In today’s rapidly evolving digital economy, trust has become the ultimate currency — and few understand this better than Chiagoziem Ugoh. With a career that bridges data analytics, product strategy, and financial trust infrastructure, he has built and advised products that empower people and businesses to transact with confidence.
From his roots in Petroleum Engineering to leading transformation initiatives in the UK and powering secure payments in emerging markets, Chiagoziem’s journey reflects the future of Africa’s digital innovation story: bold, data-driven, and impact-focused.
Whether it’s leveraging AI to strengthen inclusion or designing systems that scale transparency, Chiagoziem is at the forefront of bridging technology and commercial reality. His insights illuminate what it truly takes to move from great product ideas to trusted, scalable businesses.
In this exclusive conversation with Chiagoziem Ugoh, we explore the strategic levers behind transformation, trust, and the next era of tech innovation in emerging markets.
Hi Chiagoziem, to start, can you share a little about your professional journey, how you arrived at your current role and what early experiences shaped your thinking around digital products and business strategy?
My path into the technology space has been anything but conventional. I initially trained as a Petroleum Engineer, but an innate curiosity for problem-solving, efficiency, and data-driven insights gradually redirected my ambitions. That curiosity became conviction when I pursued a year-long Data Analytics bootcamp in Germany, followed by a Master’s degree in Big Data Analytics in the UK.
Those learning experiences cemented a core belief I still hold today: data is the backbone of every meaningful product decision. Throughout my career — from product and analytics roles at PASSNFLY to my current work as a Building the Future Transformation Advisor at Parcelforce Worldwide (Royal Mail) — I’ve seen firsthand how intelligent analytics can reshape operations, unlock innovation, and deliver tangible business outcomes.
Co-founding PurplePay was a defining point in that journey. It allowed me to fuse analytical thinking with commercial strategy, designing products that build trust and solve real-world payment challenges across emerging markets. It’s where technology meets human confidence — and where impact truly begins.
When you look back to your first meaningful product or business initiative, what stands out as a defining moment or learning that still influences how you approach technology and strategy today?
A defining moment came when we launched the first MVP of PurplePay’s escrow platform. Very quickly, we realized that trust outweighs sophistication. You can build the most advanced technology, but if people don’t feel secure using it, adoption will stall. That experience reinforced a key principle for me: great products don’t just deliver features — they inspire confidence.
That insight still guides my work today. For any product to succeed, it must be useful, easy to adopt, and fundamentally trusted by the people relying on it.
We’ve seen AI evolve quickly in recent years. From your vantage point, what do you believe are the most under-appreciated opportunities for applying AI in commercial products, especially in African or emerging markets?
I believe one of the most underestimated opportunities lies in context-aware AI — systems trained on localized data that understand the realities of the communities they aim to serve. In Africa, where informal economies dominate, traditional models fail to capture true user behavior. AI can bridge that gap.
Imagine alternative credit scoring powered by mobile usage patterns, transaction history, or behavioral signals — suddenly financial access becomes possible for millions who have no formal credit records. The same applies to healthcare diagnostics in underserved regions, or smart logistics that adapt to infrastructure constraints on the continent.
Beyond access, AI can drive operational trust at scale. Enhanced fraud detection, automated dispute resolution, and intelligent customer support can help businesses grow without sacrificing safety. When AI is aligned with local needs and data, it becomes more than a feature — it becomes a catalyst for inclusion, reliability, and economic growth across emerging markets.
On the flip side, what are the biggest risks you see for companies that rush into AI without a clear product-market fit or strategic framework?
The biggest risk is building AI for the sake of AI — creating flashy tools that look impressive but fail to solve any real or validated problem. When companies rush into AI without a strategic foundation, they often end up with systems that are expensive to maintain, difficult for users to adopt, and disconnected from business outcomes.
In emerging markets, the dangers are even more pronounced. Data gaps, limited infrastructure, and untested assumptions can lead to biased systems that unintentionally exclude the very people technology is meant to empower. Instead of driving inclusion, poorly designed AI can reinforce inequality, create distrust, and harm brand credibility.
For me, the approach must always be problem-first. Identify the user pain point, confirm the business opportunity, and then determine whether AI is the right solution — or if the need can be met through simpler means. When AI is introduced at the right time and for the right reasons, it becomes transformative. When it leads the strategy, it becomes a distraction.
How do you evaluate when a piece of tech (like an AI module, a chatbot, or a data analytics engine) is ready to become a strategic differentiator rather than just a feature?
A piece of technology becomes a true differentiator when it moves beyond functionality and begins to shape behavior, drive decision-making, and deliver tangible results. If your innovation directly influences how customers interact with your product, accelerates revenue, or enables your operations to scale more efficiently, then it has shifted from being a feature to a strategic advantage.
