting the core: zero-friction ordering as Chowdeck’s north star

* Listening vs. leading: turning customer requests into root-cause problem solving in a three-sided marketplace (customers, vendors, riders)

* Local taste graphs: how neighborhoods (e.g., Ikeja vs. Yaba) shape recommendations, promos, and product bets

* Experiments that stick (and those that don’t): setting guardrails, reading early adoption, and knowing when to retire ideas

* Nigeria vs. Ghana: why value and vendor loyalty beat discounts in Accra

* Design at Chowdeck: a bright, illustration-forward brand, with disciplined systems, and freedom to “let it fly”

* Onboarding creatives: balancing component systems with out-of-the-box thinking

* Career switches from design to PM: agency experience, execution muscle, and learning to think in quarters and company goals

* AI at work: pragmatic uses across engineering, ops, and customer experience

* Early-career advice and PM essentials

Timestamps

* (03:11) – Meet Krafter Precious Lamina

* (05:57) – The hardest ongoing problem: protecting a frictionless customer experience

* (10:51) – Neighborhood taste differences (Ikeja vs. Yaba) and smarter recs at Chowdeck

* (11:45) – Turning data into action: promos, vendor collabs, and Chow Smart

* (16:26) – Design at Chowdeck: big creativity, consistent system

* (19:29) – Onboarding designers: libraries, palettes, and guardrails without limits

* (22:42) – Design to PM: execution muscle from agency life

* (25:29) – The hard leap: prioritization, timing, and thinking in company goals

* (32:01) – Filtering noisy requests: root-cause over “add a button” in a 3-sided marketplace

* (41:24) – Experimentation that ships: the Local Markets vertical origin story

* (48:08) – When to wind down: 30/60/120-day readouts and real cost signals

* (51:31) – Expansion to Ghana and early learnings

* (54:51) – AI in practice: team workflows today and product ideas ahead

Resources and People Mentioned

* Chowdeck, Chowsmart, Local Markets

* Check

* Peace Itimi’s chat with Femi (CEO, Chowdeck)

Where to Find Me & The Kraft

* LinkedIn | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcast

* Email me: thekraftwithemmy@gmail.com

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Our Krafter

Ugo Iwuchukwu has a passion for helping businesses grow their bottom line and has over a decade of experience driving measurable results across marketing, communications, and partnerships.

He holds a BSc in International Relations from Covenant University and began his career at EbonyLife Studios, where he was part of the team that reshaped the future of Nollywood with their work marketing some of Nigeria’s highest-grossing films, including The Wedding Party.

His early work in film marketing honed his understanding of storytelling, audience behaviour, and brand resonance — skills he later applied to digital and growth marketing.

Since then, Ugo has helped multinational and early-stage companies refine their marketing strategies, expand market share, and deepen customer engagement. He has played key roles in shaping brand narratives and go-to-market strategies for global brands and high-growth African startups alike.

At Helium Health and Bamboo — both Y Combinator alumni — Ugo helped lead marketing, communications, and strategic partnerships, scaling customer acquisition and strengthening brand trust across multiple markets. His work sits at the intersection of creativity, data, and strategy, with a focus on building enduring brands that drive real business outcomes.

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What We Discuss

In this episode, we explored:

* Balancing “give it time” with “move on”: short-, mid-, and long-term tactics in one plan

* Early-stage constraint playbooks: experimenting when the budget is basically zero

* Agency or in-house first? When outside partners help (and when they don’t)

* B2B healthcare vs. B2C finance: trust, regulation, and what actually changes in marketing

* Filtering ideas from the room: staying open, testing fast, and handling “execute because of who asked”

* “Marketing when done right should be easily forgotten”: persuasion, psychology, and measuring business outcomes

* Building cultures where juniors can disagree with leaders, and how to do it well

* How AI shifts the career ladder: execution > information, and the case for being a T-shaped generalist

* Mastering the business you market (not just the craft of marketing)

