Be inspired by Gloriah Wafula

By Sazini Mojapelo Absa Group Head: Citizenship & Community Investments

A career in investment banking could be on the cards for Gloriah Wafula, an International Business and Trade student.

Kenya-born Gloriah is in her fourth and final year at the African Leadership University (ALU) in Rwanda, and she’s already been offered a job with the Bank of America after completing two internships with them.

First, she must finish her dissertation, in which she’s examining the effects of digital transformation on financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa. Financial inclusivity is a passion she has developed through her studies, and whatever career path she follows she’d like to be involved in helping to build financial inclusivity across the continent.

Her dissertation analyses whether rapid advances in technology are only benefitting the privileged or whether they are also reaching people who were previously excluded from the financial ecosystem. “In terms of mainstream banking there are a lot of people left behind, but mobile money is helping a lot because you don’t need to have a smartphone to access services,” she says.

“Personally I can’t tell you when I last had cash in my hand in Kenya because you can use mobile money to shop or to pay for taxis or to make payments to other people.” But anyone who wants to launch their own company still needs the support of a financial institution, and that means they need a bank account, she says. “I think there are things we must work, on especially for individuals who want to have their own businesses in the future.”

Gloriah is also concerned about the fact that women in many countries are not financially independent because they don’t control their own money. “The culture in rural areas still considers men to be the provider, so finances are left to the men and the women don’t see the need to have a bank account – or they’re not allowed to have an account by their partner. Women need to have financial independence, and for women in the cities the progress is good, but not for women in the rural areas.” She’s happy to see that some financial institutions are offering financial literacy courses and that’s something she’s keen to get involved with.

Gloriah herself grew up in a village, which she sees as a disadvantage because there aren’t the same opportunities that there are in a city. But she was lucky to have four older siblings who all entered successful careers and could help to pay her school fees and open her eyes to the possibilities of what she could achieve.

Even so, one thing that she struggled with was self-confidence, and winning an Absa scholarship to the ALU has helped enormously with that. Not only by confirming that she’s a bright woman that Absa is happy to invest in, but because ALU’s leadership tuition has taught her some valuable lessons.

One important lesson has involved self-confidence. “I never used to believe in myself and I wouldn’t congratulate myself when I did something because I’d never think it was enough. People would remind me by saying you’ve done something good, now stop and celebrate yourself before you continue,” she says.

ALU has also broadened her understanding of leadership and made it something she now aspires to. “Before I started, I thought that being a leader is about being political, but they keep telling us that it doesn’t have to be political – you can be a corporate leader or a leader in your own space, so I do consider myself a leader. If I was to say what type of leader I am, it would be a pace setter. I like setting the pace for someone and showing them it can be done.”

“I’d say my leadership has improved since I started this training. The main lesson that I have been taught was about believing in myself. Now I want to help other people to believe in themselves.”

Although the last few months have been difficult because the university closed due to Covid-19 and sent its students home, Gloriah has learned new lessons and skills because of it. Some were practical, including taking an online course on financial modelling and valuation, and learning to master some online collaboration tools. It also gave her the time and space to reflect and learn a lot about herself and her interests, strengths and weaknesses.

One of her strengths is problem solving, which is why she chose to study International Business and Trade in the first place. “I like coming up with ideas and I want to help business solve problems, and the course teaches me to do that,” she says. Her studies also span about 14 different modules, which makes the course interesting and more versatile and leads to wider career options.

Wherever she heads next, once she graduates, she would like to increase her involvement in uplifting her community. “I volunteer a lot, especially with giving motivational talks for schools and paying school fees for kids when I can, but I’d love to be able to give more,” she says.