For many people in Africa, running a business—especially with little experience or knowledge of a specific industry—can feel as daunting as navigating a minefield.
Ghanaian entrepreneur Kekeli Yaw Dorkenoo is out to fill this gap by helping startups set up proper administrative systems and work towards sustainably growing and expanding their businesses to their full potential.
Bridging The Youth Gap
Kekeli, co-founder of Keldork Global Innovations, is committed to prioritizing young entrepreneurs who are often overlooked in the complex business world.
“Keldork Global Innovations assists the youth and marginalized in developing their startups, innovations, ideas, and social impact projects into sustainable businesses through entrepreneurship development services,” explains Kekeli.
“We are headquartered in Accra, Ghana, and employ 10 people from Africa and the Global North. I co-founded Keldork Global Innovations initially to develop innovative solutions to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) challenges across Africa.
“It was during conversations with co-founders Yvonne and Eddie Ahlie that we saw the need to establish Keldork Global Innovations.
“There is a huge ecosystem support gap in the startup and entrepreneurship space and the situation gets worse with the youth, who are marginalized. This gap was unintentionally created, and it is our mission to level the playing field by supporting the youth,” he adds.
Childhood Dreams
Growing up in Ghana, Kekeli was – like most young people – a child who could not really make up his mind on what career path he intended to follow.
“I had diverse dreams. At one point I wanted to be a doctor, at another a lawyer, then a pastor and as crazy as the dreams may sound like I once even wanted to go into nuclear engineering because of the love that I had for action movies!
“I had all the opportunity to chase my dreams, and I am grateful that I managed to graduate with an honours degree at the Regional Maritime University in Ghana.
“In my life, I have had the opportunity to sharpen diverse skills, make mistakes as well as learn from those mistakes,” Kekeli explains.
Conquering Obstacles
From the few mistakes he has made during his entrepreneurship journey, Kekeli has also learnt that the challenges he has had to overcome were an important part of his growth as a leader.
And he has taken a leaf from the fact that world renowned entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and other revolutionary innovators had to deal with a lot of pushbacks they encountered to their innovations.
And, during some of the dark times, Kekeli has discovered the power that comes from leaning on his faith as a Christian.
“I can count the number of times I wanted to give up on my entrepreneurial journey and trust me, they are in the double digits. Along the way, I have learnt to put my faith in God. This helps me a lot to be able to draw energy and hope in hard times.
“Secondly, I have also come up with a strategy of turning challenges into opportunities. People often talk about the American dream and the African dream. I believe it is not the dream that truly matters, it is the bed and pillow you sleep on to dream.
“I rest on the bed of societal problems and lay my head on the pillow of innovation, daring to dream of solutions.”
Achieving Milestones
There is a good reason for Kekeli to be optimistic about the future, if the achievements his business has managed so far can be anything to go by.
Keldork Global Innovations is the current Youth Startup Ecosystem Champion Builder of the Year for 2024, an accolade they won at the Africa Startup Ecosystem Builder’s Summit and Awards.
It is such recognition that not only encourages Kekeli and his team but also reaffirms the belief that they are moving in the right direction.
“I was honored as the Youth Startup Ecosystem Champion Builder of the whole African continent for impacting the youth in over 7 African countries with personalized mentorship, startup consultancy assistance, and funding support – becoming the first Ghanaian to wear that crown.
“I have directly impacted over 200 youths and over 3 000 youths indirectly when it comes to entrepreneurship and helping them achieve Sustainable Development Goals. This attests to my ability to impact the youth.”
Advice and Forging Ahead
Kekeli says while the pullout by USAID in Africa may have shaken the entrepreneurship ecosystem, the continent must also position itself to benefit from a number of opportunities, like the rise of borderless trade across the globe.
“This is the right time for the youth to venture into commercializing their ideas, which is why we are planning to launch the Idea Commercialization Project (ICP). Our goal in this regard is to help students turn their academic research into viable startups and revenue-generating opportunities,” explains Kekeli.
He encourages budding entrepreneurs to always strive to strike a balance between positive and negative emotions.
“The negative emotions of failure can help you fix loopholes in your strategies. Positive emotions can give you the drive, but should also not lead to complacency, or the typical human trust in assumptions.
“Remember, the goal is not to win, but to build traction through consistency,” he concludes.