Timestamps

* 02:55 – Meet Krafter Ugo Iwuchukwu

* 05:34 – Joining Bamboo at the early startup stage

* 06:19 – Why the team worked with an external agency and what they learned

* 08:18 – B2B healthcare vs. B2C finance: key differences in trust and regulation

* 11:05 – Experiments from Bamboo’s early days: doing more with no budget

* 16:09 – Balancing long-term brand plays with short-term results

* 19:46 – Webinars, events, and how marketing channels evolve

* 23:35 – Filtering the flood of ideas (and when hierarchy forces a test)

* 27:36 – Why “marketing done right should be forgotten”

* 32:36 – Building a culture of dissent and why leaders should invite challenge

* 36:14 – How junior marketers can prepare, question, and add value

* 42:43 – How AI and automation are changing the marketing career path

* 48:36 – Mastering your industry, not just your function

Resources and People Mentioned

* Bamboo

* Y Combinator (YC)

* Helium Health

* UgoTalksAlot (newsletter by Ugo)

* The Evolution of Bamboo (by Peace Itimi)

* Building Bamboo Series (Parts: One, Two, Three)

* Richmond and Yanmo (Bamboo’s Co-founders), Oge (Prev: Head Of Marketing & Partnerships, Bamboo)

Where to Find Me & The Kraft

* LinkedIn | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcast

* Email me: thekraftwithemmy@gmail.com

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Our Krafter

Oyeleye Ogunsanya (widely known as LeyeConnect) is a multidisciplinary designer and the Head of Design at Risevest, where he shapes how people experience one of Africa’s most trusted platforms for wealth building. With a background in economics and a self-taught path into design, he brings a unique mix of analytical thinking and creative exploration to his work.

Beyond Risevest, Leye is recognized for the projects he builds and shares openly. He created CalVest, a tool for visualizing compound interest, and MoniVoice, an invoicing tool, and more recently co-created IsoCons, a set of isometric icons that designers around the world now use in their own projects.

He is also known for “thinking out loud” - sharing his process, learnings, and even failures in real time. This transparency has not only helped him refine his craft but has also inspired younger designers who are navigating their own paths.

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What We Discuss

In this episode, we explored:

* Why great design is a “love letter” to users

* How exposure to world-class design reshapes your standards

* The balance between taking inspiration, abstracting, and creating original work

* How to filter noise from useful feedback

* Why detaching your ego from your work accelerates growth

* Lessons from building in public (and why it sharpens your craft)

* The phases of growth for junior designers: tracing, muscle memory, and eventually forming your own style

* Why long-term growth requires patience, honesty, and grounding

* The underrated power of writing by hand in gaining clarity

* Typography as the ultimate test of design competence

* Resources and practices that refine both design and product thinking

Timestamps

* 03:21 – Meet Krafter Oyeleye

* 05:42 – Shifting from economics to design (the unexpected switch)

* 09:14 – Copying vs. abstracting: finding balance

* 11:48 – Why you can’t reinvent the wheel in design

* 17:04 – Critiquing your own work honestly

* 21:00 – Building in public and learning from feedback

* 26:43 – Filtering signal from noise in feedback

* 34:24 – Thinking before doing: why design starts in the mind

* 40:14 – Growth stages for junior designers

* 47:45 – Playing the long game: patience, humility, and mentorship

* 55:02 – Underrated tool: the power of writing things down

* 57:13 – Typography as the designer’s ultimate test

* 59:45 – Resources and habits that refine design & product thinking

Resources and People Mentioned

* MoniVoice

* Calvest

* Isocons

* Alma’s Journey across the 7 continents

* Munachimso & Ezekiel

* Revolut & Monzo

* Lenny’s Podcast (for product thinking)

* Mobbin & Behance (design inspiration platform)

