A leading Nigerian offline sales strategist, Fajimokun Kolawole, is championing a new artificial intelligence-driven sales model aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises and fintech startups scale more effectively across Africa.
In a statement disclosed on Tuesday, Kolawole said the new approach blends AI tools with a human-centred field sales strategy that harnesses offline distribution networks to drive customer acquisition, engagement, and long-term loyalty.
“The market does not begin with technology; it begins with people,” said Kolawole, who previously served as Vice President, Offline Sales at fintech firm Moniepoint. “To succeed, startups must reconnect with the streets.”
Drawing from years of field experience, Kolawole said his approach advocates for building layered sales teams comprising agents, business managers, state coordinators, and regional leads who operate within communities, engaging customers face-to-face.
These “street armies,” he explained, played a crucial role in the growth trajectories of firms such as OPay, Moniepoint, and PalmPay.
“We built a network of over 14,700 business managers generating and converting thousands of leads daily, contributing to trillions of naira in monthly transaction value,” he said.
His recently published book, Conquering the Streets: Your Lean Blueprint for Massive Sales in Africa, outlines the model in detail and highlights the importance of performance-based remuneration as a means to scale efficiently without the burden of high fixed salaries.
“We only pay when results are delivered, when someone is onboarded or uses the service,” Kolawole explained. “It’s a lean, scalable, and effective model that keeps costs down while boosting reach.”
He noted that beyond customer acquisition, field agents provide valuable market intelligence by collecting real-time feedback, identifying product gaps, and informing innovation. “This insight is often more valuable than any analytics dashboard,” he added.
Kolawole argued that the model is applicable not only to fintechs but also to traditional SMEs and startups across sectors.
“Any business can adopt this framework. The key lies in a transparent commission structure, localised training, and active community engagement,” he said.
“Relationships are currency in Nigeria. Agents who are part of the community speak the language, understand the culture, and can build trust that money alone cannot buy.”
According to Kolawole, this human-first strategy was central to Moniepoint’s emergence as one of Africa’s fastest-growing companies. His perspective is informed by years of experience in traditional banking and fintech, offering him a unique vantage point.
“The street-based model is the opposite of what you find in banking halls. But it works faster, cheaper, and more intimately,” he said. “We can build billion-dollar businesses not by copying Silicon Valley, but by understanding our streets. That’s where the real market lives.”