South Africa Tech Marketers

In this episode of South African Tech Marketers, we’re joined by Palesa Ramafola—better known as OG PARLEY—a creative strategist, digital lecturer, social media coordinator, and award-winning content creator with 90K+ followers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Palesa has built her personal brand from scratch while managing corporate social teams, leading cross-platform campaigns, mentoring emerging talent, and even writing her own academic research on TikTok. In this conversation, she unpacks how she’s scaled sustainably—without losing her creative edge.

Whether you're juggling full-time marketing work and side content creation, or dreaming of turning your brand into your business, this conversation is for you.

🧵 Topics Covered

🧠 Takeaways

This episode of South African Tech Marketers features Candice Jenkinson — a strategist who didn’t follow the “linear” path to global tech, but built one of her own. Candice brings nearly 20 years of experience across agencies, FMCG, retail, B2B, and now SaaS, and currently leads product marketing at Metaphor, a 40-year-old UK-based software company.

She joined Metaphor after running a high-stakes SEO revamp as an agency partner — and was soon recruited as their first South African hire. Her story is a masterclass in leveraging hybrid skills, asking sharp questions, and building trust across borders.

Candice unpacks the mindset shift from agency urgency to product marketing depth, the unique cultural advantages South African marketers bring to international roles, and how to lead with storytelling in a metrics-driven environment. This is essential listening for marketers navigating their transition into international, remote-first tech teams.

🎯 What We Cover

From drama school to marketing strategy

Moving from agencies to in-house global tech roles

The value South Africans bring to remote international teams

Cultural lessons from working with UK-based teams

How to turn product marketing into human storytelling

Creating internal content that celebrates your team’s impact

Advice for early-career marketers finding their path

Why niching down early is a game-changer

🔑 Key Takeaways

Start by earning trust, then challenge the brief

Internal content isn’t fluff — it’s a growth lever

South African marketers bring built-in cross-cultural fluency

Pause before shipping — strategic patience matters

Position yourself globally through intentional focus

Your “just make a plan” instinct is a differentiator

📌 Action Steps

Audit your positioning — are you known for something?

Add internal storytelling to your next GTM

Practice structured curiosity — ask sharper questions

Work async with tools like Notion, Loom, Slack

Join peer communities (like SA Tech Marketers)

In this episode of South Africa Tech Marketers, we sit down with Sinethemba (Swelihle) Mlotshwa, Marketing and Brand Lead at Beauty on TApp. Just three years into her career, Sinethemba has carved out a leadership role in one of South Africa’s rising beauty and e-commerce startups — a brand specifically built to serve African skin needs.

She shares a candid look into the realities of fast-tracking your career in a startup environment, the mindset shift needed when transitioning from individual contributor to team leader, and how technical upskilling — particularly in data analysis — has become non-negotiable for marketers who want to remain relevant.

If you’re serious about accelerating your own career in marketing — whether locally or stepping onto the global stage — this episode offers tactical, implementable insights drawn from lived experience.

Topics Discussed:

Transitioning from a Bachelor of Commerce in Fashion to tech-driven marketing

The strategy behind using internships as a long-term career accelerator

How startup environments force — and enable — rapid skill acquisition

Moving from e-commerce marketing to omnichannel (retail + digital) brand strategy

Why working on brands built for African audiences offers a competitive marketing edge

Building products informed directly by marketer-user feedback loops

The importance of personal brand-building for career longevity in marketing

The hard reality of shifting from hands-on marketing execution to leadership and delegation

Why data literacy is now critical even for creative marketers

Practical lessons on trusting long-term career growth without short-term anxiety

Key Takeaways:

Startups are Skill Accelerators — If You Treat Them That Way:

Product-Market Fit Is Personal When You’re the Customer:

Omnichannel Marketing Requires a Rebuild of Skills, Fast:

Technical Upskilling Is Non-Negotiable:

Leadership Means Letting Go — and Scaling Through Others:

Trust the Process — but Push for Adaptability:

Resources Mentioned:

Beauty on TApp: www.beautyontapp.co.za

Global Talent Co.: www.globaltalent.co

Join Our Community:

In this episode of South African Tech Marketers, we dive into the remarkable and refreshingly honest story of Monde Mtolo, Digital Director at Stratitude.

Monde shares how he hustled his way from a university student experimenting with Canva and selling furniture on Facebook Marketplace, to now leading digital marketing strategies for high-profile clients.

His story is a powerful blend of entrepreneurial spirit, creative grit, and tech-savvy resourcefulness—proving that the path into global tech doesn't have to be linear.

Whether you’re early in your career or looking to pivot into the tech world, this episode offers a masterclass in making a plan, building from nothing, and leveraging tools like AI to thrive in global marketing roles.

Topics Discussed:

Takeaways:

In this episode of South African Tech Marketers, we sit down with Devlin Lakay, Marketing Manager at Namola (part of MultiChoice Group), to unpack the realities of building a marketing career that’s not only successful—but deeply aligned with who you are.

Devlin’s 15+ year journey has taken him from research roles at Unilever and SAB, to leading flagship campaigns for Castle Lager and Vodacom, to building an events business as a DJ. What’s unique about Devlin is not just where he’s worked—it’s how he thinks. This episode is a masterclass in brand strategy, professional reinvention, and personal brand alignment in an increasingly chaotic marketing landscape.

