Why I Started The African Product Marketing Community (APMC).
My name is Temitope Adelanwa, I am a Communications Strategist and Transitioning Product Marketer. I use “transitioning” because I believe the Product Marketing profession is still being defined and is yet to be completely understood by we the professionals, recruiters and the entire tech industry.
In my search for a fit for my skills, interests and experience, I got introduced to Product Management through the Product School (productschool.com), but I knew Product Management was not for me. I wanted to be the voice of the product, listening to the users/consumers and building products defined by their needs.
Luckily for me, in 2019 I came across the Association of International Product Marketing & Management AIPMM (aipmm.com). I was elated, they offered a Product Marketing Certification, and I thought I was in luck.
Ready to get certified, I contacted their US office and was told the only training/certification partner in Nigeria was Product Dive (https://productdive.com/). Though surprised, I contacted the centre and spoke with them. Yet again, the centre only offered training and certification to Product Managers, I was told to check back…I did, but I guess Product Management is where the focus is for now.
So I went on self-learning, taking courses in line with the skills I needed to be an awesome Product Marketer. Then earlier in the year (2020) I somehow connected to Product Marketing Alliance PMA (productmarketingalliance.com) and it was amazing.
Oh my God! They had everything I was looking for, so many resources, articles, books, jobs e. t.c. Without thinking twice, I jumped into their Slack group and set all notifications on so as not to miss any updates.
A few months down the line I realized I would not gain much here. Most engagements shared served all markets except Africa. Once again I felt lost.
After months of deliberating, I summoned the courage to close the gap. On the 8th of October 2020, I launched the African Product Marketing Community (APMC). It’s been just a few days post-launch, and I have gotten amazing feedback.
My goal for the community is to bring together Product Marketers working in the African Tech Space to connect, learn and grow.
If you are a Product Marketer (new, old, transitioning or interested) reading this, I sure can use your support. Join the community, let’s connect.
See you there!