Where to find me

* LinkedIn | Substack | YouTube | Spotify

* Email me: thekraftwithemmy@gmail.com

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Kolapo Kolawole is a Senior Payment Operations Specialist at Rafiki, where he works at the intersection of payments and product strategy, helping to build and scale reliable payment systems across Africa. Before joining Rafiki, Kolapo spent nearly six years at Flutterwave, holding roles across customer success, product, and technical operations. His time there culminated in a leadership position where he drove payment optimisation efforts across the continent. While his career might seem non-linear, moving from customer success to product, then engineering, and now operations and strategy; it’s been anything but accidental. In 2021, Kolapo had a clear realization: he wanted to grow into the kind of operator who could one day thrive in a COO role. That insight shaped everything that followed. He became deeply intentional about gaining exposure to the core pillars of fintech: building systems, understanding regulatory landscapes, leading cross-functional delivery, and influencing business outcomes. His journey has been a deliberate path toward becoming a well-rounded fintech operator. Kolapo is also passionate about helping young professionals navigate their careers (linear or non-linear careers); and grow into thoughtful, high-impact leaders.

What We Discuss

In this episode, we explored:

* Why he took a pay cut to join Flutterwave—and how it paid off

* His nonlinear but intentional career from customer success to operations and strategy

* How cross-functional learning shaped his path and skillset

* What strategy actually means, and how it differs at startups vs. big companies

* The importance of ownership: how he learned to "project manage" even when it wasn’t his job

* Culture-building lessons from Flutterwave’s early days

* Why reliability—not just pricing—is the new competitive edge in payments

* The underrated power of interpersonal skills and communication at work

* Thoughts on staying visible in a fast-growing company

* His advice to junior engineers: invest in yourself, master the fundamentals, and learn to wield AI

* Why curiosity > clout, and titles don’t always reflect real mastery

* A behind-the-scenes look at what he’s building next with Rafiki

Timestamps

* 03:46 – Meet our Krafter: Kolapo Kolawole

* 05:22 – From geography major to Flutterwave

* 08:00 – Taking a pay cut to pursue a long-term vision

* 10:50 – Building cross-functional skills to grow as an operator

* 14:59 – Lessons on learning fast and staying ready

* 16:08 – What makes someone successful at Flutterwave

* 22:40 – Core skills that matter: empathy, communication, fundamentals

* 24:03 – Inside his role at Rafiki: reliability and payouts

* 29:48 – What strategy really means, with real-world examples

* 34:38 – How engineering mindsets shape his work in ops & strategy

* 38:05 – Advice to junior engineers: fundamentals, AI, and personal investment

* 45:19 – The cost (and payoff) of investing in yourself

* 46:02 – More on interpersonal and communication skills

* 50:08 – How to reassure customers without overpromising

* 55:50 – Staying visible in a growing company

* 1:00:29 – What he’s building next at Rafiki

Resources and People Mentioned

* Flutterwave

* NALA and Rafiki

* Jira by Atlassian

* M-Pesa and Safaricom

* Fireboy DML’s Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps

* Jira Service Management certification (Atlassian University)

Where to find me

* LinkedIn | Substack | YouTube | Spotify

* Email me: thekraftwithemmy@gmail.com

Lade Falobi is a product marketer and creator of Marketing For Geeks, a widely read newsletter delivering actionable product marketing insights to thousands of subscribers, including professionals at Flutterwave, Google, and Piggyvest. She currently serves as a consultant and fractional product marker to early-stage B2B SaaS startups. She began her career with a foundation in content marketing, before focusing on product marketing, growth strategy, and B2B SaaS. Lade has built a reputation for blending storytelling with strategic execution, and through Marketing For Geeks, she shares growth stories, frameworks, and playbooks to help marketers and founders build repeatable, sustainable strategies.

