Building products for broken systems - Damilola Adelekan (Lead Product Manager, Remedial Health)
In this episode of The Product Experience, hosts Lily Smith and Randy Silver speak withDamilola Adelekan, Lead Product Manager at Remedial Health, discusses building pragmatic, people-centred solutions in Africa’s fragmented and under-resourced healthcare system.
Key Takeaways
— Solving system-wide issues requires holistic thinking: Tackling only one part of a broken system (e.g. telemedicine) won’t create lasting impact—solutions must address the full value chain.
— User diversity demands contextual design: From language localisation to offline training, product success depends on adapting to regional and cultural realities.
— Communication is core to product leadership: Translating needs across business, operations, and engineering requires strong communication skills and empathy.
— Product vision is shaped by pragmatism, not Silicon Valley ideals: Effective products in emerging markets are built around real constraints and user needs—not templates from the global north.
— AI can’t solve everything, yet: While AI is exciting, foundational infrastructure like data access and system interoperability remains a key barrier.
— Adoption starts with trust and education: Training, human support, and clear messaging are essential to help low-literacy users adopt digital tools.
— Internal alignment needs structured prioritisation: Managing multiple stakeholder demands involves understanding business impact across departments, not just using theoretical frameworks.
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction
01:00 – Meet Damilola Adelakun
02:30 – From Zoology to Product Management
05:30 – Early Lessons from Volunteering and Nonprofits
07:00 – Why Digitising a Broken System Isn’t Enough
10:00 – Tackling Trust, Funding, and Fragmentation in Healthcare
12:30 – Collaborating Beyond the Organisation
14:30 – Building a Full Healthcare Supply Chain
16:00 – Pragmatism Over Perfection in Product Vision
18:00 – Cross-Team Collaboration at Scale
20:00 – Structuring Product Work Across Functions
22:00 – Communications Tips for Cross-Functional Leadership
24:00 – Increasing Tech Adoption Among Low-Digital-Literacy Users
26:00 – Customer Research in Low-Tech Contexts
28:00 – Voice of the Customer: Calls, Feedback, and Sales Teams
30:00 – What Inspires a Product Manager in Nigeria?
Featured Links
Follow Damilola on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/damilola-ade/
Remedial Health | https://remedial.health/
Inspire Africa | https://www.inspireafricaconference.com/ Receive SMS online on sms24.me
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