Nesi

NESI Intelligence

Access the research

The State of Product Management in Africa · 2026

Africa has a product

management story.

Africa has a product

management story.

Africa has a product

management story.

Nobody had measured it.

A new continent-wide benchmark revealing that African product management is really two ecosystems.

Explore the findings

1,100

product professionals surveyed

Product Professionals Surveyed

African markets

African Markets

sectors, startup to enterprise

Sectors, Startup to Enterprise

15+

CPOs & senior leaders interviewed

CPOs & Senior Leaders interviewed

Why this matters

Everyone is talking about

product in Africa. Almost no

one has the data.

Everyone is talking about

product in Africa. Almost no

one has the data.

Everyone is talking about

product in Africa. Almost no

one has the data.

The discipline is growing faster than anyone has measured louder on

LinkedIn than it is deep in practice, and split into two populations that barely

recognise each other.

The discipline is growing faster than anyone has measured louder on

LinkedIn than it is deep in practice, and split into two populations that barely

recognise each other.

One is visible: the self-identified PM community in startups and fintechs. The

other is invisible the analysts, transformation leads and systems managers

doing product work inside banks, telcos and ministries, who were never given

the title.

One is visible: the self-identified PM community in startups and fintechs. The

other is invisible the analysts, transformation leads and systems managers

doing product work inside banks, telcos and ministries, who were never given

the title.

Until now, no one could say categorically what the state of the field is who,

where, and how mature. This is the baseline.

Until now, no one could say categorically what the state of the field is who,

where, and how mature. This is the baseline.

What we found

Five signals from the

research.

Five signals from the research.

1 in 6

people doing product work in Africa were

never given the title “product manager.”

people doing product work in Africa were

never given the title “product manager.”

The invisible population mapped for the first time. Full breakdown in the report.

65%

say the founder or CEO makes the final

product call — not the PM.

Who really owns product decisions in the report.

2×

the gap between valuing discovery and

actually doing it.

Aspiration vs. practice, by market in the report.

3 stages

separate South Africa from the rest of the

continent’s product maturity.

The full maturity curve in the report.

55%

of enterprise teams are blocked from AI

tools by policy & not by choice.

The real AI adoption picture in the report.

Is this you?

Find yourself in the data.

Product in Africa isn’t one experience. Tell us who you are, see what the

research says about people like you.

MARKET

SENIORITY

CONTEXT

You’re a senior in Nigeria’s public sector — inside the least product-aware space on the continent, where the work is real but the discipline is barely named.

A directional read from the research themes — the specific numbers (pay, authority, maturity) are in the report.

MARKET

SENIORITY

CONTEXT

You’re a senior in Nigeria’s public sector — inside the least product-aware space on the continent, where the work is real but the discipline is barely named.

A directional read from the research themes — the specific numbers (pay, authority, maturity) are in the report.

In their words

“I’ve done product for six years. Nobody ever called me a

product manager.”

“I’ve done product for six years. Nobody ever called me a

product manager.”

“I’ve done product for six years. Nobody ever called me a product manager.”

— Digital Transformation Lead · Tier-1 bank · Nigeria

“We know we should talk to users. There’s never time before the

next build.”

“We know we should talk to users. There’s never time before the next build.”

“We know we should talk to users. There’s never time before the

next build.”

— Product Manager · Fintech · Kenya

“We learn together, in French, on WhatsApp. The frameworks

came in English and never quite fit.”

“We learn together, in French, on WhatsApp. The frameworks

came in English and never quite fit.”

“We learn together, in French, on WhatsApp. The frameworks

came in English and never quite fit.”

— Product Lead · Senegal

Access the full

research.

Access the full research.

The complete report: the two populations, the

maturity curve, compensation, AI adoption and what

comes next delivered to your inbox.

The complete report — the two populations, the maturity curve, compensation, AI adoption and what comes next — delivered to your inbox.

The complete report: the two populations, the maturity curve, compensation, AI adoption, and what comes next delivered to your inbox.

Get the report

Free · delivered to your inbox

First Name

Last Name

Organisation

Country

⁠Role/Seniority

If other, please specify

Send me occasional NESI Intelligence research and insights. We’ll email you the report you requested. You’ll only join our research updates if you tick the box — unsubscribe anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Africa Product Pulse

A snapshot of the continent.

Four dimensions, five markets. The full, filterable Pulse arrives with the next

edition.

Maturity

PM representation

AI adoption

Execution pressure

South Africa

Nigeria

Kenya

Egypt

Francophone WA

Lower

Mid

Higher

Illustrative final figures in the report. Higher is stronger, except execution pressure (higher = more strain).

Who produced this

NESI Intelligence

The research and insights arm of NESI, a product and innovation

consulting company. NESI Intelligence produces original research on

how product is built across African markets starting with this

study, and continuing annually.

Ecosystem partner

Community reach and distribution partner for the 2026 study.

You've seen the research. Now see how Nesi puts it into practice, explore our work in product, design, and digital transformation

Visit Nesi

The State of Product Management in Africa 2026. The baseline.