At PurplePay, for example, our fraud-detection AI is not tucked away as a silent backend component. It plays an active and visible role in the customer journey — instilling confidence, enabling safer transactions, and reinforcing trust at every interaction. When users believe their money is protected, adoption increases and retention strengthens. That’s where technology becomes a catalyst for growth, not just a line item in a product roadmap.
In essence, differentiation comes from the impact the technology creates — when it empowers business models, inspires user loyalty, and scales trust as the product scales its market.
From your experience, how important is trust infrastructure (escrow, payment guarantees, compliance) to scaling digital platforms in markets where regulatory or informal risk is high?
Trust infrastructure isn’t just important — it is the backbone of digital adoption, especially in economies where informal transactions and uncertainty are the norm. Without systems that guarantee safety and accountability, even the most innovative platforms struggle to gain traction. Escrow models, compliance frameworks, identity and payment verification — these mechanisms don’t merely support the product; they enable participation.
In high-risk or cash-driven markets, every transaction carries an emotional weight. People aren’t simply purchasing a service — they’re purchasing confidence that their money won’t disappear and promises will be kept. Trust infrastructure reduces friction, eliminates fear, and allows users to move from hesitation to engagement.
Platforms that bake security and transparency into their DNA — rather than treating them as add-ons — consistently outperform those that don’t. When users feel protected, adoption accelerates. When trust scales, business scales. And in emerging markets, that trust can be the difference between a product that survives and one that transforms an entire ecosystem.
When developing a product that facilitates payments or user transactions, what product-design principles do you prioritise to ensure both safety (trust) and scalability (commercial success)?
Three core principles guide my product approach when dealing with payments and user transactions — trust, clarity, and evolution:
Transparency: Users should always know what’s happening with their money — no hidden fees, no vague timelines, no mystery processes. When visibility is clear, confidence increases.
Simplicity: Trust grows when people understand what they’re doing. The more complicated a flow feels, the faster suspicion creeps in. Intuitive design isn’t just a UX goal — it’s a trust strategy.
Data-driven adaptability: Products must continuously learn. User behavior, fraud patterns, and market conditions evolve — and systems should evolve with them. Adaptation ensures the product remains both safe and relevant.
When these three principles align, you create a product that users believe in, enjoy using, and recommend to others. Trust becomes embedded in the experience, and scalability becomes a natural outcome — not something forced through discounts or aggressive marketing.
Let’s talk about monetisation: how do you balance creating value for users (through free or low-cost features) and building a commercial model that sustains growth?
It’s ultimately about value sequencing — delivering the right value at the right time. In the early stage of a product, your focus should be on solving a core pain point so effectively that users feel the product is indispensable. That trust and reliance become the foundation upon which a commercial model can grow.
First, give users tools that remove friction, address real challenges, and prove credibility. Once that trust is established, you can begin layering premium features that enhance convenience, scale, or efficiency. Monetization then feels like an upgrade to an already valuable experience, not a barrier to entry.
At PurplePay, for example, we’ve been intentional about this phased approach. We prioritized adoption and trust before revenue — ensuring people felt secure transacting on the platform. Once the foundation was strong, we introduced additional revenue streams like analytics dashboards for merchants, service fees for advanced functionality, and API integrations that unlock deeper business capabilities.
When monetization grows as a natural extension of value — not as an obstacle — both adoption and revenue can scale sustainably.
In your view, what are the three key strategic levers a tech-driven business must pull to transition from “early traction” to “scale and profitability”?
Three core strategic levers consistently determine whether a tech-driven business can move beyond initial traction into true scale and profitability:
1️⃣ Operational Efficiency
Before you scale, you must streamline. Automating manual processes, tightening cost structures, and optimizing delivery ensure that growth doesn’t break the business. The most successful companies grow from a foundation built to handle volume — not chaos.
2️⃣ Customer Retention
Retention is cheaper than acquisition, and loyal early adopters become your most powerful advocates. If they keep coming back — and bring others with them — your product’s value is validated in the most organic way. Sustainable scale begins with users who believe in your product and champion it.
3️⃣ Data Intelligence
Every strategic move should be informed, not assumed. Real-time data helps you double down on what works and cut what doesn’t, avoiding vanity features and wasted resources. Scaling becomes a science — driven by measurable behavior and market signals.
When these levers work together, growth isn’t just rapid — it’s resilient and commercially sound.
Many ventures get stuck in the “feature-factory” trap. How do you structure product strategy to avoid that and focus on impact, growth, and business outcomes?
I rely on a value–impact matrix to guide product strategy and avoid the “feature-factory” trap. Every idea or feature must clearly contribute to one of three core outcomes:
✅ Increase user trust
✅ Drive revenue growth
✅ Improve retention and engagement
If a feature doesn’t push the needle on at least one of those metrics, it is quickly deprioritized — no matter how exciting it sounds in a brainstorming session. It’s easy for teams to get caught up building shiny tools that look impressive on a roadmap but fail to solve real problems.
