The Managing Director of the ABN Group, Roberta Naicker, wins the Top Businesswoman of the Year Award at the 2018 Standard Bank Top Women Awards.

For over 11 years, the ABN Group, home to the FORBES AFRICA and CNBC Africa brands, has diligently told the African growth story and shared the perspectives of the titans of industry.
For over a decade now, Durban-born Roberta Naicker has been an intrinsic part of the company’s journey, and as its Managing Director, is today a success story herself.
In August, which is regarded as Women’s Month in South Africa, Naicker won the Top Businesswoman of the Year Award at the 2018 Standard Bank Top Women Awards.
The function, at the Emperors Palace in Johannesburg, drew over 650 guests from corporate companies, government departments and the entrepreneurial sphere.
<div id="attachment_37297" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-37297" class="size-medium wp-image-37297" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/strikeaposephotography-0243-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/strikeaposephotography-0243-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/strikeaposephotography-0243-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/strikeaposephotography-0243-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/strikeaposephotography-0243-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/strikeaposephotography-0243-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/strikeaposephotography-0243.jpg 1241w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />Roberta Naicker. Photo provided.</div>
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The awards were to recognize outstanding leadership in individuals and organizations that have stepped up and shaped the role of women within the private and public sectors.
“It was not an easy task, but with a dedicated group of men and women, we’ve been able to position Africa as the continent of tomorrow,” said an elated Naicker about the ABN Group as she received her award in a room filled with the prominent and the powerful.
In March 2008, Naicker was hired as the head of finance of the group, and had to find her feet in the media industry.
She currently serves as a board member, is the Chair and Managing Director of ABN Productions, ABN Pictures and the ABN Training Institute, Chair of the ABN Education Trust, and Chair of ABN Nigeria and Kenya.
She speaks to FORBES WOMAN AFRICA about winning and why she believes gender parity will be achieved faster with the 4th Industrial Revolution.
How does it feel winning? 
I was genuinely surprised and grateful to be awarded Businesswoman of the Year. This award is as much an award to me, as it is an award to ABN for recognizing potential and helping it grow. My journey with ABN has been a cherished adventure which started in 2008. I have held the position as MD since 2011. This award is a special milestone for me personally and professionally. It is a testimony to the guidance of the Board, the support of the management and the hard work of every single member of the staff.
What do you attribute your success to? 
Success is not a one-person game, it is team work. It is all the people who stand behind me – the staff, the management, the executive team, the Board and the shareholders. My success and growth is attributable to being able to work with so many wonderful people and being able to bring the best out of them. Our Vice-Chairman, Rakesh Wahi’s trust and faith in my leadership, and steadfast support has been very crucial in defining my career.
What has changed in the media landscape in the last decade since you joined? 
A decade is a long time and a lot has changed. The media landscape has evolved so rapidly. We stand in the middle of the 4th Industrial Revolution, one in which technology impacts everything we do and is evolving at such a rapid pace. The media industry is one of the most impacted industries. The digital revolution has drastically changed how the world consumes media especially news media, and at this time it is important to be one step ahead!
You came in taking up a position in an industry new to you, what advice would you have given yourself at that time? 
My advice has always been [to] take one day at a time, and give your 100% for that day. It has worked so well for me because each day brings new highs, new challenges and new opportunities and it brings me great satisfaction to give each of these my 100% best.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/09/27/celebrating-five-years-with-the-founder-publisher-rakesh-wahi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Celebrating Five Years With The Founder &amp; Publisher: Rakesh Wahi</a>
What are you looking forward to? 
Over the past 11 years of operation in Africa, we are proud to have created employment opportunities, promoted the development of women within the organization and a niche for financial journalism on the continent. The group still aims to their spread our wings across the continent, a goal which keeps me up at night and brings me back to work in the morning with enthusiasm and energy.
How would you describe your leadership style? 
