On Wednesday, May 21, a group of builders and problem-solvers will gather in Lagos, not for another hype-fuelled tech showcase, but for something its organisers say is far more grounded: a one-day conference focused on building meaningful products for Africa’s toughest challenges.
World Product Day Lagos 2025, organised by early-stage investor Innovate Africa Fund, will take place at The Strong Tower Hall, Lagos. Though tied to a global event celebrated in over 100 cities, this Lagos edition stands apart in both tone and ambition.
Speaking to Techpoint Africa ahead of the event, Kristin Wilson, Managing Partner at Innovate Africa Fund and a people technology expert, explained that World Product Day was born out of the firm’s interactions with early-stage startups across Africa.
“My co-GP and I are product people, and we believe in the product operating model as a critical way to get problem-solving innovation out in the world. One of the things we realised when we engaged with founders was that there wasn’t enough product thinking, and so what we said was, ‘In an attempt to both stimulate and simulate product thinking, let’s have some sort of celebration of product day’.”
The one-day event, themed Bold Builders Wanted, is centred on the idea that many of Africa’s most persistent problems need fewer imported solutions and more homegrown solutions. To that end, the fund launched a hackathon in March in which it called for individuals and teams to tackle some of the continent’s toughest problems.
Beginning by identifying specific problems, participating teams were taken through the product development process, including idea validation and customer discovery, with five finalists selected. The finalists are building products solving problems in fields such as healthcare, consumer protection, and public services, and will pitch their solutions live at the World Product Day for a crack at the $2,000 grand prize.
While this isn’t an equity investment in the product, the fund hopes this kickstarts a movement that encourages more product thinking among startup teams in Africa.
“The idea is to really showcase what it looks like right from the very beginning. Before you set up a company, before you go and raise money, before you go and speak any English.
“These companies have not received any funding from us. All we did was show them how to use the product process, and you’ll be impressed with what they’ve come up with because that’s what the product operating model can do,” Wilson says.
Beyond the hackathon, the event includes hands-on workshops, a product career fair, and discussions with product leaders like Mustapha Otaru (Sterling Bank), Andrew Obuoforibo (54 Collective), and Isma’il Shomala (Go Money). Companies like Moniepoint and Interswitch are expected to participate in conversations about what it means to build for Africa.
“What Moniepoint has been able to do around distribution is really important, and they’re constantly iterating around this product infrastructure. Similarly, a lot of people forget Interswitch was building the very first bank apps and pioneering the very first experiences of fintech that many Nigerians had. So the idea is looking at a company that is circa ten years old and a company that is about 20 years old and really understanding what the product looks like in those two organisations.”
Launched in 2024, Innovate Africa is betting that better products, not just more startups, will unlock the next wave of value on the continent. With investments averaging $50,000, the fund also offers a product-centric accelerator and connects founders to Silicon Valley Product Group coaching.