What We Discuss

In this episode, we explored:

* Why reverse engineering is crucial for successful marketing strategies

* Balancing creativity and clarity in conversion marketing

* How marketers can handle endless suggestions and identify bad ideas

* The importance of data and evidence in convincing leadership

* Lade’s transition to fractional marketing

* Key mindsets that junior marketers need for growth

* The challenge of working in marketing without leadership buy-in

* Practical steps to gaining trust from management through small wins

* Lade's personal philosophy on career intentionality and treating your career as seriously as a job

* Overcoming fears and embracing public accountability through building in public

* How founders should strategically approach hiring marketers

* Understanding the role of soft skills, especially clarity of thought in marketing

Timestamps

* (03:01) – Meet Krafter Lade Falobi

* (04:35) – Why Lade chose fractional marketing over a full-time role

* (06:57) – Key insights from "Marketing for Geeks": Leadership backing matters

* (09:30) – Practical tips for getting buy-in from leadership through small wins

* (14:04) – Mindset shifts: Creativity isn’t everything—clarity matters more

* (18:10) – Why understanding your audience deeply is crucial in marketing

* (19:18) – When should founders prioritize hiring marketers?

* (25:26) – How to handle the endless marketing suggestions from leadership

* (31:21) – Evaluating ideas: Data, context, and smart experimentation

* (44:21) – The importance of building in public for your personal growth

* (49:07) – Overcoming fear of judgment when sharing publicly

* (54:13) – Practical ways to approach intentionality in your career

* (1:02:43) – Critical soft skills marketers need: Clarity of thought

* (1:07:25) – The right way to reverse-engineer marketing strategies

* (1:08:09) – Working with friends vs. professional relationships

* (1:10:48) – Rating fractional roles vs. entrepreneurship vs. full-time roles

* (1:14:31) – Essential lessons for junior marketers: filtering advice wisely

* (1:16:25) – Recommended resources and podcasts for marketers (see list below)

* (1:17:59) – How to stay connected with Lade and Marketing for Geeks

Resources and People Mentioned

* Marketing for Geeks (Lade’s newsletter)

* Marketing Ideas

* Marketing Examples by Harry Dry

* Lenny’s Newsletter

* How They Grow

* Demand Curve

* Why We Buy

* The Marketing Playbook

Where to find me

* LinkedIn | Substack | YouTube | Spotify

* Email me: thekraftwithemmy@gmail.com

Dumebi Iwuchukwu is a seasoned design leader, currently serving as the Head of Design at Stears, a financial data and research provider for global funds and corporates investing in Africa. With over a decade of experience, he has shaped impactful design solutions across Africa’s leading agencies, startups, and media companies. Dumebi has worked with renowned global and local brands including Budweiser, Google, Alaska Airlines, Schweppes, Globacom, Sterling Bank, Sprite, Dangote, Leadway Insurance and Nivea. A passionate mentor and educator, Dumebi has conducted over 200 mentorship sessions on ADPList, spoken at industry events such as World Usability Day Africa, UXDX Africa and the Untitled Designers Conference, and formerly taught Art Direction at 02 Academy Lagos, where he helped nurture the next generation of African creatives.

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What We Discuss

In this episode, we explored:

* Dumebi’s path from radiography to design

* How taste functions like aesthetic judgment—and how to build it

* Why care and attention to detail are his biggest green flags in hiring

* His design philosophies

* How to critique your own work and raise your creative bar

* The creative dangers of relying too heavily on AI

* Staying creatively energized on long-term product work

* What “managing it like that” says about our standards—and why he rejects that mindset

* Non-technical skills that shape strong design careers, including joy, focus, and collaboration

* Working better with engineers and the art of not “surprising” them

* Advice for junior designers on prioritization, timelines, and asking for help

Timestamps

* 03:07 – Meet Krafter Dumebi Iwuchukwu

* 07:51 – Lessons from medical school that transferred to design

* 10:20 – Early design experiments, fellowship posters, and career pivots

* 14:18 – How creativity can be a process, not just luck

* 15:59 – Two timeless design principles from branding and psychology

* 20:42 – What taste looks like in action—and how to develop it

* 25:21 – The gap between taste and skill (and how it fuels growth)

* 30:52 – Building creative taste across different brand styles

* 34:42 – What observing art and nature teaches us about beauty

* 36:12 – Studying excellence beyond design: F1, sports, fashion

* 39:25 – Raising your bar for “done”

* 42:09 – AI as tool, not creator: what to use and what not to lose

* 48:16 – Red and green flags when hiring designers

* 50:03 – How technical should a designer be today?

