Page 68 - Start Up_V. 2

LIFESTYLE

DECODING A

DECADE OF DILIGENCE.

itted grey ensemble,
white shirt – warm,
just as his welcoming
remarks. 10 years up the
Franks of a multinational
corporation, Komba Malukutila
now sits prestigiously in a corner
office, overlooking what could be
the border between the popular
residential areas of Roma and
Ngombe. Representations of two
income brackets MTN is set on
serving.
In his new role as Head of
Fintech Mr Malukutila injects his
unmatched value into this cause.
And to a greater extent, his selfless
ambition.

“How do we communicate with
the people in a language they
understand?”
“How do we become… Relevant?”
When a marketeer who didn’t have
the infrastructure to save and
manage her earnings of K1000 is given the facilities and means to – families
are able to improve their economic standing, financial inclusion is achieved.
This is relevance.

Mr Malukutila speaks of it vehemently: Relevance, he says, makes up the
very basis of his mantra. You must never get into an environment and leave
people the same. Give of yourself entirely, to whatever cause comes your way.
Beyond the work space, share your very being with family, with friends and
even strangers.
His journey at MTN began as applications engineer, in the year 2010 post
obtaining his Bsc in Computer Science . Here, he sought out to bring to life,
his line manager’s vision to transform the internal IT landscape in a way that
ensues competitiveness for the telecom. There is something about helping every young man to do the same, all the while
someone succeed that instigates a reciprocal reaction, as they progress, they dispelling the notion that a wife’s place is in the
see to it that you go along. Komba calls this the tribe effect, saying people kitchen. Saying even though it’s God’s mandate
tend to keep around those most relevant to them – their tribe. that he should till the land and look after his
family, it is imperative that he aids his wife’s career
As the conversation veers towards the startup scene. Komba shifts in elevation.
his chair; leaning slightly forward, his face lights up. “Entrepreneurship is
exciting,” he says. Right before responding to the question: “What can young She should be out their flourishing, he says, right
entrepreneurs do to add value to the ecosystem?” before responding to the question; what two key
life lessons would you leave your sons with?
His reference to Zozibini Tunzi - Miss Universe, set the basis for his response,
he firmly believes the young should take up space, that they should cement 1) Love your mom obsessively.
themselves in unexhausted spheres that hold the power to bring about 2) Work obsessively hard.
substantial economic development. If you want to be successful, he says, add
value to those around you. ‘Ubuntu’, Komba utters, giving a long pause before
sharing his uplifting discourse on how Africa can
“You need to work so hard that in the absence of you things fall apart: You escape degradation, how can we build the Africa we
must be that person.’’ want?
As a self proclaimed ‘traditional Zambian Christian,’ in one sense only; Komba
finds fulfilment in sufficing to the financial, spiritual and emotional needs of “We have the power within us just for the fact that
his family. Holding himself accountable for their overall wellbeing, he implores we are Africans to change our continent.”

65 The Africa We Want