Ifeoma Jibunoh, Chief Marketing Officer at Cassava Technologies
The role of marketing in technology companies is evolving from a siloed function focused on promoting products or solutions and generating leads to a strategic orchestrator of value across complex networks.
To navigate Africa’s diverse digital environment, forward-thinking stakeholders in the technology industry are increasingly adopting an ecosystem approach, leveraging partnerships and synergies to provide holistic, well-rounded solutions. This multifaceted landscape of modern customers and partners with varying needs requires a dynamic approach that recognises the power of collaboration across industries, platforms, and communities, which is also at the core of ecosystem marketing.
Shifting paradigms in technology and marketing
Storytelling and story-making have always been at the heart of marketing. As industries evolve, marketing is taking on a broader and more strategic role as a driver of ecosystems. This shift not only engages our audience but also connects us with them, creating platforms where stakeholders come together to co-create solutions that support shared progress.
This shift presents exciting opportunities for marketers in Africa’s tech sector, which traditionally had a narrow focus on specific offerings. Telcos provided connectivity. Start-ups developed mobile payment solutions. Logistics companies focused on last-mile delivery. Today, this approach is being replaced by integrated, multi-service solutions that span sectors and cross borders, inspiring a new wave of optimism and innovation.
In the ecosystem era, it’s no longer about promoting single, siloed solutions. It’s become about curating stories that showcase combined capabilities, amplifying successes, and delivering value-adding outcomes for customers and end-users.
At Cassava Technologies, marketing serves as a strategic enabler that reflects the organisation’s integrated portfolio. This means that, in addition to amplifying our brands – Liquid Intelligent Technologies (connectivity), Liquid C2 (cloud and cyber security), Africa Data Centres (co-location), Sasai (payments), and Cassava AI (compute) – our focus is also on telling joint stories with partners, highlighting their contributions, and demonstrating how collaboration can address industry-wide challenges. It’s about showing how combined capabilities deliver significantly better outcomes.
Tailored storytelling that enhances the customer experience
Africa’s diverse technology landscapes include clients across various sectors, as well as strategic partners, innovators, hyperscalers, and governments. Each stakeholder plays a role in shaping go-to-market strategies, and each benefits from integrated solutions over isolated products.
For customers, this creates a different kind of experience. People and organisations want interconnected solutions that integrate into their operations and daily lives. Marketing that reflects this reality helps customers discover new offerings, find greater value, and engage more meaningfully with brands. Done well, it builds trust, deepens relationships, and enhances customer satisfaction, creating a sense of connection and engagement.
AI is a marketing game-changer
Advances in AI are also adding a new dimension to how marketers engage audiences. Real-time data, predictive analytics, and personalisation create opportunities for in-the-moment narratives that reach people with relevant messages at the right time. The key is to make these feel authentic and relatable, which is why emotional intelligence remains crucial. Technology enhances marketing capabilities, but trust is built through genuine, human-centred storytelling.
At Cassava Technologies, investments in AI infrastructure, such as the planned upgrades to our data centres with NVIDIA supercomputers, will enable smarter targeting, more effective collaboration, and marketing strategies that realistically demonstrate the benefits of digital solutions. In short, AI will continue to play a critical role in refining marketing efforts.
Where to from here?
Working closely with product developers and partners, marketing provides decision-makers with clarity and practical solutions in a sometimes complex and overwhelming environment. Transitioning to an ecosystem marketing approach that embraces advanced technologies is how marketers can help their organisations remain relevant, impactful, and aligned with market needs. In Africa’s tech environment, this is invaluable.