* 53:48 – How to stay creatively energized on long-term projects

* 56:08 – Wearing many hats: design, video, brand, UI—how to juggle it

* 58:39 – How to set realistic timelines and prioritize like a senior

* 1:00:54 – The soft skill that changed his career: joy

* 1:04:38 – Working better with engineers

* 1:07:25 – How Dumebi defines digital product design

Resources and People Mentioned

* Stears

* Perplexity.ai

* ChatGPT

* Virgil Abloh

* Malcolm Gladwell (10,000 hours)

* Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton (F1 Champions)

* Apple’s product design process

* Dumebi’s YouTube Channel

* Dumebi on X (formerly Twitter)

Where to find me

* LinkedIn | Substack | YouTube | Spotify

* Email me: thekraftwithemmy@gmail.com

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Ope Bukola is an educational technology executive with over a decade of experience building products that expand access to knowledge and economic opportunity. From 2020 to 2024, she founded and led Kibo School, an online university that provided an accredited computer science degree to African students. Previously, she led the Product team for Google Classroom, driving its growth to over 40 million monthly active users globally. She has also held product and partnership roles at Amplify Education and CK-12 Foundation. Ope serves on the board of Zeta Charter Schools and advises 3MTT, a Federal Government of Nigeria initiative to bolster technical talent and jobs.

What We Discuss

In this episode, we explored:

* Why improving access to high-quality education for Africans has been her lifelong mission

* How she discovered product management (before it was cool)

* Cultural lessons from working at Amplify vs. Google, including B2B vs. B2C product thinking

* A few of her favorite product philosophies

* How to test ideas, run experiments, and define success (and when to ‘kill your darlings’)

* The vision behind Kibo, Ope’s most recent company

* Why our “manage it like that” mindset is holding us back, and why holding ourselves to higher standards is important

* How writing sharpens thinking, even in a GenAI world

* What makes a great new PM today, and why agency, conscientiousness, and communication matter

Timestamps

* 01:41 – Meet Krafter Ope Bukola

* 03:24 – Why education?

* 05:55 – Discovering product management

* 07:44 – Amplify vs. Google: the different and similar PM cultures

* 10:17 – The PM mantra: Fall in love with the problem, not the solution

* 13:02 – Frameworks for testing ideas and staying honest

* 15:42 – Lessons from failure: Iterating your way toward greatness

* 17:14 – Setting kill criteria: How to know when to stop with your ideas

* 19:18 – Mindset shifts: Making failure safe and learning fast

* 21:16 – Why Kibo? Tackling quality in African higher ed

* 24:14 – On being world-class and why that is important

* 26:31 – The “manage it like that” mindset and why it must go

* 30:09 – A vision for the future of African education

* 34:42 – Why writing matters: Clarity, thinking, and leadership

* 39:11 – Hiring insights: Green flags, red flags, and agency

* 41:02 – How AI changes (and doesn’t change) the PM role

* 43:23 – Key skills for early career success

* 46:11 – Lightning round: Tools, lessons, and resources

Resources and People Mentioned

* Quit by Annie Duke

* Replit, Vercel, Lovable, V0, Claude, ChatGPT

* Lenny’s Podcast (Product, Growth, Career)

* Kibo School

* Amplify Education

* Zeta Charter Schools

* 3 Million Tech Talents (3MTT)

Where to find me

* LinkedIn | Substack | YouTube | Spotify

* Email me: thekraftwithemmy@gmail.com