#21: Stephen Akadiri—From Biological Sciences to Growth Marketing
Stephen Akadiri is a growth marketer skilled in SEO, content strategy, product growth, and retention, working with tech startups and SaaS brands.
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
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Can you tell us a bit about your background, education, and how you got into marketing?
I studied Biological Sciences, but somewhere in my penultimate year in Uni, I got deeply curious about how tech startups grow. Honestly, I also wanted more for myself. I knew there was more beyond what I knew.
So, I began to read and digest all the materials I could lay my hands on. I attended several tech events too. I became obsessed with learning, and that curiosity pushed me to complete the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing course in 2017. From there, I started cold-emailing startup CEOs. Luckily, one of them took a chance on me, and that’s how the journey began.
Since then, I’ve spent the last 6+ years building a career around organic growth. Not just SEO in the traditional sense, but a broader, more strategic approach to helping products reach and retain the right audiences. After working across different sectors and growth roles, I decided to pursue a Masters in International Business to back my experience with global business knowledge and frameworks.
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How do you define growth marketing?
To me, growth marketing is about building sustainable loops that drive user acquisition, activation, retention, and revenue across the customer journey, not just running campaigns.
It’s less about short-term hacks and more about understanding what truly moves the needle at each stage of the customer journey. Good growth marketing is sustainable. It should relate directly to the business model.
I also think of growth as a cross-functional mindset, not just marketing’s job. It involves product and operations.
What are your key areas of expertise within marketing?
I’m a growth generalist with vast knowledge across all stages of the funnel (acquisition, activation, monetization, retention, and referral), with a deep specialty in organic growth. That includes SEO, yes, but also much more.
On the acquisition side, I’ve worked across organic and inbound channels such as SEO, content strategy, landing page optimization, and performance marketing, especially when collaborating closely with product and design teams to ship experiments.
For activation and lifecycle plays, I’ve focused on product-led growth levers, CRM-led lifecycle campaigns, marketing automation, and product marketing, all aimed at getting users to their “aha” moment faster. When it comes to monetization and revenue growth, I lean on conversion rate optimization (CRO), A/B testing, experimentation across product and marketing, as well as strategic positioning.
Finally, in referral and growth loops, I enjoy building systems that drive word-of-mouth, creating value-driven, shareable experiences, and tapping into retention as a referral point.
Which marketing channels do you prioritize, and have you found to be effective?
Organic search and content marketing have always been my most consistent growth drivers. But I’ve found that pairing them with CRM flows and product-led experiences makes the impact much stronger.
I’ve also worked with teams running paid acquisition, and I often contribute ideas that bridge content, lifecycle, and product growth, especially when we’re launching in new markets or trying to fix leaky funnels.
What roles have you held in your growth and marketing career?
Over the years, I’ve held roles such as SEO manager, content strategist, growth marketing lead, organic growth lead, and SEO product manager. Each role has helped me deepen my understanding of both marketing and how products evolve with user behaviour.
Which companies have you worked with?
Hotels.ng – Nigeria’s first and largest hotel booking platform (B2B/B2C, hospitality), my early work helped me understand how search and content could drive real business outcomes.
BlackHouse Media (BHM) / ID Africa – PR, Media & Communication (B2B/B2C), I worked across strategy, content, and visibility for brands in entertainment, telecommunications, and FMCG.
Plaqad – A marketing tech platform (B2B/SaaS), I developed the model for organic growth for a tool that helped brands manage influencer campaigns.
ThePeer – An API infrastructure for fintech startups (B2B/SaaS), I worked on early positioning and organic growth efforts for the developer audience.
Grey – A cross-border fintech platform (B2B + B2C), we’re helping remote workers, freelancers, and businesses access global banking, convert currencies, and manage international payments. I currently lead organic growth and SEO efforts across our core markets in Africa, MENA, LATAM, Europe, and Asia.
Can you share a fun or interesting fact about yourself that most people don’t know?
Most people don’t know this, but I’m a bit of an aviation nerd. I’m fascinated by aircraft systems, airline operations, and everything around commercial flying. If I’m not working, there’s a good chance I’m watching cockpit footage or reading something aviation-related.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Outside of work, I enjoy watching football, love cooking, and playing musical instruments.
Can you share a resource or template that has been particularly valuable in your work?
One resource that has proven invaluable in my work is the SEO Opportunity Prioritization Matrix. It helps me rank initiatives by impact, effort, and alignment with product growth goals, allowing me to focus on projects that actually make a meaningful impact, such as driving qualified sign-ups and supporting long-term retention.
However, I also treat organic growth with the same mindset as paid campaigns. That’s where the AARRR Growth Framework comes in. Mapping SEO and content strategy across acquisition, activation, retention, referral, and revenue gives me a clear way to tie organic efforts directly to business outcomes, which has been especially effective in SaaS and startup environments.
What advice would you give to someone starting their career in growth marketing?
My advice to anyone starting out in growth marketing is simple: be curious, be brave, and start small. You don’t need to know everything—just be the person who consistently asks good questions and tests ideas.
It’s not about having all the tools; it’s about knowing how to apply them.
Give us two marketers that you would like us to interview in this newsletter
Joel Ogunjimi – Marketing Analytics Manager at Yellowcard.
Franklin Ugobode – Customer Marketing Manager at Trustpilot.
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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 🙂).