026: Leo Stiegeler – At the Vanguard of Africa’s Digital Media

Leo Stiegeler is the general manger of Ringier Africa, publisher of the popular Pulse media brand. You can connect with him @LeonardStiegeler on Linkedin. Leo is passionate about Africa’s digital media and marketing. For the last five years, he has led the expansion of Ringier, a 200-year old Swiss media giant, into Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya’s booming digital media markets. Leo is quickly establishing Ringier as one of Africa’s leading digital media brands. In July, Ringier reached a total of 169 million users across its platforms. Before Ringier, Leo was at the forefront of Africa’s e-commerce as one of the co-founders of Jumia Nigeria. He later served as the CEO of Startup Partners Africa, a Lagos-based internet incubator. We talked about Leo’s early fascination with Sub-Saharan Africa, his experiences in Nigeria’s budding e-commerce market, and the vast potential of Africa’s digital media. He’s an adamant believer in local content and the power of video, saying if “a Nigerian is spending his/her last kobo, it will be on video.” Without further ado, here’s my conversation with Leo Stiegeler.