Whether you're trying to break into a major marketing team, lead brave creative, or find space to bring your whole self to your work—Devlin’s insights hit different.

🎙 Topics Covered

How to transition from data-driven roles to brand leadership

Lessons from working on billion-rand brands like Castle Lager and Vodacom

The real value of below-the-line marketing experience

Designing brand campaigns that integrate ATL, BTL, and CX

Why South African marketers need to stop playing it safe

The collapse of mentorship in modern marketing teams—and what to do instead

Personal branding as career insurance (especially in a volatile job market)

Balancing corporate and creative pursuits without burning out

💡 Key Takeaways

Exposure to excellence compounds your career.

The best campaigns are brave, not busy.

Below-the-line isn't “less than”—it’s foundational.

You need a personal brand—especially if you’re not an influencer.

Mentorship isn’t dead—but you may need to ask for it.

Passion and positioning must converge.

🔗 Links & Resources

Devlin Lakay on Instagram – @devlin

Join the South African Tech Marketers Community – globaltalent.co/community

Learn more about Global Talent Co – globaltalent.co

In this episode of South African Tech Marketers, we sit down with Nomalanga Dlamini, a digital marketing consultant whose career has spanned freelancing, in-house roles, and now agency life. Her story is not a polished LinkedIn case study—it’s the real, gritty progression of someone who’s figured things out on the job, built a client base from scratch, and learned when to pause, pivot, and upskill.

If you’re trying to break into international freelance work or wondering how to build real, hands-on digital marketing experience that global clients will actually value—this episode will give you specific steps, sharp mindset shifts, and hard-won truths that’ll move your career forward.

Topics Discussed:

Building a marketing career with no formal plan

Turning a garage-based connection into a global client

Learning SEO, ads, and analytics on the job

When to freelance and when to return to stability

Why understanding buyer psychology beats knowing the tools

How to start without a portfolio, personal brand, or Upwork account

Takeaways:

Start with your network. Referrals built Nomalanga’s portfolio before she ever logged into Upwork.

Tools don’t matter without psychology. Understand your audience first—then choose the platform.

Freelancing is a business. If you can’t pitch, negotiate, and self-manage—you’re not ready.

Agency work can be a level-up. She returned to full-time for structure, skills, and mental health.

Your first client? You. Market yourself before marketing others.

Every campaign won’t work. Learn. Adjust. Protect your peace.

Connect with Nomalanga:

Produced by: www.globaltalent.co

In this episode of South Africa Tech Marketers, Dean Civin, Digital Marketing Manager at ASUS, shares his unconventional path from financial advisor to leading digital strategy at one of the world’s top consumer tech brands.

He reflects on his early days working on Vodacom’s “Please Call Me” and digital services, shifting into brand-side work at Huawei, and finally landing at ASUS where he drives performance campaigns and product segmentation strategy.

Dean offers a grounded look at how South African marketers can navigate global teams, push back on generic international campaigns, and build data-informed programs that resonate with local audiences.

Moving from financial advisory to tech marketing

Campaign execution across Vodacom’s digital ecosystem

Transitioning from publisher to brand-side roles

Working inside a global tech company from SA

Managing ROAS as a core performance metric

Aligning product segmentation with audience strategy

The importance of localization in global marketing

Challenges with top-down direction from HQ

Building psychologically safe, high-functioning teams

Career advice for early-career South African marketers

Strategic thinking is the most critical skill in tech marketing—execution is secondary.

Localization isn’t a nice-to-have. If you want campaigns to work in South Africa, assets must be adapted to the context.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is the first metric Dean checks every day—anything under 5x needs improvement.

Performance marketers must balance analytics with emotional insight. The best campaigns connect with humans, not just numbers.

Culture beats creative. Dean would rather work on a weak campaign with a strong team than the other way around.

Don’t stress about making mistakes. They’re part of growth. What matters is whether you learn and adjust.

South African marketers have a superpower—adaptability, empathy, and the ability to speak across diverse audiences.

In this episode of South African Tech Marketers, host Kirsti Lang interviews Serisha Pillay, Divisional Manager at Vitality Global, about how she went from a marketing intern to leading global marketing campaigns.

Serisha shares how she built a personal brand on LinkedIn, transitioned from B2C to B2B marketing, and developed the mindset and skills that helped her break into international tech.

For South African marketers looking to build global careers, this episode provides practical, implementation-ready insights into career acceleration, skill development, and personal branding.

In this episode of South Africa Tech Marketers, Kirsti Lang sits down with Kirsten Van Rooyen, Associate Director of Marketing Strategy at Superside, to unpack what it takes to build a global marketing career from South Africa.

Kirsten shares her non-traditional path—from working in the music industry to leading marketing strategy for a fully remote, global company. She breaks down how South African marketers can position themselves for international roles, master performance marketing, and navigate remote work effectively.

Whether you're looking to land a job at an international tech company, level up your marketing skills, or understand the realities of remote work, this episode delivers practical insights.

In this episode of South African Tech Marketers, Shea Karssing breaks down exactly how she built a high-paying international writing career, landed global tech clients, and priced her services in USD—without relying on local pay scales.

Shea started her career as a journalist in South Africa before transitioning into freelance SEO writing. As the demand for specialized content grew, she pivoted to content marketing, working with global tech brands and helping businesses scale their organic traffic. Now, she runs a thriving freelance business, managing high-impact SEO content strategies for international clients—all while working remotely from SA.