During his current journey through East Africa, AfricaNewsAnalysis’ Travel editor, Niels Bartels, will meet up with several entrepreneurs and inspiring people in different African countries in order to find out how they became successful. They all managed to achieve something special and to assert themselves.
In Uganda’s capital Kampala, Niels met up for an interview with Flavia Eleanor Kasenge, one of Uganda’s leading entrepreneurs and an enterprising businesswoman. Flavia has made a significant impact in her country.
Flavia is known for her entrepreneurial spirit. Besides that, she has been recognized for her contributions to business and society. Among others she is – according to the magazine „Women in FinTech“ – number 18 on the list of 100 women in FinTech across the African continent.
She works as a Chief Operating Officer for Ezee Money which is a mobile money service provider that allows customers to use their mobile phones to send and receive money, pay bills and purchase airtime.
FinTech is a male-dominated industry in many countries. It is therefore very difficult for a woman to take over a leadership role in that industry.
Among others, Niels wanted to know how she became successful and what advice she has for other women who also want to become successful and take over responsibility.
Transcript of the interview follows:
Niels: Before we start talking about your impressive career, let’s first of all talk about your employer in general. What is Ezee Money and what exactly are you doing ?
Flavia: Thank you very much Niels for that splendid introduction. Ezee Money, we are a technology company dealing with both financial and non-financial services, targeting those at the bottom of the pyramid. We have been in existence for more than a decade. We are now regulated by the Bank of Uganda. We hold two licences: payment system provider and operator. We spread our wings in a number of countries. We are in Kenya, Tanzania, Malaysia and in Indonesia.
Niels: You work in FinTech which is a rather male-dominated industry. What inspired you to start a career in FinTech ?
Flavia: I thrive very well in a dynamic setting. It is not inspiring if it is not challenging for me. So it always has to be challenging. FinTech was the new thing on the block if I may say it is fresh. It is really dynamic. It is moving, you know? It is interesting to be a part of. And because of the ambition that I have, I really want to be a part of the people who change lives. So that’s why I prefer working in FinTech because it’s challenging. Yes.
Niels: What are some of the biggest challenges you face?
Flavia: Bias and discrimination. Discrimination in the kind of work that they give women in promotions, the way they’re treated at their workplaces, people still have the outdated thinking of the historical way of women having to be in the background. They are not supposed to be at the forefront and not supposed to be able to face challenges. It’s only the particular work that is supposed to be done by a male which is something that we have to overcome as women. And we have what you call imposter syndrome, where people feel like they don’t belong. They create self-doubt. As women, we feel like if we take on a challenge in a male dominated industry it will not be hard which is also one very important aspect to overcome in our lives. We need to be able to know what a male can do, probably it’s the same thing that a lady can do as well. So we just need to believe in ourselves and know that we can do better. Women are very resilient. So if women are given a chance to be able to be at the forefront, they follow through their work. If you realize, okay, let me give an example of my workplace. At my workplace we are 80 % women and 20% men. And the delivery that women give. You know, it’s amazing because they’re able to do their work.
Niels: You just mentioned some challenges. So how did you overcome those challenges?
Flavia: Having a very supportive environment, a culture that includes all women. It’s inclusive and being very intentional about the workplaces where we go daily because we spend most of the time at our workplaces. These areas have to be conducive.
You know, they have to be accommodative for the women. They have to be able to serve the purpose of both, a male and women without discrimination. So if you have a very supportive environment and also have in mind work life balance because as women get to work, they also have to go back home and look after their own.
Niels: Which skills are necessary for young professionals who want to work in your industry?
Flavia: I think data analysts, yeah you see the FinTech industries are sitting on a wealth of consumer data. And we only need someone to be in the set up to be able to digest this information for us, to be able to understand it and pass it on out to the world. So data analysts are very important and innovators and tech gurus. They need to be a part of a setting. In fact, I think the industry needs to have a room for just innovators who are trying to think out for people in the world and what exactly they need. Yes, we are innovating, but we have to innovate intentionally. We have to innovate for the consumers, for the end users. What exactly do they need? So definitely asking for innovation and tech is needed in that industry.
Niels: What advice would you give to young talented women who want to work in FinTech?
Flavia: It’s a journey and we must start it. Whether you are running or working, whichever course you decide to take. We must stay committed to be able to start the journey and we must stay consistent and finish the journey as well.
And there is this famous quote that I really like from Nelson Mandela where he says: “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
Niels: Thank you very much for this interview