My leadership style has also grown with the company. I have been able to lead the organization through its journey across the African continent and watch us become Africa’s largest business news aggregator. I don’t believe leadership style can fit into one box but the term I guess which suits this journey the most is ‘transformative’.
Will there be a time when gender will not be a topic in the workplace? 
Women represent the largest disruptive force in business. We are currently the largest unserved market in business. Sheryl Sandberg has beautifully put the answer to this question – it lies in more women in more positions of power. Empowered women empower other women. While this is not something that will happen overnight, I believe we are on the right path, and I believe that this journey will arrive at its destination.
We are leapfrogging in tech and the 4th Industrial Revolution, but when do you think we will achieve gender parity? 
It is because of the 4th Industrial Revolution that I believe gender parity will be achieved faster. The internet has changed the way we consume news; every consumer is also a contributor. The internet has brought people from all over the world together. With a click of a button, we can connect to women across ages, cultures and countries. It can be an amazing tool for empowerment and it can be used to create momentum to women’s issues. Women always had a voice, now we have a platform where we can use it and be heard.
What are some of the views you have on the gender pay gap existing in Africa? With so many women in the media profession, how do you advise this must change? 
Based on statistics released in 2015, women collectively represent the second-largest economy in the world. Yet it is a widely-known fact that women are paid 25% to 40% less than men globally. Women are the single-largest productive economic force, and drive almost every economic indicator for businesses. This gap will close only if there are more women in power, empowering other women. As mentioned earlier, this is not an overnight phenomena, but a journey. One which has gathered more momentum, and one which will surely get us to a better world with more empowered women only if we keep at the journey.

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‘Gender Parity Will Come Sooner’

George Tafaria Waititu lived what many would describe as a life of a king. As the Managing Director of Ipsos Synovate, an international research company, he had power, influence and money. In June 2011, Waititu quit to pursue a childhood dream. Tired of building other people’s dreams; he decided to build his own – literally.
Waititu owns Tafaria Castle and Country Lodge in the Aberdare Range – 224 kilometers north of Nairobi. He went back to his childhood village with one aim – to conquer the brutality he experienced when growing up.
“The castle is supposed to transform my village from a dark age to a more enlightened age, similar to what happed in medieval times. This place molded my character and made me the person I am today. It is desperate for help and development,” says Waititu.
The castle, with medieval architecture, cost him $3.5 million to set up.
“I could have chosen to get into the lucrative real estate sector in Kenya and by now my return would have doubled,” he says.
Three years later, the investment has paid off.
Building it was a labor of love. After four years, he was able to open its doors in September 2012. Seventy percent of the construction was done by locals.
“People just need to be inspired, guided and supervised,” he says.
Along with roads and power, Waititu created employment and a market for locally-grown produce. The area’s development has also resulted in the value of land skyrocketing.
It wasn’t always easy; the project stalled several times due to a lack of resources. Waititu had to negotiate with his neighbors for land and water. Heavy rain also made it difficult to access the area before Waititu invested in a proper road.
He is proud of the transformation he has brought to his village. He is even prouder of the skills the villagers have gained.
“The rains can come and wash away the roads but the skills they acquired can never be taken away from them.”
Waititu aims to make Tafaria a model village and guide the development of the area.
“I don’t want to change the rural life. I just want to improve it without changing its rural setting.”
The source of Waititu’s inspiration can be found in his childhood. His mother moved to Aberdare from a crowded colonial village in Nyeri, central Kenya. Unlike the lush and fertile highlands of Nyeri, Aberdare is dry and hot.
The family lived in the bush, along with wild animals that roamed freely. They would wake up in the morning and find animals had ravaged their farms and killed people.
“The first funeral I attended was of a neighbor who was killed by a buffalo on a farm.”
Waititu remembers two serious droughts, forcing the family to survive on donated yellow maize.
“These things molded my character. That upbringing made me a risk taker.”
When he visited his family in other towns, Waititu’s eyes were opened. He saw vehicles, electricity and other amenities which he craved. That is where the seed of transforming his village was planted.
