Khadija Duker-Adam

National University of Singapore Business School

“That one person who’s not afraid to be different!”

Hometown: Accra, Ghana

Fun fact about yourself: The centerpiece of my living room is my Harley-Davidson Iron 883. 

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Ghana, Bachelor of Economics

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Griot Insights, Market Research Director

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Global Finance & Technology Network, Singapore

Where will you be working after graduation? Global Finance & Technology Network, Singapore – Research Manager

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: Vice President of Sustainability, Ethics & Impact Club

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I’m most proud of being a part of the Student’s Council. I was always one to avoid being in leadership positions in school, and preferred being in the “background”. Thanks to LYT (the intensive leadership orientation week that sets the tone for the NUS MBA) and encouragement from classmates in our first few days, I was convinced to run for a position and won. Stepping into that role required me to become more visible, vocal, and accountable.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? The achievement I am most proud of is founding the Khadija Cares Foundation, an NGO dedicated to eradicating period poverty in Ghana through sustainable menstrual solutions.

Building the foundation required resilience at every stage, from raiding funds, to mobilizing resources to navigating cultural stigma around menstrual health. There are moments when progress feels slow and uncertain especially with funding, but I remain committed to the belief that small, well-designed interventions can create long-term change.

To date, we have provided sustainable menstrual kits to over 2,000 girls, equipping them with menstrual cups and reusable pads that can last up to a decade. Visiting schools and hearing that some girls no longer miss classes during their menstrual cycles has been one of the most grounding experiences of my professional life. All these wonderful girls are a part of my journey and I’m truly grateful to have met each and every one of them and we will definitely continue reach more beneficiaries!

Why did you choose this business school? I chose NUS because I knew it would place me in an environment completely unfamiliar to me. I suspected I might be the only African in my class, and that possibility both intimidated and excited me.

I wanted to be stretched. I wanted to learn how to speak up in rooms where I didn’t automatically feel represented. Being in such a diverse, international classroom forced me out of my shell. It sharpened my confidence, deepened my cultural awareness, and pushed me to articulate my ideas more clearly and boldly.

That experience is important to me because growth, for me, comes from stepping into spaces where I am not the majority. NUS gave me that discomfort and growth.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite professor is Dr. Prem Shamdasani. What set his teaching apart was how interactive and practical it felt. His classes were not clouded by excessive workload or theory for theory’s sake; instead, they focused on applying concepts in ways that felt relevant and engaging.

He created an environment where participation was encouraged and ideas were tested openly. I appreciate that he made the classroom feel dynamic. I left not just with notes, but with perspective.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course was Social Purpose Marketing, taught by Dr. Prem Shamdasani. In addition to the great style of teaching, it challenged me to think beyond traditional profit-driven frameworks and examine the societal implications of marketing and branding.

The course explored how marketing shapes narratives around identity, culture, and aspiration. It pushed me to question how brands can unintentionally reinforce harmful norms and how they can also be powerful tools for positive change. The discussions were interactive, practical, and grounded in real-world dilemmas, which made the learning very engaging.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite MBA tradition at NUS was how the school celebrated diverse cultural holidays, from Chinese New Year to Diwali (and others). These were vibrant, student-led celebrations that invited everyone to participate and learn. It reflects NUS’s genuine commitment to inclusion.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Looking back, I would have participated in more case competitions. During the MBA, I focused more on my academic performance and leadership responsibilities within the student council, which were deeply meaningful to me. However, in doing so, I did not fully explore the experiential learning opportunities that case competitions provide.

Case competitions push you to think quickly, collaborate under pressure, and apply frameworks in real time, I now recognize that stepping into more competitive, high-intensity settings would have broadened my learning even further.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? One of the most impactful case studies I had was in Social Purpose Marketing, examining how global brands navigated cultural perceptions of beauty. The case explored how certain skin-lightening products were historically marketed in ways that reinforced harmful color hierarchies, and how an international consumer brand faced backlash after an advertisement was widely criticized as racially insensitive.

