My parents always said I could become anything I wanted to be. Their confidence made me believe in myself at a young age.
I have always been ambitious, and have worked hard over the years. I started as an accounts clerk, and have worked in the private sector and in development aid. I worked in Zambia for the Swedish non-profit organisation Diakonia, where I was the country director responsible for strategy development, fundraising, donor relations, and more. I then did a PhD in public policy and administration at Virginia Commonwealth University.
I have walked with lions, holding their tails – risky, but I like that
I love to impart new knowledge and also find research very exciting. They were my main motivations for moving into academia. I also like consultancy work and have done various consulting jobs, largely in financial training for board members.
While there is a lot of research into finance across much of the world, there is still a huge gap with Africa. There is a selective application of finance research by the business community, and studies show most finance research focuses on US data. This can result in a lack of relevance to wider society compared to other areas of business research. However, it also creates an opportunity that finance professionals can exploit.
I stepped out of my comfort zone when I was employed at Diakonia’s Zambia office. I was just 30 and leading the organisation through a difficult change process – it was the greatest challenge I had faced. I had to teach myself so many things, and every day presented various challenges which stretched me, but I executed the role well. I will always be proud of my work there, which helped Diakonia raise more than US$2.7m in donor grants.
We need to have laws that protect citizens. I would punish anyone who misappropriates public money, especially in countries like Zambia, which was the first country to default on its debt during the Covid-19 pandemic.
What I enjoy most is sharing the knowledge I have acquired over my career. When I see our students work hard and graduate, ready to contribute to their communities, I am delighted.
Even with the rise of AI, being a finance professional still offers many opportunities
Getting my PhD was a major achievement, as was earning a US Extraordinary Ability Award – known as the ‘Albert Einstein visa’. However, I would say that reinventing myself over the course of my career is my biggest achievement.
I can’t think of any work more interesting than a career in finance. It has given me great flexibility and the ability to take on rewarding roles. Even with the rise of artificial intelligence, being a finance professional still offers many opportunities.
In my spare time I am something of an adrenaline junkie. I have ridden a zipwire over the Zambezi River and abseiled the Batoka Gorge in Zambia. I have also walked with lions, holding their tails. It’s all been risky, but I like that. I also love to travel across the world, learning about other peoples and their cultures.
