Renowned for building household brands to shaping Africa’s digital marketplace, Jiji Africa’s Head of Marketing and PR, Majolie Obaje, shares insights on innovation, consumer behaviour, leadership, AI, and the future of marketing in this interview with GODWIN AIKIGBE Can you walk us through your journey into marketing and public relations, and what motivated you to choose this career path?
My entry into marketing and public relations was driven by a deep fascination with human behaviour and storytelling. I have always been intrigued by the “why” behind consumer choices, why people trust certain brands, what triggers loyalty, and how a well-crafted narrative can bridge the gap between a business solution and an everyday human need.
I’ll tell you a story. I recall my final interview with Sir Ropo Alabi, Founder and CEO of Linkpoint Resources Int’l Ltd, the very first marketing agency that gave me a chance to explore the industry, and him asking how I would endear a particular beverage brand to the younger generation.
I found myself sharing the exact strategy I had thought about for this brand not too long before then. That was a defining moment for me, because I had watched my mum’s loyalty to this particular brand over time and often wondered why my siblings and I never really connected with it.
I knew I had to do marketing. It was in my DNA, so I plunged right in. From the onset, I loved that marketing felt like the perfect marriage of creativity, psychology and business strategy. It allowed me to curate experiences that directly impact bottom-line growth and transform lives.
It still does. Which key moments have been most influential in shaping your career path? There have been a few, but two stand out vividly. The first was transitioning into the e-commerce and classifieds sector with Jiji Africa. Moving from localised campaign management to steering marketing and PR across multiple African markets (including Nigeria and Kenya) forced me to scale my thinking overnight.
It taught me that Africa is not a monolith: what drives a user in Lagos is fundamentally different from what moves another user in Nairobi. The second major defining moment happened just days ago at MarkHack 5.0, where I was honoured with the ‘CMO Innovation & Future Impact Award’.
Standing on that stage was an incredible validation of both personal effort and the collective resilience of our team at Jiji. It reinforced that when you anchor your marketing strategy on solving real and structural economic problems for people, business growth and industry recognition naturally follow.
What habits or guiding principles have played the biggest role in your success? I’d say intellectual curiosity for sure. The digital ecosystem is fast evolving, and the moment you think you know it all, you become obsolete. Also, having radical empathy as a principle has always helped.
I’m able to step into the shoes of the consumer while designing a campaign that solves their problem. Lastly, creativity without data is just an expensive hobby, so I’ve set a culture where every creative concept must answer to a measurable data frame that contributes towards our business goals.