About TechMark Podcast
Techmark Pod is the unscripted audio and video podcast at the heart of Africa’s digital transformation, where technology and marketing collide to shape the continent’s business future. Hosted by Alvin Matewa-renowned marketer, project manager, and SaaS architect with deep roots in Africa’s tech ecosystem-each weekly episode dives into the latest marketing trends, digital innovations, and real-world strategies fueling growth across African markets.
Meet the Host
Alvin Matewa
Alvin Matewa is an accomplished Chief Marketing Technologist with a passion for bridging the gap between marketing and technology. With years of experience in developing innovative marketing strategies and leveraging cutting-edge MarTech tools, Alvin is dedicated to helping businesses thrive in the digital age. Known for his insightful analysis and forward-thinking approach, he brings a wealth of knowledge on emerging trends, data-driven decision-making, and tech-driven marketing solutions. Through engaging discussions and expert interviews, Alvin aims to inspire marketers to embrace technology and drive impactful results.
Techmark Pod
Techmark Pod, hosted by Alvin Matewa, is an unscripted weekly podcast exploring the dynamic intersection of technology and marketing in Africa. Each episode delivers raw, insightful discussions on the latest digital trends, innovative strategies, and industry insights designed to inspire and inform African businesses aiming to drive growth and innovation. Join us to discover how technology and marketing combine to shape Africa’s evolving business landscape.
How Dentsu Africa Is Building for the Next Market Shift – Dawn Rowlands_IMC Conference
At the IMC Conference event, Alvin Matewa sat down with Dawn Rowlands, CEO of Dentsu Africa, for a conversation about why AI is not the real disruption. The real threat is moving too slowly while the market rewires itself around you.
Dawn explains why the next era of marketing, creativity, and growth belongs to businesses that think like challengers, build like product companies, and hire for curiosity rather than industry familiarity. If you lead a marketing team, work in tech, or are trying to stay relevant in a volatile market, this conversation is for you.
She shares how Dentsu Africa operates across 14 co-founded countries and affiliate partners in 30 more, and how its roots, born in Japan and raised in Africa, shape its distinctive approach to creativity and impact. She explores why the current shift is bigger than the digital revolution, why “the tide rising” will not look the same this time, and why companies that wait for certainty risk being left behind.
The conversation explores how entrepreneurial ownership can create agility in uncertain times, how democratised creativity and technology are reshaping competition, and why Dentsu is building SaaS products rather than focusing only on services. Dawn also discusses the challenge of earning trust before scaling innovation, and how thoughtful hiring and mentorship can help businesses avoid simply building “more of the same.”
Dawn makes a powerful case for starting with people, not products: understand real problems first, then use technology to address them. Drawing on Dentsu’s launch in Nigeria, she explains how hiring graduate trainees, investing in mentorship, and asking candidates what they are curious about can help identify people who will shape the future of a business.
This episode is a wake-up call for anyone building in marketing, media, or tech. The companies that win will not just adapt to change; they will be built for it. Essential listening for anyone interested in what leadership, creativity, and competitive advantage look like in the age of AI
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