The Trailblazers Experience Podcast

EP65 Nyeji Mhango , Founder wCap, Unlocking Potential: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Markets

• Ntola • Season 4 • Episode 65

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Ever wondered how a business can not only thrive but also empower others? Join us on the Trailblazers Experience podcast as we welcome Nyeji Mhango, the inspiring founder of wCAP Investments. With over two decades in corporate finance, Nyeji has been a beacon of change in Southern Africa, advocating for climate finance and gender lens investing. Her profound journey from corporate finance to working with the Zambian government reveals the power of resilience and vision. Learn how her strategic moves and diplomatic roles opened up new pathways for educational and professional growth, setting the stage for her impactful work today.
We uncover the driving force behind wCAP Investments, a company that champions female-led businesses with a unique blend of servant leadership and strategic foresight.
Chapters

00:15 Intro
02:06 From Corporate Finance to Entrepreneurship
08:00 The Mission of WCAP Investments
10:37 Navigating International and Local Markets
12:21 Success Stories: Zanga African Metrics
15:49 Challenges Faced in Entrepreneurship
22:52 Building a Supportive Network for Women Entrepreneurs
25:57 Balancing Work and Personal Life
29:06 Understanding the Art of Pitching
35:02 Building Meaningful Partnerships
37:32 Finding Motivation and Work-Life Balance
41:03 The Importance of Mentorship
43:48 Future Aspirations and Goals
45:01 Trailblazer Takeaway Tips
45:56 Find your Purpose
51:20 outro

Find Nyeji
Linkedin : Nyeji Chilembo-Mhango, MSc. | LinkedIn
WCAP : Our Team – wCap – Women Capital
Instagram: @wcapzm 
Watch Youtube Podcast : https://youtu.be/gfTwS3emB8A

Listen : to the audio version Apple Spotify .Amazon Music Google Podcasts
Watch and subscribe to my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@Thetrailblazersexperience
Follow Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thetrailblazersexperience/

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

Welcome to another episode of the Trailblazers Experience podcast, the podcast where we have candid conversations with women sharing career journeys. My next guest is Nyeji Mahango, founder of WCAP Investments, and I'm just going to read here a bit of her bio, because she is not only badass but really impressive. A seasoned economist, an investment professional with over two decades of experience spanning corporate finance, institutional banking, debt management, she is widely recognized in her field and expertise for finance and her commitment to fostering the growth of female-led businesses across Southern Africa. In 2020, she co-founded WCAP Limited, an investment management firm in Zambia that is focused on the nexus between climate finance and gender lens investing in the Southern African region. Welcome, Nyeji.

Nyeji Mhango :

Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. Ntola, Great to be here.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I mean such a great introduction. Does that shock you of how much you've done over the span of your career?

Nyeji Mhango :

Sometimes it does. Sometimes I get humbled because I do come across people that I've achieved a lot more than I have and I believe my journey is still going, so I try not to let any of that get to my head. When someone else says it, it does sound like it's quite a bit that's been accomplished, but I'm still just regular old me and I'm just getting on with it each and every single day that classes fly.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

Let's talk about your journey. You know if you can share how you've gone from corporate finance to a seasoned economist, an investment professional. What has been your journey like?

Nyeji Mhango :

So I'm very fortunate enough to find myself in a job that allowed me to participate in investments or capital markets. I was a financial analyst at a company called One Security at the time, which was a boutique sort of investment bank and stockbroking firm. At the time it was really exciting because that's when a lot of the Lusaka Stock Exchange had just opened and there were all these listings that were happening and I was really excited to be there. Word investments kind of just healed to me in university. I remember my fourth year of economics. I was doing an applied economics course and Dr Robin Shearborn said investments and capital markets, and, and, and, and, and and I just switched on. I couldn't stop listening. I couldn't. I was just really really excited about it.

Nyeji Mhango :

Anyway, first job happens to be in corporate finance. While I was there I quickly realized that in order for me to get up the ladder, I needed an education. It wasn't enough to have a bachelor's degree, so I needed to do my master's, but my parents could only take me so far. That meant I needed to get a scholarship. So I decided to join the government because I knew that the Zambian government used to give scholarships if you worked for them, that the Zambian government used to give scholarships if you worked for them. I was lucky enough to join the Spence and Debt Management Unit, which at the time was heavily involved in debt restructuring, and I didn't really expect to get as exposed as I did at the time. I got a scholarship and do an MSc in Development Finance, and while I was there an opportunity came to apply for jobs in the Foreign Service and that's how I ended up moving from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then going into Diplomatic Service where I worked as an economic advisor, kind of called First Secretary Economics position, but really your job is to advise the high commission on the economic state of things where you are served in london. I served in kuala lumpur, malaysia, and then I came back to zambia and joined the bank.