“I did not desire to leave my home; I desired to make it better.”
With the castle he built there, Waititu has achieved his lofty goal.

From Villager To King Of A Castle

It was mid-morning on a warm Saturday in Nairobi. Atul Shah, the 53-year-old Managing Director of the family-owned retail chain Nakumatt Holdings, sat at his desk scanning through live feeds from CCTV screens at his head offices and warehouses. Then his phone rang. It was the branch manager at Westgate shopping mall. Shah was overcome with dread.
<div id="attachment_3019" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3019" class="size-medium wp-image-3019" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/RTR242EP-1-300x178.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="178" />Kenya&#8217;s President Mwai Kibaki (C) and Police Commissioner Hussein Ali walk past the burnt-down Nakumatt supermarket in downtown Nairobi, January 30, 2009. At least 22 people died and more than two dozen more were missing after a fire destroyed a supermarket in downtown Nairobi two days ago. REUTERS/Stringer (KENYA)</div>
“There’s a shootout at Westgate,” said the caller.
It was painfully true. On September 21, masked gunmen stormed the mall, throwing grenades and firing bullets at shoppers.
“We all thought it was a plain robbery and that it will end in a couple of minutes.”
It didn’t. Shah and Kenya were in for a shock.
“After a few minutes we realized it was not just a robbery but more of a terrorist attack as they were shooting anyone on sight,” said Shah.
“This cast a dark spell over business, and generally many sectors have slowed down since, including investment and tourism. The Westgate attack has had a big impact on business. We were all lost. We had never gone through something like that. Yes, a few robberies here and there happen, but a terrorist attack was something very new to us.”
Shah switched into crisis mode and gathered his team. He dashed to Westgate.
“I made my way to Westgate to see if there’s anything I could do to help but unfortunately there was nothing we could do, as we were kept at bay. The police had come by that time and they were doing what they are supposed to do.”
From a safe distance, Shah came face to face with the horror. People filed out in droves, most with gunshot wounds or shrapnel injuries. Some stumbled as they fled. He stood helpless with the relatives and friends of those suffering inside.
“I could see a lot of rescue operations going on and a lot of people moving out of the mall. I was in touch with the manager of the branch and a couple of other tenants to know what was happening but they were all confused. They all said there were dead bodies everywhere and these people were out to kill. The team in the branch did very well, though, by escorting shoppers out through the back door. They had the guts and the will to do what they did to ensure safety for shoppers and staff.”<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3020" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/5E9V8670-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />
After four days of battle with the army and police, the siege ended in 67 deaths, hundreds of injuries, the collapse of a section of the mall and several burned shops and cars. It was a scary sight.
“The impact was big. In the first week, we were lost for words. It was one of our flagship branches where everybody frequented. Financially it put a lot of strain on us. But the biggest loss was that of our three colleagues,” he says.
Before the attack, Shah was, like most shop owners, concerned about attracting more customers. The attack, just 10 kilometers away, changed his life.
Like Kenya, he was to live through days of fear, danger and misery.
Westgate was an easy target for terror. It is packed with shoppers, many of them foreigners, and security was lax. Nakumatt, which serves 250,000 shoppers in Kenya a day, was the soft center.
A year on, many shoppers look over their shoulder in Nairobi. A burst tire in the parking lot or a sudden noise can send scores stampeding towards the exits.
“Whenever there is a scare of terrorism, real or imagined, people definitely keep away. We aren’t seeing many scary text messages these days. Some time back, there were lots of SMS alerts warning people to avoid this or that shopping mall and you’d see people evacuate immediately,” says Shah.
The Nakumatt branch in Westgate was a study in ambiance and luxury shopping. It was the middle-class shopper’s paradise in Nairobi; attracting diplomats and senior government officials. At all times, the store had at least 600 shoppers.
The supermarket suffered an estimated loss of $17 million. Only part of the business was insured, he says, so there was no full compensation. Rebuilding Westgate began after a couple of months and could still take many more months to resume operations. Some businesses that operated there have moved elsewhere, while most remain closed, including Nakumatt.
