I solve business problems and I’m passionate about growing African startups and SMEs.
I’m a trained civil engineer and project manager that pivoted to financial services and technology. More importantly, I’m a professional dabbler – I love embarking on new ventures and testing new concepts.
To keep up with the fast-paced business world, I use a simple approach to problem solving.
I always think before I start. I’ve found that sometimes, half of the work is done by framing the problem correctly. Other times, the actual problem is a lot different to what I initially thought.
In all my thinking, however, I avoid the trap of getting into analysis paralysis. Moreover, I keep reminding myself that things can and will change – something I only appreciated when I moved from engineering to financial services and technology.
After thinking, I execute. Enough said.
Proper thinking can cut down on execution time, by the way.
I’m a strong believer of feedback, and while I spend a good amount of time thinking and planning, no amount of planning can match actual feedback.
I enjoy looking at data, testing my assumptions and learning from feedback.
I work in the business development team at Simply where I focus on improving products, processes and innovation to unlock growth. I pursue strategic opportunities and cultivate commercial partnerships with large corporates and SMEs.
I also run cross functional project teams to deliver strategic objectives.
And when I find fellow colleagues in the parking lot, I persuade them into taking the stairs with me – 7 stories 🙂
Outside of work I am a super fan of coffee shopping, reading and writing. I enjoy immersing myself in art and creativity – especially bonsai, architecture and handcrafting.
I am serially involved in side projects – to the extent that my friends think I work too much. Little do they know that my side projects are a form of relaxation 🙂
I enjoy travelling, keeping active and trying unconventional things.
Here are some mantras that fire me up. And no, I don’t chant these out daily 🙂
“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” (Oprah Winfrey)
“Fail fast, learn faster.” (Gary Burnison)
Eat an elephant one bite at a time (Desmond Tutu).
“Transparency, honesty, kindness, good stewardship, even humor, work in businesses at all times.” (Harvey Firestone)
people emporwerment
kaizen
analytics
habits
optimisation
pragmatism
project management
minimalism
Africa
organisational culture
yolo
SMEs
design
technology
innovation
startups
integrity
leadership
creativity
