Zulqarnain Suleiman
$5/hr
Product Manager | Product Strategy, Execution & Growth at Scale
ZULQARNAIN SULEIMAN BABA
Product Manager | Product Owner | Project & Operations Coordinator
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Senior Product Manager with 8+ years of experience delivering B2B and B2C digital products across
EdTech, SaaS, FinTech, GovTech, and Marketplace platforms. Expert in end-to-end product lifecycle
management, from discovery and validation to delivery, launch, and optimisation. Proven track record
leading cross-functional teams, scaling MVPs to production, and driving measurable business outcomes
including $12M+ revenue, 20,000+ active users, and 1,000+ institutional customers. Strong background in
Agile execution, stakeholder alignment, product analytics, and roadmap strategy.
CORE PRODUCT & TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES
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Product lifecycle ownership (Discovery → Delivery → Growth)
Product discovery & user research
MVP definition & validation
Agile delivery (Scrum, Kanban, Lean)
Roadmap strategy & prioritisation frameworks
OKRs, KPIs & success metrics
Data-driven decision-making
A/B testing & experimentation
Stakeholder management (Executives, Engineers, Designers)
Cross-functional team leadership
Product requirements documentation (PRDs, user stories, acceptance criteria)
Backlog grooming & sprint planning
Platform scalability & performance optimisation
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Product & Delivery: Jira, Trello, Asana
Collaboration: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom
Analytics & Data: Excel, Google Sheets, Tableau, SQL
Design & Prototyping: Figma, Adobe XD, Balsamiq
User Research & Ideation: FigJam, Miro, Whimsical
CRM & Support: Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Technical Product Manager — Tespire LLC
2025 – Present
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Own product roadmap and delivery for an EdTech platform serving primary, secondary, and
tertiary institutions.
Led development of features supporting 1,000+ schools and 20,000+ students across multiple
Nigerian states.
Enabled schools to collectively generate $12M+ in revenue through platform-driven digital
operations.
Translated business requirements into clear PRDs, user stories, and acceptance criteria for
engineering teams.
Worked closely with design, engineering, operations, and leadership to align product outcomes
with business goals.
Implemented analytics tracking and performance dashboards to guide prioritisation and
continuous improvement.
Hub Manager / Product Strategy Lead — Astound Innovation Hub Ltd
2023 – 2024
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Led product incubation and strategic advisory for 5+ early-stage startups across fintech, HR tech,
edtech, and SaaS.
Designed and implemented incubation frameworks that improved startup launch success rates by
60%+.
Supported Tespire (EdTech) in scaling transaction volume to ₦3B / $8M+.
Provided hands-on product leadership:
○ ABLY: Reduced feature scope by ~20%, accelerating time-to-market and improving
stakeholder satisfaction.
○ Baiwa HR: Redesigned recruitment workflows, significantly improving operational efficiency
and client experience.
Managed cross-functional delivery of Niger State Citizens Portal, increasing tax payment
compliance by ~3%.
Product Manager / Product Owner — Leagues Arena Ltd
2023 – 2024
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Co-built and scaled a data-intensive sports management and social networking platform.
Led product discovery, MVP definition, backlog management, and sprint execution.
Delivered MVPs for LA Training, LA Bookings, and LA Competitions.
Coordinated engineering, design, and operations teams to meet aggressive delivery timelines.
Platform featured in TechCabal for innovation in African sports technology.
Product Manager / Talent Lead — Global Tax Compliance (GTC)
2022 – 2023
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Ideated and launched a Tax Advisor Listing & B2B Tax Portal Platform.
Expanded platform presence to 132 tax portals across 43 countries and 3 continents within 6
months.
Led distributed product teams of engineers and designers across multiple time zones.
Standardised Agile practices and improved sprint predictability across cross-functional teams.
Played a key role in scaling both consumer-facing and enterprise product offerings.
Technical Advisor — African Centre for Tax and Governance (ACTG)
2022 – 2023
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Provided technical advisory on digital platforms supporting tax research and public policy.
Restructured and maintained IT architecture frameworks to support long-term scalability and
security.
Business Developer / Product Manager — MartGround (SaaS
Marketplace)
2018 – 2022
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Launched a multi-vendor SaaS marketplace, onboarding 150+ vendors within the first month.
Designed SOPs and operational workflows that increased sales by 30%+.
Built and optimised high-conversion landing pages and funnels using Webflow.
Worked closely with founders to define product-market fit and early growth strategy.
EDUCATION
B.Sc. Physics (Second Class Upper)
University of Abuja | 2017 – 2023
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
Certificate of National Service | 2023 – 2024
CERTIFICATIONS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Machine Learning Specialisation — Stanford Online University & DeepLearning.AI (In View)
Digital Product Management — University of Virginia, Darden School of Business
Product Analytics & AI — University of Virginia, Darden
AfriCon EU Bootcamp — 1st Place
Management of Innovation Hubs — Afrilabs Academy
Y Combinator Startup School
Web Development Certification — The App Brewery
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
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AfriCon EU Pitch National Award (2023)
Gold Medal — AfriCon EU Pitch Bootcamp
Represented Nigeria at AfriCon EU Capitalization Events, Porto
Featured in TechCabal (Leagues Arena)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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Language: English (Fluent)
Remote-first work experience
Strong written communication & documentation skills
Interests: Product strategy, continuous learning, fitness, volunteering
References available upon request