That evening, as Shah watched the live coverage of the siege, he took a hard and long look at his business. It wasn’t that bad, he thought, but one thing was clear: terror needed serious attention. His business was prepared for fire, robbery or a building collapse, nothing had prepared them for what happened at Westgate.
“Internally we were doing a lot in line with the regulatory requirements in terms of safety hazards and disasters.  A lot of staff had been trained for disaster, fire-fighting, medical emergencies, and we have been doing these for many years. Now we have engaged more security organizations, where they are more visible to provide security. We still see shootings in other parts of the country and we aren’t sure how much security they can offer in the event of a terrorist attack.”
It was a hard lesson. Nakumatt had terrorism insurance cover because its large proportion of expatriate and foreign customers made it vulnerable to attack.
“Who would have thought we would one day use the terrorism cover? We are adequately covered now although insurance never pays 100 percent because there are lapses here and there. The most painful part, however, is that no insurance can cover loss of life.”
With no hope of Westgate getting back to business soon, Nakumatt is counting the losses. It was the goose that laid the golden egg. Other branches saw increased business after the terror attack but for the first few weeks, people avoided shopping malls. Shah says people are returning to shopping malls, yet the capacity of its other stores cannot handle the business that Westgate once had.
Nakumatt moves on.
“We are confident about the market, we are confident about East Africa and we will continue expanding.”
Westgate is a million miles from where Nakumatt was born in 1978 in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru. In that year, Shah’s father sat with his two sons to review the small shop that they had just bought. The first decision was to change the name to Nakumatt, short for Nakuru Mattresses. In 1992, the first branch opened in Nairobi, on Uhuru Highway.
“We have carried on opening stores, as opportunities have come our way. We have brought the world shopping experience to East Africa. Whatever you get at Nakumatt is the same experience you get in the developed world,” he says.
The fledgling business took a leaf out of Walmart’s book.
“I had the opportunity to be in the United States for a while and saw how stores were managed and operated and brought home the skills as well. During my free time, I would spend a lot of time at the stores and see how it is done. Although it took many years to adopt and actualize the concept in Kenya, we have succeeded in doing that. We adopted the all-under-one-roof policy from the onset,” he says.
The first branch ushered in 47 others in East Africa.
“Location is the key thing in retail stores,” he says.
Kenya is Nakumatt’s biggest market with 33 branches, Uganda has eight stores; Tanzania, four and Rwanda, two. It’s grown into a conglomerate, with a turnover of $600 million and an army of 7,300 employees, that has fought off the multinationals. This year, it expects turnover to top $750 million.
“We have a huge variety of products on offer under one roof. We sell everything and anything except planes. If we had space we would be selling airplanes. Also, we have focused on changing lifestyles through innovations and new ideas. We keep growing our products portfolio in line with changing trends and improving the shopping experience.”
“Nakumatt was the pioneer of late night shopping, pushing it from the initial 5PM deadline in the early 1990s to 10PM when most people in villages and small town are asleep. At the turn of the millennium it went further to introduce 24-hour shopping.”
Shah has traveled on business in 45 countries. He says 25 years ago South Africa had the most developed retail market on the continent and East Africa is catching up.
“Besides South Africa, East Africa is the most advanced market in formal retail. Economies in West Africa are more financially developed, but not retail,” he says.
Nakumatt’s business model is simple. It focuses on what it does best: selling. The rest is left to specialists. It does not own real estate, but works with partners. The managers locate a prime site, get developers to put up a mall and then go in as an anchor tenant. This has helped it improve its cash-flow by steering clear of the cost of bricks and mortar.
He says East Africa is the place.
“We will look beyond but the [East African] area is still wide open and green. Kenya’s 47 counties are all opportunities for us. County governments will learn how to invest to make counties good for investments. We see a lot of opportunities, despite the problems we have faced.”
