By Idongesit Essien, bird story agency
“Everything happens in Lagos,” said Amanda Etuk as she drove in her chauffeured car through a busy dockyard in Lagos, Nigeria’s dynamic commercial heart, after checking on an export company’s operations.
Lagos serves not only as Etuk’s base of operations, but also her inspiration.
“I see so many people complain about Lagos, but I’ve got the most opportunities in my life here… So there’s always something to, as our people would say, ‘ginger’ you in Lagos. Nobody’s ever resting on their oars.”
In the highly competitive and fast-evolving landscape of Nigerian venture capital, Etuk has become something of a rare commodity: an infrastructure builder.
With a Bachelor of Pharmacy Degree from the University of Lagos, Etuk explained how she was drawn to the logistics industry because it aligned with her love for solving complex problems. Nigeria’s logistics market was estimated at US$72.5 billion in 2023 by the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Spotting an opportunity, an MSc in Global Supply Chain and Logistics Management from the University of Sussex equipped the entrepreneur to tackle the operational challenges she immediately encountered after getting a job at Hygeia HMO, a leading health maintenance organisation. While piloting a nationwide delivery network for chronic medications, she saw first-hand the systemic failures that plagued last-mile logistics across the country.
To solve the last-mile problem, Amanda co-founded Messenger (messenger.ng) in 2018. Initially based in Abuja, the firm quickly grew beyond simple delivery, evolving into a full-suite supply chain and logistics platform that included e-commerce support, warehousing, and financing options. Messenger became a critical logisitcs partner for Jumia Food in Abuja and handled deliveries for clients like DHL and Glovo. Its “ride-to-own” program, which allowed delivery riders to own their bikes through flexible installment payments, was one of its most notable features.
As she got to understand the sector and its opportunities better, Etuk realised she could do more. Now known as an “operator-turned-ecosystem architect,” her professional path has become something of a model for anyone wanting toe build essential support systems needed to propel the next generation of African startups.
The 2022 Africa’s Business Heroes competition named Etuk a Top 50 Finalist. After going through the programme with Messenger, Etuk accepted the position of Programme Director at Cascador – an accelerator focused on the “messy middle” which describes high-growth mid-stage firms that have already achieved ₦50 million (US$35,000) or more in annual revenue. She joined in February 2024, becoming a “peer” to the entrepreneurs she now supports.
“We focus on mid-stage entrepreneurs… they’ve started to see some traction in their business,” Etuk explained. “The question becomes, how do we now scale? This business is going from 700 customers to seeing how they can serve the next 10,000 customers. Those are the people that we’re trying to help.”
Oluwafemi Bewaji, Managing Director of Fembol Group, a logistics company that has expanded its capacity to deliver over 24,000 shipments across four continents, affirmed Cascador’s choice of Etuk to oversee its US$2 million Catalytic Fund.
“Going into a mentorship programme was actually what changed it all for us,” Bewaji shared. “Within the short time, the impact she has had to my business, it’s been mind-blowing. Just recently, we concluded on a business deal because of the introduction she made.”
Africa attracted a record $97 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2024, defying a global downturn in capital flows, according UNCTAD’s World Investment Report released in June. While global FDI fell 11% compared to that year, Africa recorded a 75% surge — the highest of any region. Tochi Ginigeme, a venture builder focused on Impact Investing and Development Finance across Africa, confirms the current economic context.
“In Africa, venture capital as an industry is still active today,” Ginigeme reports. “Last year the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) reported US$2.6 billion in VC deals…which speaks to the opportunities that are here.”
Cascador’s alumni have collectively raised over US$55 million USD and have experienced an average of 3x year-over-year revenue growth since 2019, according to the organisation’s reports.
For Etuk, it’s about way more than numbers, however.
“You might have a very difficult day and then you get a great message from an entrepreneur that says, ‘Oh, I was able to negotiate this opportunity based on our conversation or the insights that we got from you’, and that’s the most rewarding feeling, seeing people earn more because of your intervention. Seeing people go on to succeed even when you might have failed at the same thing. I get a lot of fulfilment, a lot of joy from being able to do that” the she concluded.
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