Nyeji Mhango :

But the whole time I was doing all this I knew that I wanted to eventually set up my own institution. I just didn't know what it was going to look like. So while I was at the bank I was learning about running a bank and just working like everybody else. I suppose I know that sounds a bit weird, but that's what I was doing. And now what's happened is. I'm so fortunate I have a partner with me. I've got two partners, melissa Gray and Yvonne Impala, and Yvonne happens to have worked at the same bank that I did. We both worked for Standard Chartered Bank, and so our work ethic, the way we operate, the way we're running the institution that we've created now has a very similar culture to what we learned when we were at Standard Chartered Bank, and it's kind of laid the foundation for how we do our business. So that's how I ended up doing WCAP.

Nyeji Mhango :

Throughout my career I noticed that women in business just never got the opportunities to get funding or realized that if they did come to the table, they were not articulating themselves properly. The document may not have been at par Many reasons why and myself a woman in business, because while I was trying to figure things out, I had something going on on the side. I kept applying to the banks for funding and I just couldn't get any funding. So I sat down and thought to myself how can I fix this problem? It's really bothering me. A few things happened within the institution that made me really think about what I really want. I knew very much from being in the bank that commercial banking was not for me and that I wanted to focus on investments. So I decided that if I was going to set up something on the side, it was going to be in the line of the advisory space from in the beginning and then grow into what is now, you see, as WCAP. It's actually the fourth iteration of businesses that I opened and tried with different partners.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I mean such an amazing introduction to really your journey and how you've sort of landed into this I would say prestigious space, because we know only 1% or less than 1% of funding actually goes to women. And then, if we think of women of color and then in third world countries, it's a fight that very few are taking on but very necessary.

Nyeji Mhango :

I'm really happy now to have found and settled with people that understand the vision, was or is and have the same desire to solve the problem that we're solving right now, which is basically to back women-led businesses in Zambia and in Southern Africa. Now we are also targeting the climate space, climate finance space, because climate change is a very important thing that's happening right now. There's an energy crisis in Zambia and so a lot of businesses that are providing climate solutions. People don't really understand that segment and they're a bit apprehensive to finance them. But we decided to take a deliberate approach to cater to that, because we know that there's a rising demand for that kind of business and that demand is not going to fall at any time soon not for the next decade anyway. So our job is to try and help fill that gap from an SME's perspective, because they struggle to raise funding. So we provide both debts and equity financing to businesses offering climate solutions and we really love it when those businesses are owned by women.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I want to talk about your milestones and your challenges, especially in all the various roles that you've had and the skills that you've learned along the way, because you were very clear in terms of what you wanted to be, what you wanted to go into and taking that segue sidestep to work for the government, which, in every country, when you're working for the government it's probably not as well paid as when you're in the private sector. But you had a clear purpose, a strategy of what you wanted to achieve as a leader and as a founder and we're going to talk about WKAP in a minute. But as a founder and a leader, what are the leadership skills that you sort of honed along the way through those various roles that you had?

Nyeji Mhango :

I've been on the receiving end of having an authoritarian, very, very imperialistic type of leader and it just did not work well with me. It didn't work well with the team that I was in and I told myself that I was not going to be that kind of leader. I didn't expect to become a leader. I just found myself in this role as a founder and then building a team and then having to steer, you know, be the one that kind of helps to steer the ship. I've got partners, so it's like a unified. At the end of the day. I've chosen to be that.

Nyeji Mhango :

I think I choose a servant type approach and I use a democratic style of leadership. I want to serve my team. I think if your team is not happy, then they're not going to. They won't deliver on what it is you want them to do. So if there is a problem, I listen and I think of a way to resolve the problem that they have. Whether it's a personal problem, whether it's a work-related problem, I'm always to say how can I help you? What is it that I can do to make things better? Because I think when everybody's happy and everybody's strong within the team, then you will achieve whatever goal you set, put down.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

Yeah, and you've talked about your inspiration for co-founding WCAP and the gap that you've seen in the market and focusing on female-led businesses. You're obviously relocated to the UK but still a focus is serving that Southern African market. Do you see it as advantageous to be based here, where there are lots of vcs you know, private equities founders, other female-led businesses um, how has that been for you since setting up the business? The business?

