A Bold Return and a Clear Mission
Keturah’s return to Nigeria wasn’t driven by convenience—it was a leap of faith. “Lagos chose me as much as I chose it,” she reflects. What began as a two-year experiment quickly evolved into a long-term commitment to transform how small businesses operate on the continent. Her vision with Dukka is expansive: to bring millions of informal businesses into the digital economy, where they can access tools for growth, credit, and long-term wealth creation.
But Keturah’s mission reaches beyond technology. She is equally passionate about ecosystem building—supporting aspiring entrepreneurs through mentorship, early-stage investments, and the development of networks that reduce friction for those navigating Nigeria’s complex business landscape.
Learning Through Failure
Before Dukka, Keturah launched two ventures that did not survive. Rather than deterring her, these experiences offered important lessons about the realities of operating in emerging markets. “Timing is more important than brilliance,” she admits. Ideas must be adapted to local infrastructure, customer behavior, and transactional realities. In Nigeria, where informal commerce is dominant, solutions must be hybrid, intuitive, and cash-flow conscious.
Her takeaways are candid: “Perfect tech doesn’t win. Distribution does. Cash flow is oxygen. And assumptions kill ideas.” Her early failures sharpened her instincts and helped her develop the resilience needed to build something sustainable.
Building in Lagos: Chaos as Catalyst
For Keturah, Lagos is not just a location—it’s a crucible. The city’s unpredictability shaped her approach to entrepreneurship in ways no business school could. “Lagos doesn’t care about your plans,” she says. “It teaches you agility. Deals fall apart overnight. Policies shift suddenly. If you’re not adaptable, you won’t survive.”
That mindset—one of rapid decision-making, constant improvisation, and an almost philosophical acceptance of uncertainty—is baked into Dukka’s DNA.
Dukka: Building For Reality, Not Headlines
Dukka was born out of practical insight. It focuses on basic, yet essential needs—recordkeeping, cash management, and simple digital payment tools—designed for businesses that may never fully transition online. “We co-create with our users,” Keturah explains. “We don’t build to impress—we build to serve.”
The company’s approach challenges the typical copy-paste models borrowed from Western tech ecosystems. In Nigeria, she argues, startups face deeply structural hurdles—unstable infrastructure, uneven digital access, and fluid regulatory environments. As a result, distribution strategies often rely on physical presence and local trust, not just digital growth hacks.
Rethinking Entrepreneurial Success
Keturah is vocal about dispelling myths that often cloud perceptions of entrepreneurship in Africa. Passion, she says, is not a substitute for preparation or execution. “A large population doesn’t automatically translate into market size. Purchasing power matters. And tech, while powerful, is not a silver bullet.”
She also challenges the notion that foreign validation equates to success. “Real impact comes from understanding your environment deeply. Glamour fades—resilience and relevance are what remain.”
Lessons From the Trenches
Reflecting on Dukka’s four-year journey, Keturah doesn’t romanticize the process. The company has weathered crises—including banking collapses, regulatory shifts, and internal restructurings. These experiences, she says, highlight an important truth: failure in Africa is often systemic, not personal. “If you don’t learn to separate the two, you’ll burn out.”
She also cautions against putting venture capital on a pedestal. “Funding is not the end goal—building a business that earns revenue is. Revenue gives you options and independence. It’s the best kind of investor.”
Looking Ahead
As Dukka continues to grow, Keturah remains grounded in her original mission: serving African small businesses with empathy, practicality, and realism. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is clear: "Stay close to the ground. Solve problems that matter. And don’t wait for ideal conditions—they may never come."
Her story is not one of overnight success but of persistent adaptation—a blueprint for building businesses that endure in the face of complexity.