What struck me most was how branding decisions, often normalized within one context or region, can become deeply problematic when viewed through a broader global lens. These campaigns were not simply marketing missteps; they reflected deeper societal narratives around identity and representation.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? What I loved most was the convenience and the sense of community it created. From our version of hawker centres and convenience stores just steps away, daily life was pretty simple and accessible. Everything we needed was within reach.

Beyond convenience, it was the spontaneous moments that made it enjoyable. This included running into classmates at lunch, late-night dinners after group work, or quick breaks between classes. It felt less like a campus and more like a shared living space where community happened naturally.

What business leader do you admire most? The business leader I admire most is Bozoma Saint John. She has held senior executive roles at companies such as Apple Music, Uber, Endeavor, and Netflix, where she served as Chief Marketing Officer. What draws me to her leadership is her unapologetic authenticity in spaces that are often rigid. She has built an extraordinary career across global brands while remaining deeply rooted in her identity and culture.

As a Ghanaian woman operating in international corporate environments, she represents a powerful example of how cultural confidence can be an asset rather than something to dilute. To me, she demonstrates that you can command a room while still being fully yourself.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? One way NUS integrated AI into our MBA experience was by encouraging us to experiment with generative AI tools as complements to traditional learning. While AI was not positioned as a replacement for critical thinking, it was increasingly embedded into research, case preparation, and strategy discussions.

The insight I gained is that we must not only understand AI’s capabilities, but also its limitations and use it responsibly.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Sana Arora! From the start of the program, she approached me with openness and generosity that shaped a huge part of my experience at NUS.

As someone in the cultural minority, I initially felt the weight of being different. Sana didn’t just welcome me, she included me in her world, shared her traditions, and introduced me to her community. Through her, I built friendships I may not have formed otherwise.

I admire her emotional intelligence and her ability to connect across cultures so naturally. She showed me that leadership is about creating belonging.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

Become a trusted bridge between Africa and Asia’s ecosystems. I aspire to be the person institutions turn to when navigating innovation across Africa and Asia. Having worked across public finance, banking, market research and global fintech platforms, I have seen how much opportunity exists between these regions and how often it is under-leveraged due to misunderstanding or fragmentation. My goal is to build the cultural fluency and institutional credibility required to meaningfully connect these markets and facilitate sustainable cross-border growth.

Build and scale a leading FemTech enterprise with measurable social impact. Beyond nonprofit work, I aim to build a commercially sustainable enterprise that addresses women’s health at scale. I envision expanding from menstrual health solutions into a broader femtech platform that serves women across emerging markets. My ambition is to demonstrate that profitability and social impact can reinforce one another, and to build a company that reshapes access to dignified, affordable women’s healthcare.

What made Khadija such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Khadija brought a unique global perspective to the NUS MBA Class of 2026. Originally from Accra, Ghana, she joined the programme to challenge herself and quickly became an active contributor and supportive member of the community.

Before the MBA, Khadija built a diverse career spanning public finance, banking, market research, and global fintech ecosystems. She served as Director of Market Research at Griot Insights and held leadership roles within the Global Finance & Technology Network in Singapore, focusing on how institutions navigate intersection of finance, technology, and innovation in emerging markets.

At NUS, Khadija showed strong personal growth and leadership. Encouraged by her peers, she stepped forward to serve on the MBA Student Council, taking on a more visible role in the community.

Beyond the classroom, Khadija has created meaningful impact through the Khadija Cares Foundation, which she founded to address period poverty in Ghana. Through this initiative, she has provided sustainable menstrual kits to more than 2,000 girls, helping ensure they can continue attending school despite lacking access to basic health resources.

Khadija’s journey in the MBA reflects both courage and a deep commitment to making a difference. She has been a valued member of the Class of 2026, and I have no doubt that she will continue to inspire those around her.”

Nitin Pangarkar
Academic Director, NUS MBA

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