Nyeji Mhango :

I still run the business out of zambia. I shuttle between the uk and zambia, so I haven't necessarily relocated yet because I'm still trying to figure out what the bigger picture will look like. But yes, being here in the UK has its advantages because you get access to all the financial institutions and funders that you want to be able to support what you're doing. I'm very fortunate to have been able to launch the business during COVID, so all the work we've done from since inception has been remotely done.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

Yeah, and you've hit the nail on the head about, you know, technology of those initial introductions scoping the space, scoping if that person is the right investor and is that the right advisory business that you're looking into. And then you can hop on a plane or train, yeah, to get to where you need to go started.

Nyeji Mhango :

We didn't go straight into fund management, we started in the advisory space. So the remote as we work with the women are also going into the market and doing road shows remotely has been the business model that we adopted, or at least the approach to how we do our work. Being here does have its advantages because I can physically get up and go down to London and see wherever it is I need to see. But I think with the way technology has advanced now it's just so much more effective to start with virtual interactions and then go out and then build the relationship physically. Yeah, it's got its advantages, but really, given how we do our work, I would say it's a 50-50 thing.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

Talk to me about a success story of a business that you would boast and say WCAP did that and supported. Is there a success story you'd love to share?

Nyeji Mhango :

There is a business called Zanga African Metrics. It's owned by Nankonde Kasonde Vandenbroek. It is a leadership development and HR analytics business that adopts technology in order to implement what it does. Started working with Nankonde, she came to us as a sole proprietor and we basically gave her the blueprint to convert into a limited company and also gave her the foundation, kind of like a. It was a short-term strategic plan on how to get to where she wanted to go and how to scale the business and then in that plan we dropped in a few things that she could implement and carry out over a two to three year period.

Nyeji Mhango :

She was part of the first cohort of what we called investor readiness program. At that time we didn't know that that's what everybody was going to go into the market and start doing, but we genuinely just thought hmm, it's investor readiness, let's call it investor readiness. So it was companies that we to speak to. We don't work with pure startups. It has to be a company that's already got attractions, got sales, um, been operating for a decent amount of time but just needs that little intervention in order to like that growth. But it needs to get it to the next level development within its growth trajectory.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I love the investor readiness, part of just saying right, it feels like you and your co-founders have established a niche, saying we want to be that business that is not only investing in female-led businesses but making sure they have the tools that they need. So they should already be in a business established. You know, have a proposition that they're offering and driving some sort of revenue, so there's traction. And then you come in and say, right, how can we get you to the next level? Because you've already laid the foundation.

Nyeji Mhango :

We worked with Nankonde and she was all was even if you don't get equity funding, we did that because there were too many banks in the market and there weren't enough institutions that could serve the kind of need that startups have. So we are in the seed early series, a pre-series, a space and because we're not doing pure VC, we call it early stage funding, but the model is very similar to capital type of funding and the advisory program is skewed towards getting companies to be able to align to that kind of thing. And we did that for her. We didn't when she was going to unlock venture capital funding or early stage funding, but along the way she managed to unlock some grants and a lot of other financing. That's helped her get to the point that she managed to unlock some grants and a lot of other financing. That's helped her get to the point that she is at now, and I'm happy to say we are going to be investing in her business and we'll be announcing that very soon.

Nyeji Mhango :

Yes, we're very, very proud of her and what she's accomplished. Her business model is very scalable. She has already started scaling across Africa, which is why we like the business model. To begin with, she's a classic example classic example of the end-to-end service offering that we do as WCAP. Our job is to build businesses and get them funded, and that's exactly what we've done with them.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

So what challenges have you faced? You know, with WCAP or even just in your career, because when you introduced it you've talked about all these milestones that you've achieved. But we know that no career progresses is linear. You know there are ups and downs here and there, and the whole idea of the podcast is sharing the successes, but also sharing. Do you know what you've been through some things as well. So what challenges have you had?

Nyeji Mhango :

Wow, that's a loaded question. To be very honest with you, I think just waking up and deciding to become an entrepreneur is a big decision. It's a challenge in itself. You need to be prepared to encounter some significant you know, very, very steep hills to climb, mountains to climb. I think the biggest challenge for me has been getting I'm going to say it's not going to sound nice, but it's the truth is getting local support, getting support from the local ecosystem to build what we've been trying to build has been very difficult. We've had so many doors closed in our base. 22 in particular was very hard. So we decided to change our approach and just look towards the international networks, and I have to say that, as an entrepreneur, you need to leverage your networks. You need to build those personal connections with people within your ecosystem locally, regionally, internationally in order to be able to achieve your goal.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I think that's the point is, you know, zambia is a small country. I think that's also something that we need to realize. It's a small country. I think that's also something that we need to realize. It's a small country. So probably you'd have to have stepped out which is why probably you've done the whole Southern Africa and now expanding the ecosystem Probably had to build those networks in different countries for it to then have that ripple effect in terms of benefiting you and your business and, I'm happy to say, because we joined certain networks, we got the support that we needed and we eventually unlocked our first of funding to be able to start doing the work that we initially set out to do.

