Case study / Brand, PR & Product Marketing
Giving a retail-tech disruptor its voice.
Communications at Africa’s fastest-growing company
How I built the brand, press and campaign engine across OmniRetail’s multi-product ecosystem (OmniBiz, OmniPay, Mplify) as it moved from seed stage to profitability.
The company,
in context.
OmniRetail digitises Africa’s informal retail supply chain. Its flagship platform, OmniBiz, lets retailers order stock from manufacturers and distributors; OmniPay adds payments and credit; and Mplify gives distributors and brands visibility of sales. Informal retail is the largest part of the market, which made this a story that needed clear, credible telling to brands, investors, retailers and the press.
- #1
- Financial Times ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies, 2024
- $3M → $15M
- Seed round (Aug 2021) to pre-Series A (Aug 2022)
- 65,000+
- Retailers on the platform, per 2022–23 coverage
- EBIT
- Breakeven reported by TechCrunch in March 2024
Company-level figures above come from the public coverage linked below. They describe OmniRetail’s growth during my tenure, not results I claim for myself. My own results are in the section further down.
The communications challenge.
The business sold to three very different audiences at once: global FMCG brands who needed proof of reach, small retailers who needed trust and simplicity, and investors who needed a clear route to profit. As the group added products, the risk was a fragmented story. The job was to keep one coherent brand across OmniBiz, OmniPay, Mplify and OmniHub while turning each funding and growth milestone into press credibility.
What I did.
Apr – Sep 2021 · Product Marketing & Strategy, OmniBiz
Building the demand engine
Created and edited campaign content, shot and edited short-form video, ran lead generation and analysed channel performance, contributing to a 58% improvement in campaign conversion rates. This was the stretch that led into the August 2021 seed announcement.
Sep 2021 – Sep 2023 · PR & Communications Manager, OmniRetail
Owning the narrative
Drafted and pitched company messaging to media and stakeholders, handled PR queries and objections, and coordinated internal communications and approvals. This period covered the Bloomberg feature on consumer-goods giants signing up, the $15M pre-Series A, and the expansion into Ghana, with agencies and Sales aligned behind one message.
Sep 2023 – Sep 2024 · Brand & Communications Lead, OmniRetail
One brand across the ecosystem
Led communications for a multi-brand group, managing a team of around five alongside agencies and media partners on briefs, budgets and timelines. Represented company leadership in presentations and coordinated sponsorship and event activity with Marketing and Sales. The work contributed to a 25% uplift in product adoption and a 15% improvement in campaign conversion efficiency.
Results I contributed to.
- +25%
- Product adoption across the multi-brand ecosystem
- +58%
- Campaign conversion rates at OmniBiz
- +15%
- Campaign conversion efficiency from better briefs and content
The moments that made the news.
Each of these landed during my time at the company. I was part of the communications and marketing function that supported them.
- TechCrunch · Aug 2021Omnibiz gets $3M to digitize Nigeria’s informal B2B supply chain (opens in a new tab)
- Bloomberg · Apr 2022Nigeria’s top consumer firms tap startup to boost sales (opens in a new tab)
- TechCabal · Aug 2022Omnibiz raises $15 million pre-Series A (opens in a new tab)
- TechCrunch · Aug 2022Omnibiz raises millions to gain and retain retail customers (opens in a new tab)
- TechCrunch · Mar 2024What African B2B e-commerce startups can learn from OmniRetail’s profitable run (opens in a new tab)
- Disrupt Africa · Apr 2024OmniRetail kicks off Series A fundraising with Goodwell investment (opens in a new tab)
- Africa Business · May 2024OmniRetail emerges first in Financial Times ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies (opens in a new tab)
Recognition.
- Financial Times, Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2024: OmniRetail ranked first.
- VC4A Venture Showcase Africa 2023: OmniBiz selected as one of 12 startups.
- Business Elites Africa 40 Under 40: OmniRetail’s founder and CEO was named in the edition shared by the company.
- CNBC Africa: the CEO appeared in an interview on navigating inflation and currency pressure in retail.
These are company and leadership honours, listed because they show the platform I was building the brand for.