Alex Darko, British born Ghanaian owner of Menufinder Africa

Sep 28, 2021

Tell us about how you got started.

Mother's Day 2017 and I wanted to take my wife to a nearby restaurant but she wanted to check their menu before visiting. Unable to find their menu online, we search for 3 alternative restaurants and only find one partial menu. We get frustrated and figure if we're having this problem then so is someone else. We couldn't find the food we wanted. We decided to do something about it.

What makes your company unique?

What sets us apart is how we capture and translate the food experience, it’s done in a unique, high quality and appetizing way with high quality content.
 

No business is without setbacks, can you tell us about a time when you faced a significant setback and how you recovered from it?

Our very first developer had a target to complete the project by a certain time. As we got nearer the deadline, they let us down with money wasted and no viable product. My team and I rallied to source the right developers and 8 months later we were able to put out our app for our customers.

How do you define success and to what do you attribute your success?

Success is achieving that goal or target that you’ve visualized but with the added benefit of it being a blessing to others and not only you. I think we are still a young company; we are coming up to our 4th Birthday on Oct 1st. Our success derives from having a strong team with a shared vision, passion and interest. Those attributes mixed with consistency and nurturing our foodie community is what has helped us to gain ground.

What's next for your business, what will it look like in 5 years?

Expanded Food Delivery, entry to Multiple African Markets, become a household name across Africa, become the Netflix of Food.

What do you think the future holds for Africa-focused entrepreneurs and advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are just starting out?

The future is filled with possibilities, if you dare to dream anything is possible. Even in the west, totally saturated markets, people are finding success with their ventures, how much more in Africa where the terrain is largely Greenfields? With hard work, persistence, dedication and time devoted to studying the market, its really there for the taking. Advice is to keep the vision in sight at all times, be consistent, be dedicated, don’t doubt yourself and know that it’s your passion that will sustain you on days that are tougher than others.

Owning a business while balancing a personal life can be challenging; how do you take care of yourself?

It’s tough, it’s important I make time for my family, so there are times I’ll switch off from work and focus my time there and there are other times when I have to put in the work for the dream to come alive. I try to maintain that balance and keep healthy and active in between

What is your favorite quote or mantra?  What keeps you going?

My Dad has always said to me “Fail Fast, Learn Quick” so that’s what I live by, things happen but how we learn from it and what we do next can totally shift the trajectory of events in our favour. My faith in God keeps me going, at the end of the day I know this idea has come from Him and so I have a quiet confidence that I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing

What is your favorite app or a business tool that you can't live without

Google Keep, it’s where I keep all my notes and ideas but moreover, I’d say my Google Pixel phone, it’s what I use for all the photo and video content you see on the App and Instagram page.