Kanyinsola Olawuyi

Building a product can teach you a great deal, but sometimes, it takes seeing how others approach the work to recognise what you could be doing differently. For Kanyinsola Olawuyi, that realisation became a turning point in her journey as a product professional. Today, Kanyinsola is the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Ismora Technologies, building towards a vision that once felt further out of reach.

But the journey to this point began when she was still a junior Product Manager, learning largely through experience, without the mentorship or guidance to recognise the gaps in her approach. She was already building a product. What she didn’t yet know was how much more deliberate she could be about the process behind it.

Attending the Inspire Africa Conference and the Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG) Masterclass gave her a new perspective on product management. She began to recognise gaps in her product discovery process and understand where her product strategy needed to become stronger. The experience was an eye-opener. It pushed her to ask better questions, seek out more knowledge, and rethink how she approached the products she was building.

The lessons were practical. She returned to her work with new approaches to product discovery, stakeholder management and product strategy, bringing greater intention to the decisions behind her products. More importantly, the experience changed what she felt capable of doing.

“It opened doors I didn’t think were possible. It completely changed the direction of my career. I was no longer afraid to think through solutions for my products.”

Since then, Kanyinsola has continued to grow in her career, business and professional relationships. Today, as a co-founder and product leader, she is building with a broader perspective on what it takes to create products that solve meaningful problems. For her, opportunities like the Inspire Africa Conference matter because they can help young professionals see beyond what they currently know or have experienced, and give them the confidence to pursue what once felt out of reach. More young Africans, she believes, deserve access to experiences that open their eyes to new possibilities and give them the courage to pursue them.