Nyeji Mhango :

When we launched, we told everybody that we were just an advisory firm, but we all knew that at the back of our minds it was we're gonna set up a funding mechanism of our own because we want to be able to fill the funding gap that exists for women-led businesses where we are. So, yeah, the biggest challenge I think would be, for me, support for what we do. I can tell you that it's only now when people always get are you an NGO? They just don't understand what it is that we do, because that whole venture capital investment management field in Zambia very well developed, is not a very well known. So that's one of the biggest challenges. The other challenge is funding. Speaking to people and unlocking money. That's a whole different career Learning how to talk to people, learning how to pitch. We used to tell our founders you know, you teach them how to pitch, but there's a totally different way to pitch to institutional investors that will actually plug money and put money into your funding mechanisms. So that was a challenge as well Since, as we said, very fortunate, now that technology has changed, I can just you know an email. Can we set up a call? Do we? And you think that's one thing that we've leveraged heavily is technology to do the networking that we need to do to get over that hump of the challenge of trying to get into people's businesses? And I think yeah. So I think those are the biggest challenges to do with the local support system within the ecosystem and access to the right type of funder that will back what we're doing. That also took a while to learn and to understand the way you pitch to an angel business. Angel is not the same way that you pitch to a pension fund or how you pitch to a foundation. They all have different desires and expectations as far as returns are concerned and you need to understand what it is that they want before you actually speak to them. So, yeah, we learned that along the way.

Nyeji Mhango :

I would say those are the biggest challenges, also finding the right team and the right partners. That was also, I think. As I said, I went to different iterations to come to what is now WCAP. We've made WCAP. I didn't do it on my own. I've got partners, but to get the right mix of partners was a journey in itself.

Nyeji Mhango :

And then also trying to find the right people that will work and deliver the work that you need to do. That was a challenge because we didn't have enough resources to pay, for example, your top-notch chief investment officer Expect big fat dollars, you know, for the type of knowledge they have, the experience they have. We needed to build a team that was willing to grow with us and what we did was we worked with them on a project-by-project basis and kind of got to see do we have the right chemistry, does it work as a team? Now, I think over a three-year period, I built the team. We built team that we have today works really well. We've lost. You know you work with one. You replace them. There's that saying be slow to hire and quick to fire. I didn't have to fire anyone it.

Nyeji Mhango :

It's just about the project ended and we decided, okay, let's go with someone else. Now I have, I think, the correct mix of people to deliver on the mandate that we've said we'll deliver. So finding the right team with limited resources was a challenge.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I mean just hearing you shape that out and laid out of how it's been. There've been a few challenges along the way. So, starting as an entrepreneur, as a founder of a niche or a sector that's probably not as well developed in Zambia itself, because, to your point, people thinking are you an NGO, Are you a charity, what would you do? But actually it's a niche on its own and I love the fact that you've always had an end goal of where you wanted the business to be. So you said step one is advisory. Step two is, you know, we want to make sure that companies are investor ready. Step three is we want to be able to also invest in business. Investor ready. Step three is we want to be able to also invest in business.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

It's a good thing to talk about because I think a lot of the time when someone starts a business or joins an organization, they're looking so much at the big picture but actually not thinking about that. There are going to be a few steps, a few iterations. There's going to be a bit of test and learn along the way, and that's actually served you well, even with people like you said. It's finding the right partners. Do we have the right synergy? Are they on the same trajectory as we're going, Because the people who you had at the beginning of your journey are not the ones you need now for this next step.

Nyeji Mhango :

Yeah, absolutely. Um, one thing that I can say is, when we started, it felt like a very lonely journey because people didn't understand what we're doing. Women, women, why? Why? Women, like there's no money in women, what's wrong with you? Oh, I see that that's the look people had on their faces, but they didn't necessarily say it to you. And then there was a funding side. I think it was an all-girl team and we would go and we would do our pitches and you would hear, you would see these skeptical faces and then where is your big brother? What do you mean? Where's my big brother? Because there was this perception, or there's still this perception in some of the industries. It doesn't matter whether it's finance, it's engineering, whatever it is there's a certain stereotype that's associated with women that we can't do things they do. I don't mean to sound like a feminist, but you do get those types of characters. That was also a challenge to deal with. In the end, we've created a balanced team. So what we've done is it's a 60%. The team is 60% women. The business is 100% owned by women.