Days before the interview with FORBES AFRICA, Shah, who talks fast as if it’s your duty to catch up, had arrived from the World Cup in Brazil.
“I was looking at Spain but it was disaster. Brazil were hosts but did not play well. Argentina was my team finally and did very well to play against Germany, and conceded not seven goals but only one.”
Shah is a sports fanatic. He looks more like a cricket coach than a multimillionaire. He dreams of bringing the Fifa World Cup to East Africa.
“People say sports bring people together. In Kenya we are always talking politics. But I am talking about bringing the World Cup to East Africa in 2030. This falls within Kenya’s Vision 2030 but it’s not a Kenyan drive. It is an East African vision. We will need infrastructure, such as stadiums and everything that goes with it. We have 16 years to prepare for that, which is enough time.”
Vision 2030, Kenya’s long-term economic development blueprint, provides for infrastructure development and other facilities that the World Cup requires. Shah has it all worked out. He says Kenya can provide three stadiums, Uganda and Tanzania two each while Rwanda can take care of one.
“It will bring a lot of exposure to East Africa in terms of tourism investments and so on. Everybody will start investing in hotels and other service sectors. This is the right time to start lobbying the right bodies. The triple bonus is that in 2031 we have the opportunity to host the Cricket World Cup and the Olympics in 2032. We are not just looking at one event, but three subsequent events.”
Shah has started speaking to various leaders in the private and public sectors to build momentum.
“Despite the protests and riots preceding the World Cup in Brazil, when the games began everybody was calm and they are still enjoying the fruits. Rio is hosting the Olympics in 2016, one year later. East Africa won’t have a gap; it will be continuous if we get it right.”
“I have been to three football World Cups, three Olympics and three cricket events and I have seen what sports can do to an economy. I go to enjoy and absorb myself but I see the economic gains. I am vying for it and I see the potential. Nakumatt alone cannot manage. We can be one of the minor sponsors because we are a brand. In Kenya there are many brands; Coke, KQ, Safaricom, which can support sport.”
He says to achieve this goal, sport management must improve. He says Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have great talent yet don’t qualify for major tournaments like the African Cup of Nations or World Cup because of sports politics.
“Look at our runners; we don’t even need to tell them to run yet they bring us medals. We need something similar in football. At one time, cricket was popular in Kenya but politics or something messes up everything. But if the focus is there and the right people are in place, we will get back to glory not just in football, cricket, volleyball, but also in swimming and rugby where we are a big name. Investment in sports is not taken seriously. If well managed it can bring a lot of revenue to countries.”
For now, Shah will concentrate on market share. His company has had its fair share of setbacks. In 2008, one of its biggest stores was pulled down by the government after it had been built on a road reserve along the Thika-Nairobi highway. A year or so later, one of its lucrative stores in the capital burned down, killing more than 20 people.
“We take every tough moment as a challenge and as a signal of what we need to improve on. There are challenges in every business. We get better by the day, we get better solutions. They are obstacles but we look at them as challenges to move on. We had Westgate and the Nakumatt downtown fire. Now and then, we have issues with departments. We believe in improving ourselves. Wherever we see fault we don’t hide it but improve it.”
For Shah and his family, it is no longer about making money, running Nakumatt has become a lifestyle. The inspiration is always spotting the next big thing in retail.
African governments should give more support to home-grown investors to stimulate growth, he says.
“When a foreigner comes the governments are open arms and offering incentives here and there, but for locals, things become a bit tight. They should treat local investors equally as foreigners,” he says.
To strengthen management, Shah has brought on board his two sons as he plans to list on the regional stock markets in the next three years. Even so, he still misses the Westgate branch.
“It was a sad incident for us and Kenya. Everybody loved Westgate and they want Westgate back.”

The Pain Of The $600-Million-A-Year Supermarket King

Roberta Naicker is watching CNBC Africa in her sunny corner office in Johannesburg’s upscale Sandton suburb, and she is not looking happy. A series of bomb blasts have ripped Abuja, Nigeria, only days before the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa summit, and she has a team of cameramen, TV journalists and managers leaving to cover the continent’s most important business meet.
