#10: Kieva Chris-Amusan—How a Doctor Became a Marketing Leader and Founder
Dr. Kieva Chris-Amusan is a health-tech innovator and CEO of Fertitude, using her medical background and marketing skills to transform women’s health access.
This is the African Growth Marketers Spotlight series for the Marketing In Action Newsletter where we interview diverse marketing practitioners who are putting marketing into action. Share it with your network! ~James
Can you tell us a bit about your background, education, and how you got into marketing?
I started out as a Medical Doctor! After graduating, I didn’t follow the typical white coat path—instead, I found myself diving into entrepreneurship, running an e-commerce business selling wedding rings. To grow that business into what has become one of the topmost wedding jewelry brands in Nigeria today, I had to learn digital marketing quickly.
What started as a necessity became a passion, and soon enough, I was running a digital marketing agency, helping other businesses grow. That journey eventually led me to build Fertitude, where I’m combining my medical knowledge with my marketing skills to build a platform supporting women’s reproductive health.
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How do you define growth marketing?
Growth marketing, for me, is all about building connections that last by understanding the full customer journey. It’s about using insights and data to refine each step, so we’re not just attracting users but nurturing long-term loyalty. I think of it as optimizing every part of the sales funnel to ensure it truly serves the customer. Growth happens when we understand our audience’s needs and goals so well that we’re delivering real value at every touchpoint, speaking their language, and meeting them where they are.
What are your key areas of expertise within marketing?
I’m a bit of a π-shaped marketer. Having been an entrepreneur for most of my career, I’ve always had my hand in different pies, pun intended—starting with social media, a bit of design, and content marketing. I dabbled in paid ads and on-site SEO, and during my time running an agency, I was especially focused on email marketing and funnels.
More recently, in C-level roles, I’ve been operating primarily from a strategic standpoint, keeping a close eye on analytics to drive informed, data-backed decisions.
Now, as co-founder of Fertitude, I’m leading the charge on growth with a focus on product lifecycle marketing, partnerships, storytelling, and community-building, though I still oversee what’s happening across the other areas, too.
Think of me as someone who’s always looking at both the data and the bigger picture.
Which marketing channels do you prioritize, and have you found to be effective?
There’s no silver bullet—it all depends on the target audience and the company’s capacity. But if I had to choose, I’d say content marketing is foundational; it builds trust and fuels other channels.
I’ve worked across different channels depending on the project, but for Fertitude, social media, and email have been especially powerful. Women’s health is personal, and platforms like TikTok or Instagram allow us to connect with women directly, hear their stories, and provide support that feels authentic. Email is also key for us; it allows us to nurture relationships over time, sharing resources and guidance without overwhelming the audience.
What roles have you held in your growth and marketing career?
I’ve been a bit of a marketing Swiss army knife! I started off as a Social Media Manager to Marketing Project Manager, Lead Funnels Strategist, VP of Growth Marketing, and now Chief Marketing Officer.
Which companies have you worked with?
Zavandi Jewelry: B2C e-commerce, retailing wedding rings to customers across Nigeria, and some parts of Africa, the US, and Europe
Zolt Digital Marketing Agency: Online Course Design & Funnels Agency for Coaches & Educators
SheLeadsAfrica: Africa’s #1 community providing resources for over 750k+ black women across Africa and the US
Venturing Women: A German startup incubator for female entrepreneurs in Europe and MENA regions
Fertitude: a health tech platform designed for women’s reproductive health.
Can you share a fun or interesting fact about yourself that most people don’t know?
Most people don’t know I’m actually a medical doctor by training! I took a pretty non-traditional path after medical school, so I’ve gone from studying for medical exams to running a successful e-commerce business and everything in between.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Outside of work, I love exploring new recipes and trying out restaurants—food is a whole adventure in itself!
I also have a soft spot for puzzle games with leaderboards - Sudoku, Wordle, Anagrams, LinkedIn Queens - and oh, I’m always reading, whether it’s a business book or a juicy novel with a scandalous twist.
When it’s time to unwind, you’ll find me binge-watching some quality reality TV, from Love Island and Love Is Blind to MTV’s The Challenge, Survivor, or Traitors. Nothing beats watching an entire season in one go when I need a good, stress-relieving escape from my own reality, hahaha!
Can you share a resource or template that has been particularly valuable in your work?
One template I can’t live without is my copywriting scripts. When it comes to writing copy, if you can help it, never write from scratch! I created this for my team while I was running my agency and it remains a lifesaver. Here’s one I use for email sequences
What advice would you give to someone starting their career in growth marketing?
My advice for anyone starting in growth marketing: don’t chase trends.
Start by mastering the basics—know your funnel, understand conversion metrics, and get comfortable with data analysis.
But here’s the twist: make it a habit to question assumptions. Instead of just following trends or tactics that “should work,” dive deep into understanding your audience’s unique pain points and behaviors. Run small experiments, learn from each, and build your own playbook based on what resonates with your specific audience.
Give us two marketers that you would like us to interview in this newsletter
I’ll give you three:
If you have a recommendation for who we should be speaking to, or who you would like to see in this interview series, reply with their names, marketing specialty, and how we can reach them (LinkedIn, Email, Phone, Home address 🙂).
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