Nyeji Mhango :

The businesses that we invest in must fulfill what is called the 2X global criteria, which basically sets a benchmark for how to classify women-led businesses before you invest in them, and it's either the ownership is 50% female-owned or there's a product that serves women, or there's a team that's predominantly women. Then we take it down to the supply chain. We make sure that everybody within our supply chain at least 30% of the companies that help us are women-owned or led, and we've done the same thing with our investee companies. They must have some of their supply chain at least 30% of their supply chain aligned with the 2X criteria as well. So we've been very deliberate in our approach and it hasn't been easy.

Nyeji Mhango :

It's taken a few years, but what I wanted to say is it started out as a very lonely journey. We didn't have support in the local system, but when we went out and tapped into those international networks, we found sieve networks of women in investments. One group that I'm in that's 250 women are from around the world. The bulk of them are looking to invest in Africa. There's another group about 50 angels, I think business angels across Africa and their job also is to just do investments in their individual capacity to fill the gap that we found as well. We didn't know when we started we started in 2020, that there was this huge funding gap on the continent. 2021, african Development Bank comes and publishes that number and says that there's a $42 billion funding gap for female-owned businesses on the continent. So it was like we're not alone. Every day that we have that is a struggle.

Nyeji Mhango :

When we speak to the women within our networks, they totally understand, because there are two dynamics, and I know it always comes up Taking a balance between the work that you're doing and also striking the balance between being a whole maker, a wife, whatever it is in your personal life. In the beginning I started, I was, you know, I was single and now I'm married. There was always that when you're single, you're just focused on the work. When you get married, you have to balance it out. And so nice to find that there were so many other women out there that were experiencing the same thing, so it's really good.

Nyeji Mhango :

I think networking for me has been so life-changing and I've made some amazing friends, I have to say, across the borders. I could go on and on forever, about, on and on about these wonderful women that I've met, but the nice thing, I think what I was just trying to say is there are a lot of women that were like me or us that saw a problem and they have their own reasons for trying to fill the gap, but at the end of the day, it's a common goal that's being served. I know I sound very save the world right now, but I feel like if your business is going to succeed, you need to be solving a problem or serving the market with something that it actually needs not just wants, but needs. Then you will succeed and your value position will be very validated. Yeah.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

In the whole thing about networking. It's interesting. I used to find networking as a task, as a chore, but then I realized, to your point about finding your purpose, your value add, what is your proposition as a professional, as a personal person as well, just helps you open your mind and, like you said, globally there are so many women, as you found in these groups, who are aligned with the values and the goals that you're setting for your businesses as well. And to have those opportunities to talk about your personal challenges, whether it's picking up the kids from school or work-life balance and all of that and to just have those conversations. You need to have those spaces to be able to say are you facing this as well? You know I had to prepare for this project, but my child was sick, or you know.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I had to deal with other things as well. It's just been so great. But yeah, we can't knock it in terms of networking and expanding your remit using your phone.

Nyeji Mhango :

You know, not just for tiktoks and and facebook and so on.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

Literally there are whatsapp groups I'm a member of that are business ones and people are sharing insights, tips, asking questions I can contribute as well and knowledge. You're always learning. You're always learning and connecting the dots, so it's it's really great to see that your business has. It's no longer a lonely journey. You're always learning and connecting the dots, so it's really great to see that your business has. It's no longer a lonely journey. You're connected with your global networking community, you know, and it's, yeah, really good for the audience, because you talked about it a lot in terms of pitching and I'm always conscious that not everyone who's listening to the podcast is working in investment or investors advisory, etc. Do you want to just break down what a pitch actually is? Pitch?

Nyeji Mhango :

is you trying to give the next person the next person a compelling reason to invest in what it is that you're doing. It doesn't even have to be about business. It could be pitching yourself to the managing director. You meet Jamie Dimon or whoever it is, and you want to impress him because you want to work for that institution. There are many ways in which you can do a pitch, but the bottom line is coming up with a compelling statement that will make an investor or whoever your target individual is, there's attention enough to be able to open up a conversation that will allow you to then sell what it is you're doing, hopefully close a deal, or the easiest thing to do and everyone always, I was going to say I just talked about the elevator pitch.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

You know it was the reason why that word came along, or that term probably is still the same now is management we're always so. Management will always sat on the top floor, and if you really wanted to convince them and you couldn't get a meeting, you'd get in the elevator with them and pitch yourself to them until you got to the top. So it's either the the management got out and said, yeah, you're coming with me, I want to hear more or yeah, this is not what I'm interested in as as well.

