‘Design for one’ — Google executive shares secret to global impact at moonshot 2025 conference

Ebi Atawodi, senior director of product management at Google, has urged African innovators and creators to focus on solving problems for individuals to build solutions that can achieve global impact.

Atawodi spoke at the Moonshot 2025 Conference in Lagos during her lecture titled “Designing for Billions: What big tech teaches about impact.”

She said that meaningful innovation begins with empathy and a narrow focus, which can then be scaled to a wider audience.

“Designing for billions starts with designing for one person. You have to solve problems for a specific individual that can then scale to the mass market. When you target the micro, the macro will come,” Atawodi stated.

The Google director also challenged African startups to embrace consistency and patience, encouraging them not to dismiss small beginnings.

“Little wins give room for a larger audience. The 2,000 views you complain about on social media are only building blocks for something bigger. It’s wrong to see your little wins as being stagnant,” she explained.

Atawodi also commented on the role of the media in shaping narratives, cautioning that its power must be wielded responsibly.

“The media space needs balance because it has a lot of power to amplify and flatten. With this power, it can make or mar,” she said.

The Moonshot 2025 Conference brought together leaders from technology, government, and creative industries to discuss harnessing innovation for Africa’s digital future.