Product teams spend a significant amount of time deciding what to add. Roadmaps are filled with conversations about new features, new integrations, new products, and the next big release. In many technology companies, progress is measured by what ships next.
I think we spend far less time asking an equally important question: what can we take away?
Not capability. Not value. Complexity.
Every additional login, every extra app, every repeated verification process, and every unnecessary step between a user and their goal adds friction to the experience. On their own, these inconveniences may seem minor. Together, they shape how people perceive a product far more than most feature releases ever will.
This is becoming increasingly relevant as Africa’s digital economy grows.
Over the last decade, technology companies have built remarkable solutions across payments, communications, commerce, mobility, and financial services. The result is an ecosystem filled with innovation. At the same time, users now find themselves navigating an expanding collection of platforms to complete what are often related tasks. A remote worker might verify an account on one platform, purchase a subscription on another, stay connected through a third, and manage everyday digital payments somewhere else.
Each product performs its role well. The challenge is that the user’s experience rarely begins and ends with just one product.
I believe this is where the industry’s next competitive advantage lies.
For years, technology companies competed by building better products. Increasingly, they will compete by building better experiences. That requires a different way of thinking. Instead of asking how many features can be added, we should also be asking how many unnecessary steps can be removed.
One idea that has influenced my thinking comes from architecture. The principle, “less is more,” is often interpreted as doing less. I see it differently. To me, it is about designing systems so thoughtfully that people have to do less. Less switching between applications. Less searching for the right platform. Less repetition. Less effort to achieve the same outcome.
That philosophy has shaped the way we think about product development at Nexar.
As we expanded our services, we deliberately chose not to build a separate application for every solution we offered. Instead, we focused on creating a connected ecosystem where services such as virtual numbers, eSIMs, gift cards, bill payments, airtime and data top-ups, and other digital tools could exist within one platform.
The decision was not driven by a desire to offer more services. It was driven by an observation about customer behaviour.
People do not experience digital services in isolation. The same user who needs a virtual number today may need an eSIM next week, purchase a gift card for an international subscription, or pay a utility bill before the month ends. These are connected moments in a single digital journey, even if the products serving them have traditionally been disconnected.
This way of thinking has implications beyond one company.
As founders, we often celebrate innovation by counting launches, features, and product announcements. Those achievements matter, but they are only part of the story. Users measure products differently. They remember whether a service saved them time. They remember whether it felt intuitive. They remember whether it simplified their lives.
That is why I believe the next generation of successful technology companies will be defined less by the number of products they build and more by how seamlessly those products work together.
Africa’s technology ecosystem has already demonstrated that it can build world-class solutions. The opportunity now is to make those solutions feel just as connected as the lives of the people who use them.
Innovation should not only be about creating something new. Sometimes, its greatest value lies in removing what no longer needs to be there.
By Gracious Kolawole, Chief Executive Officer, Nexar Digital Services Limited