Nyeji Mhango :

Bye, yeah, see you later kind of thing through what I do, that you need to understand the psyche of the person that you are pitching to as well, to know what kind of you mean. You need to know what personality they have. So you know it doesn't go onto YouTube. You watch a three to five minute video on the different types of personalities and how they receive information. I know, when it comes to romance, there's that book, the five what was it? The love languages do the same thing for business, different ways to communicate to people. So you need to understand how they're going to receive that information. You need to kind of create a strategy on how to deal with it. Tell my founders this is how you should pitch. Guess what I have to pitch to institutional investors and I've literally had some people just look at me and turn 90 degrees and walk in the other direction because maybe they're just like I don't have an answer for you today. And when that happens, you need to find a way to still balance it out, but then find a way to hone them in, to bring to reel them in and then have the conversation with them. So it's a fine path. So it's a fine path. It's different and it depends on who you are speaking, that you do to the person that you're dealing with in a clear, I think the first time you meet a person at these social events, I wouldn't recommend just kind of going in there and say, oh I want your money, just establish a rapport.

Nyeji Mhango :

Yesterday I was watching a podcast on Bloomberg and there's that athlete his name is A-Rod, a former baseball player, and he said I don't go in and do that.

Nyeji Mhango :

I don't do a direct pitch without the 10 touches. So basically, engage with the person at least 10 times to decide whether it is you want to actually be with them in a long term relationship or not, because that's what investments is about. When you put money into a business, from an investor's perspective, you expect it to be there between five to seven, almost 10 years, depending on the type of company, and it's like a marriage. So do you like this person? Do you like their business? Do you want to see them every two weeks, or is it every month? Don't, even if it's a good business model, I would discourage you from engaging with them and forming a partnership with them, because it will be 10 years of just pain, hatred or I don't understand them, you know. So that's the one thing I learned from that conversation yesterday, and I think that was very good advice 10 touches, engage with them as much as possible before you actually dive in and say you know, I'd like money for investments or I would like to invest in you, whichever way it is.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

And I think that also translates into you know, pitching is a different level. So, whether you're pitching at an event and you've met the person for the first time, before you actually activate your pitch, you have to have those conversations Is this the right person? Is this the right time? Is this the right moment? No-transcript my proposition. And then, once you do get into those conversations with the investors, once you do get into those conversations with the investors, you're right, it is a marriage in a way. Can I actually work with this person for a very long time? Because when there's money involved, you are laying in bed with them and it's literally okay. Can I make this work? It's a very important decision and I think that also determines the success of that investment as well, because if you can't stand that person, it probably won't work at all.

Nyeji Mhango :

Yeah, it has to be a good fit and I would say that from you know founders also that are looking to create partnerships with respect to owning the business and running the business. You need to take that into account as well. Owning the business and running the business you need to take that into account as well. You might be the most intelligent aeronautical engineer and you know there's just no chemistry. Don't hire them If there's no, if you just don't get along, even if they're the best at what they do. Pass, just pass and establish a rapport with somebody that you know. Do it with you for the long haul. Be in it with you the entire journey, because it's not easy Partners right now. I'm fortunate enough to have known one for maybe five years before we actually went into business together, and what's happened now is there's a balance. One of us is very the clouds that's me. She's very down to her. Sometimes it's usually come on, get real. No, no, no. Yvonne, you need someone to strike that balance. Melissa's kind of like the what's the word? Like the referee. She's in the middle.

Nyeji Mhango :

Just need to build a team that works. I think. So many things to consider and you do it. Most people have seen, you've got a lot of money and you build this massive business and team right from the beginning. There are a lot of problems with that because you don't fix the fundamental issues at a small scale first or blowing it up and becoming something big. So I'm all for doing things in an organic way, because then you get to iron out whatever needs to be ironed out and then, when you get the formula right, you can scale it. And that's from a partnership perspective, that's from a team building perspective. And even with respect to the formula or the type of value proposition you want as a business, you need to get it right from the very beginning before you scale how do you stay motivated?

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

you've talked about the various iterations of your career journey, and how does nirji stay motivated and how do you take care of you? Work-life balance is that a thing, my goodness, that carries?

Nyeji Mhango :

work-life balance? Actually speaking, I'm still trying to figure that out. I feel like it depends on what your role is in life, you know. I think it just depends on you as an individual and what works for you. So I'm still trying to figure that out. Is there really a work life balance? You do have to work hard to make sure that you take care of yourself and that you're okay in your process, whatever it is, always make time for yourself. Or to answer the question of work life balance for me, I do a self-reflection at the end of every day Worked, what didn't work, what can I improve?

