From a kid obsessed with how things are made to leading product at one of Africa's fastest-growing fintechs, George's journey is one of a kind.
In this edition of our Employee Spotlight, he takes us behind the scenes of what it's like to shape Miden's products, lead a world-class team, and keep that spark of innovation alive every single day.
Meet George
Q: Tell us about yourself and your role at Miden.
My name is George-Daniel Osuagwu, and I lead the product team here at Miden as Head of Products. I'm responsible for shaping what we build, why we build it, and ensuring it solves real problems for businesses globally.
How a Kid Obsessed with Factory Tours Became a Product Leader
Q: What made you choose this career path? Were you always interested in creating products?
I've always been drawn to how ideas become things that actually improve people's lives. As a kid, I was obsessed with How It's Made – those factory tours where raw materials were transformed into sneakers or toothpaste. I'd sit glued to the screen, trying to reverse-engineer the whole process in my head. That curiosity never left; it just evolved.
Growing up in the University of Calabar community, I was surrounded by people who thought in systems: scientists, researchers, innovators. Early on, I knew I wanted to blend three worlds: business, tech, and healthcare. The business and tech spark came from AIESEC, where I ran youth leadership programs and saw how a single digital tool could scale impact across borders. The health piece? That's my mum. She's spent decades as a lecturer in genetics and biotechnology, and her passion for using science to solve real problems rubbed off on me. Watching her work showed me how precision and care can genuinely change lives.
When the time came, I made a bold move: I left a course I didn't quite fit into and restarted in public health. It wasn't a detour but an unlock. The flexibility let me explore the intersections between systems, people, and technology in ways rigid paths never could. That's when product thinking truly clicked – not just building, but solving at scale.
My journey took me through health tech first, where I learned to obsess over outcomes that actually matter. Then e-commerce, which sharpened my focus on customer experience and moving fast. Logistics taught me operational rigor – how to manage complexity without breaking things. And now finance at Miden, which demands precision and trust at every turn.
Honestly, I switched fully to product management just three months into my health tech experience and never looked back. Merging it with product design early on, I designed and shipped products that are still out there today. That blend of strategy, empathy, and hands-on creation sealed it: product became my home.
At Miden, I now work with an amazing team building financial infrastructure that actually works for businesses across Africa. And honestly? It still feels like watching How It's Made – except now, I'm the one designing the machine.
A Day in the Life
Q: What's a typical workday like for you? Give us the real, unfiltered version.
Every day is honestly a busy day, but what makes it manageable is staying plugged into what matters.
Mornings usually start with checking customer feedback and interactions across all our support channels – seeing what users are struggling with, what's working, and what's not. Then I'm syncing with the devs. We're in the middle of a build cycle right now, so there's constant back-and-forth on features, edge cases, and making sure what we're building actually solves the problems we've identified.
And look, I have to say this – I've got the best set of engineers. Don't tell them I said that though, because they'll think I like them. But honestly, I'm not sure I'd make it through the day without them. Working with people who genuinely care about craft and understand the mission makes the chaos manageable.
I'm also syncing with other teams – Operations, Finance, and the BD/Sales guys – speaking with businesses in different markets, whether it's travel, fintech, logistics, you name it. Understanding their needs, whether it's a closed-loop system or something much more unique or generic, I'm diving in and building out processes for how our platform solves those needs.
On quieter days, I try to focus on longer-term thinking. Where are we in six months? What does the next phase of our infrastructure look like? But even on those days, something might come up, which is understandable given the industry we play in.
How to Lead When the Stakes Are High
Q: As a leader, your decisions often shape the team's success or failure. How do you approach making tough decisions, particularly when the stakes are high?
For tough decisions, especially in fintech where stakes are genuinely high, I gather context ruthlessly – talk to customers, review insights, consult the team. I'd rather have everyone on a call where ideas and solutions are discussed with varying perspectives and instant feedback, rather than having individual calls that fragment the conversation. Then I bias toward action. Perfect information doesn't exist, so at some point, you decide and move. And critically, I communicate the why behind decisions. People can handle tough calls if they understand the reasoning.
Q: How do you keep the team motivated and organized?
Clarity is huge – everyone needs to understand what we're building and why. But we've also built a culture of collective decision-making. We're deliberate about things. We argue out the best route. I like to play devil's advocate sometimes, challenging assumptions, but ultimately giving the team – especially the devs – real sway in decisions. I mean, they know how, I know why and what, but they're deeply involved in shaping the direction of the how. It's collaborative, and that ownership keeps everyone invested.
What Makes Miden's Product Team Different
Q: What's something unique about Miden's product culture that people wouldn't expect?
Honestly? We actually listen to customers. I know that sounds basic, but you'd be surprised how many product teams build what they think users need instead of asking them. Every decision we make starts with understanding what's actually broken or missing for businesses on the ground.
We look at data, sure, but we're not slaves to it. Sometimes you need to trust your gut or connect dots that a spreadsheet won't show you. The best product decisions I've made came from that mix – evidence plus intuition.
The teams here have real autonomy. PMs, designers, engineers – we're all in it together, experimenting, making calls, moving fast. It's not about waiting for someone at the top to hand down orders. We argue things out, test ideas, and when something doesn't work, we pivot quickly. We celebrate what I call "intelligent failures": you ship something, learn it's not landing as expected, and you course-correct immediately. The culture isn't about being right the first time; it's about learning faster than the competition.
That approach is what got us to the top 5 in transaction processing volume among card-issuing fintechs in Sub-Saharan Africa within eight months of launch. We didn't get there by having all the answers upfront. We got there by iterating relentlessly based on real customer feedback and moving with speed and precision. In this market, that velocity matters more than perfection.
Beyond Product Management
Q: Are you a fan of books or music? What's your recent favorite obsession?
Both, definitely! But honestly, I read when I can – product and strategy books are great, but I'm not living in them 24/7. I try to have a life outside of work too. Movies and shows, though? That's where I really get hooked. Any movie or show with amazing dialogue is king for me. I love stuff with geopolitical and economic depth – the kind that makes you think. I'm also a huge Marvel guy – action, storytelling, the whole universe they've built. And recently, games like Warhammer 40K.
I also make it a point to get out – hang at events, go to talks, have proper conversations with people outside the tech bubble. You get different insights and perspectives that way, and honestly, it keeps me sane.
Advice for Aspiring Product Leaders
Q: What's one piece of advice you'd give to anyone venturing into your field?
One piece? I'm giving you three – consider it a product bundle:
1. Fall in love with the problem, not your solution. Too many people get attached to their ideas and lose sight of whether they're actually solving real problems. The best product people are intensely curious about users and their pain points. They're willing to kill their darlings if feedback suggests a different approach works better.
2. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Product management means dealing with ambiguity, incomplete information, and competing priorities constantly. Accept that as part of the job.
3. Push beyond what you think you can do. As Master Shifu said in Kung Fu Panda: "If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are." That velocity of learning, that willingness to act even when you're not sure – that's where growth happens.
Final Thoughts
Great products don't just come from lines of code – they come from curiosity, empathy, and relentless learning. George’s story shows that great product leaders always begin with why, dig into how, and never stop improving.
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