As Managing Director of the ABN Group in South Africa that operates CNBC Africa, she has the onerous task of deciding the course of action: news first, or people first?
The coffee on her table is cold. Her fingers are perhaps clammy, as she clasps them, pursing her lips, making her decision. Her people come first.
For the group’s 40-year-old managing director, family has always been a pertinent part of her life, and this, her 300-employee company, is family too.
Hailing from Durban, in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province where the weather is warm and the Indian population numerous, Naicker spent most of her girlhood aspiring to become a chartered accountant. Where others dreamt of Barbie dolls, she dreamt of a college education.
Money was always in short supply, but her parents encouraged her to study. It was 1991, three years before a free South Africa, when Naicker completed her matriculation. She recalls boycotting classes and participating in the ‘Free Nelson Mandela’ campaign in school. Somewhere in the mind of the young girl, the stirrings of change. Would she have known that 17 years on, she would be at the forefront of a large media organization covering the country Mandela envisaged?
After school in 1992, Naicker enrolled for a BCom degree at the University of Durban Westville (now UKZN).
“My parents said, ‘you worry about getting into university, we will worry about paying for it’,” says Naicker. But that was not to be. Naicker discontinued college, opting to pursue her second year BCom part-time through the University of South Africa (UNISA). In 1993, she signed up for a full-time job in her hometown at the age of 19.
“I always had a passion for numbers and my first job was as a junior accountant in a small manufacturing firm. I knew that if I am not going to get somewhere through a formal education, I am going to have to do it through hard work. Those were the goals I set for myself and that is the way I have lived my life the past 20 years,” says Naicker.
Marriage in 1998 saw her relocate to Johannesburg with her husband; this is where her career blossomed, starting in the commercial property management industry. Next up was an assignment as the finance manager of a large organization for six years until 2006.
This was before joining the ABN Group in March 2008. The group had just launched CNBC Africa, and she was hired as Head of Finance. Naicker admits it was an industry she had little knowledge of at the time.
“I was comfortable from the finance perspective, but I didn’t understand media at all. It was completely nerve-racking walking in here and thinking, ‘what am I honestly going to do’? But I saw it as a challenge.”
Naicker calls it the start of an association with an organization that believed in her, and placed all faith in her to do the job, and do it well. For this, Naicker gives all the credit to ABN Group’s Co-founder and Vice Chairman Rakesh Wahi.
As Managing Director, Roberta Naicker is responsible for the overall operations of the ABN Group, which includes CNBC Africa and FORBES AFRICA. She plays an instrumental role in the strategic planning, financing and implementation of FORBES AFRICA, ABN Productions and ABN Training Institute. She currently also serves as a board member; Chair and Managing Director of ABN Productions, ABN Pictures and the ABN Training Institute, Chair of the ABN Education Trust, and Chair of ABN Nigeria and Kenya.
A firm believer in the empowerment of women, here, Naicker speaks about how she made every opportunity – and adversity – a part of her learning curve.

Nothing But Belief

When you meet her, you are immediately struck by the assertive, determined woman she is. But beneath the tough exterior is a woman with a story, a story of adversity and abuse that has led to her becoming one of Uganda’s top travel and tour operators.
Jackie Kemirembe Rubuubi, the Founder and Managing Director of Platinum Safaris, started small. She began her career in the airline industry as a security officer with Sabena Airways, now known as Brussels Airlines. She worked there until the company, which she calls “a very professional workplace”, ran into operational troubles. It was forced to temporarily close down and change names. She had to make ends meet so she found a temporary job at the Kenya Airways office in Uganda’s capital Kampala.