Nyeji Mhango :

You know like, oh, that didn't work because of this, I'm never going to do it again. Or that worked really well, I'm going to repeat it and make a system out of it. If it gets, you know, a bit rough, it's nice to just take yourself out of the equation. For me, that's what works. I take myself out, Always been that hermit kind of person. I just go into a secluded little space I guess you could call it and do my thing for a little bit and then I come back out and I feel rejuvenated.

Nyeji Mhango :

But what motivates me In life? You have some of those people that tell you that you cannot do something. From the time I was a child. The day you say that to me, you just, you really just me the drive to do it You've turned on something. Yeah, I don't know how many times people told me I couldn't do what I'm doing now and I'm so. You know it's a bit vain, but I feel very proud of myself for for even daring to do what you know. What I'm doing now. Really, it's just. I love what I do and every day I do what I do. I've been able to do it without being paid. Now there is a little bit of money coming in. It's great, but that's not what motivated me.

Nyeji Mhango :

What motivated me was I was solving a problem, and it's not about me. It's much bigger than me. It's about the women that we're going to help. It's about those SMEs that are trying to do what they're doing, Because when you help them, you help other businesses in the ecosystem, you create women's opportunities but, most importantly, you put power in the hands of women. I am all about female economic empowerment, not just from a financial perspective, but also from a leadership perspective. I'm very big, In fact. That's just one of the things that we do. We make sure that, even if the business is not owned by women, that there is actually a woman in leadership, a woman that's in the team, that's in a key decision-making role, because we're trying to foster power. It's about power. Leverage your networks to gain power. That's what we're all about.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I mean, neji, it sounds like you're really passionate about what you're doing and it's, you know, to find purpose in what you do and what you love and I know we talked about work-life balance but find something that you love and you never feel like you're working a day in your life. And I think that's sort of that stage where you're in, where you've found this thing that you really believe in, and it has a clear mandate, a clear focus Women yes, we do need to empower women. There's a lot of work to do out there and I think it's really great. And you know, you, you've also been a mentor as well in some of the roles that you've had. How important is mentorship to you and is that something you're fostering even now, at this stage, even?

Nyeji Mhango :

before I started business I would speak to, I would find myself having these conversations with women and I would say I know there's one woman, I think you know her. I think when I describe her you know who she is. She's a dentist and her mother was a dentist. She said I can't remember what it is that she said but, and I said oh, have you started your practice? And because it was just like the natural thing to do, right, she says no, not yet, because, because so I don't. I said to her I think you should just start, you need to do what it is. You know, you know that you were born to do what you're doing, because all you've ever known your entire life, and she kind of we said a little bit more, there were exchanges. I didn't meet her until a year after that. And when I met her she says I went and I actually did it out. Thanks so much for that conversation. You inspired me. She was the first person that said those words to me. You inspired me. You inspired me and I was like ooh.

Nyeji Mhango :

I thought to myself, okay, that was not really.

Nyeji Mhango :

You know, I didn't realize that that's what I did, but I appreciated that I was able to somehow in some way motivate her to do, encourage her to do what she was doing, what she is doing now, and after that, a few other people would say the same thing to me oh, so much, you know, you really inspired me.

Nyeji Mhango :

Well, OK, maybe this is what God's trying to tell me. I'm a spiritual person Some people will say the universe, whatever but it's telling me something that I should be doing, something along those lines. So, oh, given what I do, there are one or two people that I mentor and coach, but I'm all about just speaking to people. If they're always coming to me, if they do come to me and ask for some kind of advice or support, I do what I can in my individual capacity, because in my own growth trajectory, there have been a couple of people that have inspired me and also left me with words of wisdom that I'm using today. Yeah, I think everybody needs some kind of guide, life guide, work guide, whatever it is. You need somebody like that to kind of push you along and encourage you in your journey.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

Definitely. I mean it's interesting. You sort of think, oh my God, people are now asking me for advice.

Nyeji Mhango :

Oh, those words elder midlife crisis.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I know or just see it as you're now a seasoned professional with experience, and people are coming to you for your knowledge as well. So that's another way of looking at it. Nyeji, what's next for you and WCAP Limited? What's on the horizon? Interesting project, good?

Nyeji Mhango :

question no-transcript. This is it. I'm doing what I love. This was the dream, I've done it. So this is it. But as far as the business is concerned, there is so much more that we have left to do A building we've built or we've built a funding structure. Right now I can't talk about it too much, but I would love to see, or to have several running at the same time. Everything starts, you know you, you must crawl before you walk. So we're working on our first one, uh, and then, when that's done, we'd like to go in and do a little bit more. So that's where I see uh business going. The plan is to have more than one fund running and hopefully to be able to invest in more countries within the Southern African region, to be able to support more businesses, also put power into the hands of more women. That's what we'd like to do.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

I love that, Njeri. We always end the podcast with frail blazer takeaway tips. So three tips you'd love to leave for the audience. What would they be from you?