For me, product strategy must always be grounded in business impact, not vanity or trend-following. Every resource invested — time, talent, capital — should map directly to outcomes that strengthen user confidence, create commercial value, or fuel long-term adoption. That discipline is what keeps innovation aligned with growth, rather than becoming a distraction.
Considering the African tech ecosystem, what unique contextual factors must product builders keep in mind when designing for this market?
There are three major contextual factors that product builders must always account for in the African market: infrastructure gaps, user education, and affordability.
First, connectivity and device variability remain real constraints. You cannot assume users have constant internet access, the latest smartphones, or the processing power required for heavy apps. To succeed, products must be lightweight, resilient in low-bandwidth environments, and optimized for a broad range of devices — including those considered outdated in more developed markets.
Second, user education is critical. Many digital services introduce new behaviors, whether that’s transacting online, verifying identity digitally, or using automated processes for the first time. Clear onboarding, strong documentation, and intuitive design aren’t just nice-to-have — they are essential drivers of adoption and trust.
Finally, affordability is non-negotiable. Users are extremely value-conscious, and pricing must reflect economic realities while still delivering meaningful benefits. Business models must be flexible, meeting users where they are rather than expecting them to adapt to global standards.
Beyond these three elements, strategic collaborations matter. Working with regulators, telcos, and local partners can accelerate market penetration and reduce friction. In many African markets, distribution networks and policy environments are deeply interconnected — success goes to those who build ecosystem alignment, not just great technology.
If builders internalize these factors early, they can unlock scale faster and create products that are both impactful and commercially sustainable.
Looking ahead 5 years, which emerging technology or business model has the potential to transform how people in Africa work, learn, or trade, and why?
I’d say AI-driven microservices and decentralized finance (DeFi) will be two of the most transformative forces in the next five years. These technologies have the potential to unlock new economic opportunities for individuals and small businesses that have historically been underserved.
AI-driven microservices can enable smarter, more adaptive products — from automated business operations to personalized learning and workforce tools. They allow companies to build modular systems that scale efficiently while responding dynamically to user needs in real time.
DeFi, on the other hand, offers a path to borderless financial access, reducing reliance on traditional banks and long bureaucratic processes. By embedding decentralized escrow, alternative credit scoring, and secure peer-to-peer transactions, we can empower millions of people who operate in informal markets or gig-based jobs.
Imagine a small business owner accessing working capital in minutes, without collateral. Or a student paying tuition securely through a decentralized escrow agreement, eliminating fraud and uncertainty. That’s not just innovation — it’s inclusion.
Ultimately, these technologies will redefine how Africans work, learn, and trade, accelerating economic participation and giving individuals more control over their financial futures.
If you could advise one early-stage founder building a tech product today, knowing what you know now about product, strategy, and trust infrastructure, what are the three pieces of advice you’d give them?
Build for trust before traction. In markets where skepticism is high, users adopt platforms that make them feel secure, not just excited.
Solve a real, local problem — not a global trend. The most successful products start by addressing everyday pain points in the communities they serve. If your solution isn’t rooted in local context, adoption will struggle.
Let data guide, not ego. Listen to the market early and continuously. Data is the most honest feedback loop — it reveals what users actually value, not what we assume they should value.
If founders anchor their products in trust, relevance, and evidence, they’ll not only gain traction — they’ll build solutions with lasting impact.
On a more personal note: when you’re not working on tech strategy or product build-out, what’s your go-to way to reset and gain a fresh perspective?
I unwind through a mix of music, football, and video games — they help me disconnect, have fun, and recharge my creative energy. I also take nature walks whenever I can. There’s something about stepping away from screens and into fresh air that brings clarity. Many of my best ideas are sparked during those quiet, reflective moments outdoors.
Finally, what drives you every morning? How do you keep your finger on the pulse of opportunity and maintain your strategic edge in a fast-changing tech world?
Purpose is my biggest motivator. I wake up every day knowing that every product I build, every startup I support, and every person I mentor has the potential to create ripple effects far beyond what I can immediately see. Knowing that my work can unlock opportunities, improve trust in digital systems, or empower a founder to take the next bold step — that keeps me going.
To stay sharp, I treat learning as a daily habit. Whether I’m reading, experimenting with new tools, or engaging in conversations with innovators across the ecosystem, I’m always absorbing fresh insights. The tech world moves fast, and I believe the only way to stay ahead is to stay curious.
Ultimately, for me, success isn’t measured by hype but by lasting impact — the kind that changes how people work, trade, and thrive
Thank you for sharing your invaluable insight with us.
Thank you as well. I’m glad to contribute and always open to exploring ideas that move our industry forward.