Soon, a new airline, Africa One, made an entry in the Ugandan airspace. And Rubuubi was headhunted for a top managerial position. The offer came with many promises including tempting bonuses. This made her give it her best, but after some time on the job, Rubuubi started noticing the cracks.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6275" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Jackie-Kemirembe-Rubuubi-while-climbing-Mt.-Rwenzori-in-Uganda-243x300.jpg" alt="" width="243" height="300" />
“Suddenly, I had multiple directors to report to instead of the one that was indicated in my appointment letter. I also never got the bonuses despite signing lucrative deals,” she says. One of the male directors particularly got meddlesome in her duties, unilaterally issuing holiday breaks to members of her team. This upset operations in the section that Rubuubi headed. Frustration set in.
“It was pure harassment and lack of professionalism,” she says.
At the height of it, she decided to have a one-on-one with the female director about the state of affairs. It was going to be a conversation she would never forget – for a long time.
“The director I sought to confide in and the one I was actually supposed to be reporting to told me that as long as I remained employed with them, it wouldn’t be strange if she asked me to go and make their beds! In her view, I was to do anything they wanted me to do despite being a manager. I immediately made up my mind to resign, bringing an end to two daunting years. It turned out to be the worst job I ever had.”
That conversation gave Rubuubi enough reason to leave – and consider starting something on her own. She retreated to London where she found a job as an accountant in a retail food chain.
Within a year, she returned to Uganda on maternity leave. She never returned to London though she kept being paid her salary. She used the money to open a garment shop. The new venture wasn’t doing well but she wanted to avoid being employed again.
It was not easy.
At one point, when she traveled to Dubai to source garments for her shop, she met a Turkish couple who convinced her to open an employment agency to recruit people in Kampala and connect them to odd jobs in Dubai.
The couple turned out to be imposters when they vanished with the $27,000 Rubuubi had given them to process visas for the 230 recruits that had registered.
Her attempts to involve Interpol in tracing them were met with numerous death threats from the couple. She finally gave up and devised a new plan.
With an International Air Transport Association (IATA) qualification under her belt, Rubuubi decided to open a travel and tour company. She registered Platinum Safaris in 2002, starting operations in a small room.
Her first client was an official from the International Criminal Court who not only became a regular but also brought in other customers. The business prospered and she registered it with professional bodies. This brought more opportunities until she shifted office to a new location.
Today, Platinum Safaris is a leading tour and travel service provider in the East African region known for services such as air-ticketing, safaris across the Great Lakes region, honeymoon packages, visa advisory, conference planning and bookings for white-water rafting and gorilla-tracking.
Last year, Platinum received an accolade from Amadeus, a firm that provides travel software and technology solutions for the global travel industry, for its high adoption of solutions. The company also has a raft of honors from other industry players including airlines.
Rubuubi’s vision is to venture into luxury tourism similar to what is offered in Morocco. She is in the final stages of acquiring speedboats that will introduce a new tourism circuit connecting major islands on Lake Victoria, Africa’s greatest lake and source of the Nile.
She says that what she went through made her realize women surely deserve better at the workplace.
“No one expects women to perform better than men. But the fact is many women are stronger than men,” she says.

No More Suffering The Boss

Only 21 of the Fortune 500 companies are led by women. One woman who wants to be included on that list is Rita Kavashe. She is Africa’s first female managing director (MD) of American automobile giant General Motors (GM). Kavashe leads the African operations of the number two global automobile seller as of 2012. Globally, GM sold 9.3 million units last year compared to Toyota’s 9.75 million.
The motor industry has been dominated by men; it is only now that, 105-year-old, GM has appointed 51-year-old Mary Barra as its first female senior vice president, global product development. In April, another woman, Veronica Johns, made headlines when she was appointed CEO of Fiat Chrysler Australia.
“I don’t believe there is anything like a glass ceiling. As long as there are opportunities to grow in an organization, there is no excuse regardless of whether you are a man or a woman,” says Kavashe.
Kavashe is the only female managing director in Kenya’s male-dominated motor industry. She took over the reins of GM East Africa in 2011 after an 18-year stint, which began as a sales representative. After three years she was promoted to general manager of national sales and was responsible for seven dealers in Kenya. In 2005, she was made the commercial director and five years later, she was given a short-term assignment in GM South Africa to set up their export operations.
