- What do you do at Dukka?
- I am an operations analyst at Dukka.
- Run us through your career history. What did you do before starting your Operations Analyst career?
I started my career as a front-line intern at Access Bank. I worked in their customer service unit across about five branches. Working there largely shaped my tenacity, grit, and determination.
I moved on to Workforce Group and had a brief stint in digital marketing. I wrote articles, created social media content and got my hands into graphic design.
I am someone who believes they can succeed at whatever they are interested in. However, to grow in your career, you have to sit down and chart a path for yourself. Towards the end of my time at Workforce, I did this and narrowed my interests into these career pillars: people, processes, and products. When I saw the opportunity to take up an operations role that meant I could do all these 3, I immediately jumped at it.
- What would we find you doing when you’re not running around to ensure that Dukka is up and running?
- I’d be making music in the studio, writing a rap, or playing football on a good day.
- There’s an in-house joke about you being the resident ‘Headmaster’. Want to tell us more about that?
The official part of this gist is that I’m the program director for DIP Fellowship – an internship program we run here at Dukka.
The unofficial part of the story is this: picture a former banker in a room full of tech bros. Yes, I was always the over-dressed guy on Mondays. I also had these loud shoes that always announced my arrival at the office. That was how my colleagues started calling me headmaster, and the name stuck.
I’m trying to change that by getting a new pair of shoes. Let’s see how successful I’ll be with that.
- Sometimes, work can get overwhelming for everyone. What about Dukka makes you wake up and show up every day?
The vision and the visioner. The vision and direction of Dukka are enough to keep me committed to work. I am committed to helping Dukka achieve its vision for small business owners, and this spurs me to show up and give my best every day.
I also hold my CEO in high regard and consider it rewarding to help her bring her vision for the company to life.
- What is the most exciting part of your job?
The most exciting part is being different things or people for all the teams to work correctly. It’s alternating between being a negotiator, real estate agent, sourcing for vendors, etc. Being present for every team and contributing my quota while learning on the way is very exciting. My job is very much like a consultancy. I’m thrown into a field and expected to learn as much as possible about the subject matter.
- What is the one thing you are most proud of about your job?
I am proud that I get to contribute and impact other departments and contribute significantly to the culture and work experience of other team members
- What advice do you have for anyone reading this who would like to become an Operations Analyst?
Be ready to get your hands dirty. Give your best. Be alert and prepared to get on the move at any time. You’re the organisation’s engine, and this consciousness needs to be very much alive in you. Be ready to do whatever needs to be done to get the job done.
- Which of Dukka’s core values resonates with you the most and why?
Trust. An organisation that trusts you because they have put in your hands everything you need to succeed? Boy, that is not something you find everywhere, and that is something I want to replicate in my dealings with other people.
- Brag for a bit. What’s your most significant career achievement yet?
I ran the three cohorts of recruitment for the DIP Fellowship. Being given that opportunity with my limited experience was quite daunting. To have successfully gone in with my little experience, learned along the way and delivered excellently is such a flex for me.
I also helped the company secure an office space in Lagos. Space hunting in Lagos isn’t for the weak.
- Lastly, tell us something nobody else would ordinarily guess about you
I studied Management Information Systems at Covenant University. If I had taken schooling seriously, I would probably have been making millions from software engineering.