Nyeji Mhango :

One be true to yourself. Be true to who you are in everything that you do, because when you are authentic, whatever it is, you say whatever it is you do from a genuine place and there's nothing anyone can do to change that part. Anyone can do to change that part. That's about you, and you can take it a step further. Be true to who you are with respect to the kind of thing you want to do in life, to start a business. It should be very connected to what you love to do, or very connected to something that you truly believe in, or very connected to something that you're just really good at and love to do. Whatever it is at the bottom, at the end of the day it should be very true to the core of who you are, because then it becomes a no-brainer when things become difficult. Just kind of get on with it and do what you need to do to get to the next stage and do what you need to do to get to the next stage. I've found that I've had many people in my life tell me who I should be, what I should be doing, where I should be, if I had done all those things that people said I should be, I don't think I would be who I am today and I don't think I would have persevered the way that I did to get to where I am. I can tell you, this journey that I've been on started seven years ago and taken four iterations I don't know how many different sets of partners, and maybe even jumping onto a plane and changing locations to get to where I am. But the one thing that never changed was my goal. The one thing that did not change was my authenticity. The one thing that just didn't change was me. So I think, instead of saying three things, that's the main thing Be true to who you are, and everything else will just fall into place the way that it is. Those that are supposed to be with you at that particular time will be with you. Those that are not will fall away along the wayside. That's just how life is. I believe that if people come and go, it's because they've served their purpose at that point in time in your life, and it's the same thing with respect to business. Some people are there to help you get the idea. Others are there to help you get the business off the ground. Others are there to help you reach. Others are there to help you scale up and get to the next level. So there's a purpose for everything. But be true to who you are, everything else falls into place. That message is resilience.

Nyeji Mhango :

In order to be a successful founder, you have to be resilient and I think even just to be a successful leader you need to be resilient because you have to have a mind of your own and you need to be able to listen to your gut as far as leadership is concerned. So you need to be authentic to yourself. If you're all about people pleasing and if you're all about there are a lot of people like that all about the game, game, playing the game, just to get ahead, eventually I think you lose yourself and you lose sight of the final goal. You have to be resilient and you need to be really tough to stick to your you know, stick to your core, your guns and who you are. Resilience is definitely a key factor or vision. Stay focused. It's's so easy to get lost in the fame if it comes because you're successful. It's very easy to get lost in the people-pleasing. Like I said, you lose sight of your goal.

Nyeji Mhango :

Always known what I wanted to do and I've stayed very focused. Some people you know you've been mocked, you've been laughed at, whatever it is. I've just stayed at who I am and I've stayed very focused on the goal. The goal was just always to set up that fund, to set up the business, to set up that financial institution. Me, that was it. That was always the goal. So I didn't care what people said. He closed the door on my face, didn't care, just moved on to the next one. You know, in the beginning it was difficult. You sob, sob a little. But now I'm just about. You just don't understand. Fine, move, let me speak to the next person and I carry on that way. So, yeah, I think that's for me Resilience, tunnel vision and staying true to who you are.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

Neji, it really transcends through your passion, your tenacity, your resilience. You keep talking about that and you've established a really great business. I'm going to shout it out again WCAP Limited, which is focused on women and developing women in a third world country and nations, and there is a funding gap. There is a gap in terms of equity, in terms of how much women are receiving in terms of their businesses, and it's really great to see right time, right moment for you to be in this space, where attention is also being drawn to requirements and the funding gaps that are there for women as well. So thank you so much for sharing your journey. This has been the Trailblazers Experience Podcast and I am certain you will be hearing from a lot of women out there just wanting to either get in touch with you or hear more about your story or mentoring. So thank you so much for sharing the journey and distilling the information in a way that people can just understand how your journey has been. You know you haven't sugarcoated, you've been very straight up and I love that.

Nyeji Mhango :

So thank you very much, very much, for having me. Tolette. It was really great to talk to you and it was really great to have this discussion. Wishing you all the best. I'm sure you're going to inspire a lot of people with what you do. I wanted to say that I think you like how the podcast is structured and how it's going, so, wishing you all the best.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast :

Thank you so much. So this has been the Trailblazers Experience podcast. Do one favor, tell another woman about the podcast, and we only can survive if you follow, share and subscribe.