John Maduforo
Brand, Marketing, and Growth Leader in Lagos, Nigeria
John Maduforo has built his career doing one thing consistently well — taking businesses into markets and making them grow. Over twelve years, across technology, real estate, and consumer sectors in Nigeria, Ghana, and the UAE, he has led the brand, marketing, and growth functions that turn early-stage potential into measurable commercial traction.
His work sits at the point where strategy meets execution. He has owned product positioning, built marketing infrastructure from scratch, led multi-market campaigns, and managed the full commercial lifecycle of partnerships that have contributed to over NGN 2 billion in transaction volume. He has done this across proptech, SaaS, and enterprise technology — in environments where the brief was rarely straightforward and the margin for error was real.
Brand, Marketing & Growth
This is where John's work is most concentrated. He builds the systems that make marketing a commercial engine — from positioning and messaging through to channel strategy, acquisition, performance tracking, and team structure. His experience spans both the strategic and the hands-on: setting quarterly priorities with leadership one week, reviewing campaign data and redirecting budget the next.
He has led brand and marketing functions at Venco, Trustcrow, and CW Real Estate, delivering results that include a 40% increase in lead generation, 35% market penetration growth, and a 70% improvement in lead quality through repositioning alone.
Partnerships & Ecosystem Development
Alongside his marketing work, John has developed a sharp capability in building and managing commercial partnerships. He has structured revenue-share agreements, negotiated institutional deals, built partner pipelines, and developed co-branded programmes across multiple sectors. He understands how partnerships are identified, pitched, structured, and — critically — how they are managed after the ink dries.
Advisory
Having operated at a senior level across multiple industries, John now extends that experience into advisory and consulting engagements. He works with founders and business leaders on go-to-market strategy, brand positioning, partnership development, and growth infrastructure — bringing market-specific insight rather than off-the-shelf thinking, particularly within the Nigerian and African business context.
The Climb
John is also the founder of The Climb, a platform and community dedicated to helping early-career professionals and career switchers build purposeful paths within Africa's technology ecosystem.