When she returned from South Africa, she was appointed MD for GM East Africa and export director for GM Sub-Saharan Africa, where she oversees more than 40 Sub-Saharan Africa countries. In 2012, GM sold 180,000 vehicles in Africa and controlled 10% of market share.
Kenya’s motor industry is largely dominated by multinationals: Toyota, Simba Colt, Cooper Motor Corporation, DT Dobie and Indian conglomerate Tata. All of them have male directors. According to statistics from the Kenya Motor Industry (KMI), in 2012 GM lost the number one spot in terms of car sales to Japanese car maker Toyota. Kavashe is determined to regain the number one slot.
“We recently opened a new factory for buses, it can assemble three buses per day,” she says.
In Kenya, GM controls 26% of the market, while its closest rival Toyota enjoys 24.8%.
According to Business Monitor International report, domestic production is one of the ways Kenya attracts investment especially from Chinese companies. Commercial vehicle manufacturer Beiqi Foton Motor launched its first domestically-produced trucks in June 2011, after establishing a local subsidiary in the country in late 2010. As part of a growing focus on Africa by Chinese automobile companies, there are growing investments in automobile assembly plants.
While established dealers such as Toyota and imported second-hand vehicles—mainly from Japan and the United Arab Emirates, that account for around 70% of the market—give her sleepless nights; her experience of almost two decades is an advantage she has used to build local networks and contacts. Isuzu buses are one of the leading brands in Kenya because of the growing public transport and education sector, which are its largest clients.
Being at the top, especially as a woman, comes with its challenges. Grant Thornton International research shows that women hold less than a quarter of senior management positions in privately-held businesses globally. Only 24% of senior management positions are held by women. Women tend to fizzle out as they rise through the ranks because of the societal pressures that weigh heavily on them.
According to Bringing the other half to the boardroom: Case study of state corporations and listed companies in Kenya; a study by the Kenya Institute of Management, many women fear failure, which affects their confidence. There are also cultural issues that come into play. Most men are uncomfortable having a female boss and would likely do things to sabotage their leadership.
Kavashe’s management team is 80% male and although she has not encountered major challenges managing men, she says that it is important for you, as a leader, to ensure the team rallies behind you so as to achieve set organizational objectives.
As a trained teacher, with a degree in education, she applies many of the skills she acquired during her teaching career to her job in the motor industry.
“I learnt human psychology, understanding and interacting with people and planning, which I use to set and monitor my objectives.”
Her role involves making strategic decisions regarding investments, expansion and distribution in both the public and private sectors. To sit at the helm, she dedicated much time to study the competition and overcome the gender stereotypes that often discourage women from getting to the top. Women are judged harshly beginning with their looks.
She admits that sometimes she sacrificed family time and wished that she could have spent more time with her children.
“You have to manage many balls in the air because of the demands on your time. You can have your cake and eat it as long as you learn to balance,” says the mother of two.
This balancing act has forced Kavashe to make certain conscious decisions—she stopped traveling during weekends to spend time with her family.
“Before, I was busy working, then I realized that one part of my life was not moving. If there is a weekend event, I go with my children. It is very lonely at the top, you need your family to be with you!” she says.
It has not all been smooth sailing for Kavashe. One of her most challenging moments came during a review of GM’s distribution footprint; the change was not taken well by dealers. She admits that it was a frustrating moment, but after consulting with stakeholders, she went back and made slight amendments.
“As a CEO you are not always right. It was a tough moment for me because my best dealer was not happy and it created a lot of anxiety.”
For now, Kavashe is focused on motivating 350 employees at GM East Africa and ensuring that the company remains profitable. She has set her eyes on the road ahead and plans to be global CEO at the GM headquarters in Detroit. Who knows, she may just be the first African GM CEO.

Tag: Managing Director

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