 |
| Maryanne Njeri is in love with Africa |
|
|
In a job interview, Maryanne Njeri was once asked to write her eulogy. She still has it somewhere. It reads ‘She brought a smile to many and uplifted them in every way she could’.
Looking at her career path however, one could add a line about a passionate young career woman seeking excellence in the Diaspora.
While many young people would find it a great discomfort roaming across the continent in pursuit of their career, Ms Njeri enjoys the challenge building her name in the media and Public Relations (PR) industries from Uganda to South Africa and Nigeria. And she isn’t done yet, the ambitious United States International University (USIU) BA, Journalism (International Relations minor), graduate who adopts a local name in host countries she works at, is still full of energy.
“Relocating teaches you a lot about yourself, like flexibility, because you need to fit into different environments, and survival levels,” says Njeri who grew up in Nairobi, Kenya.
Her love
As a young graduate, Ms Njeri, 30, set out for Kampala, Uganda in 2004 to work for a PR company, after doing a stint as a radio presenter and freelance writer. “My father had advised me about the potential of the field of PR,” says Ms Njeri. The experience, handling big accounts and big brands, she says kick started her, and gave her crucial skills.
“While there, I felt an urge to grow my writing skills: writing is my passion and I cannot afford to lose it,” she says. She wrote for a South African publication which had started its East African edition in Nairobi, covering the East Africa Community (EAC) states, and had her own page known as Letter from Kampala, where she wrote about the economy of Uganda, Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) and other business issues.
In Kampala, she acquired a Ugandan name, Karungii – from Mnyakole tribe. “Soon I could speak a bit of Luganda, and I immersed myself to enable me fit in for my own personal and professional growth,” says Ms Njeri a first born whose two brothers work in the financial services industry in Kenya.
Baying for another challenge, a job offer came all the way from Johannesburg, South Africa for a senior business journalist in one of the leading media groups, and she took it up. “It was a fantastic time for me in terms of growth. I not only worked in the business sections of the Times and Sowetan newspapers, but I later became the acting editor for the foreign news pages of The Times newspaper,” says a charming Mr Njeri who attended Aga Khan and Langata Junior Primary schools, and Limuru Girls and Makini Academy for her high school education.
She says her family and close friends have always been her rock, support and motivation. “I am where I am because they always believed in me, even when I do not at times,” says Ms Njeri.
Career growth
She also got an opportunity to utilise her knowledge in International Relations, her other passion. “I also made it my duty to ensure that the sections always carried positive news on African states even those that we rarely hear about – such as Togo, Benin, Mali, Cameroun, Gabon, Burundi, and Zambia,” she says, adding that it offered her an opportunity to educate many South Africans who are not well informed of other African affairs. She also worked for Reuters Africa as online editor, among others.
Two years in the business, she was ready for another switch to PR, where she has been working in Johannesburg and Lagos, Nigeria.
“The networks I made as a full time journalist in both the business and media have been very useful in PR. Currently, my client is a bank based in Johannesburg, South Africa with the largest operations in the continent,” says Ms Njeri. “The knowledge I have of the continent, as well as my media networks have been crucial.”
She also volunteers her PR skills to the African Leadership Academy, based in Johannesburg that takes intelligent and highly gifted students from across Africa to study for two years – with emphasis on entrepreneurship and leadership – before they join university.
She says there are big similarities between PR and journalism, and the knowledge she has gained from both fields have been useful. “In this business, you must network, network and network. All you need in PR is a phone, laptop and networks,” says Ms Njeri. It is important to understand the political landscape as much as the business; in the different countries your clients have operations.
Her day starts with reading a few websites of major media outlets in Africa, and it ends with social networks, Facebook and Twitter, just in case she missed some news, as well as to see important issues people are talking about that she may have missed. Seeking to understand how the various media outlets work has also been a plus. “In most of Sub-Sahara, newspapers and radio are still very powerful medias. Social networks are rarely used to disseminate news as one would have done if they were based in a market like New York,” she says.
Coping in different countries, different cultures
Knowledge of a foreign language is also beneficial she says. Africa has two widely spoken languages: English and French, and she has to utilise her minimal French when servicing clients in French speaking countries. There is also a challenge of time zones: for instance South Africa is behind Kenya by one hour, ahead of Nigeria by one hour and ahead of Ghana by two hours – which has to be taken into consideration.
Cultures and personal presentation also varies. In South Africa for instance it is normal to see people informally dressed for work during weekdays, which is rare in the rest of the continent especially in West Africa. “When working as a foreigner, it is important to position yourself as a partner and be observant, and learn from the locals to avoid hostility,” she says. “Be their friend not their enemy.”
Business works in different ways in different markets. In South Africa, it’s not always required of a person to socialize a lot, while in Nigeria knowing the person at a social level is important for enable them trust you and comfortably move the relationship to the next level. “In Lagos, some of the business people will invite you to meet those who are important to them, such as their families. This is a good sign, of faith and trust,” says Njeri adding that she has leant different lessons in the different markets.
Johannesburg does not face infrastructure challenges such as lack of water and electricity, but fitting in with the local people would be a challenge for a foreigner – however availability of a wide circle of African foreigners helps in networking.
“I have learnt to be empathetic to people and other cultures,” says Ms Njeri. “It has been an excellent and worthwhile growth experience for me.”
Best experiences
Living in Lagos, she says in no walk in the park. Infrastructure is one of the biggest challenges, where electricity is unavailable nearly half of the time; the city is humid and extremely populous. “But this is my favorite African city. You feel the energy once you get in,” she says. “The people are fantastic and very hospitable.” It is a country with very well educated and travelled people. The well educated Nigerians attend top schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, IESE, Oxford and London Business School.
While she was there, she got a Yoruba name, Kemi – in short for Folakemi – and taught herself some Pidgin language such as: how now (how are you), how you day (how are you), weitin you say (what did you say). The tough part, she says, is accommodating the challenges and working around them. For instance you have to consider the traffic and accommodate the hours when leaving for an appointment, as well as have two cell phones as the networks constantly break off whenever it rains. You can buy nearly your entire household from clothes, to spices, shoes and watches in traffic.
“This is one city that is larger than life. I always try and see the positive side of it. You can never lack an interesting story to tell about Lagos,” she says. “Lagos is a very colourful city, extremely diverse, a very interesting market with a fantastic social life and it is very important to network here for your own good.” She says, above anything she learnt patience and tolerance while living and working there. Nigeria, with is population of at least 150 million people is the powerhouse of West Africa. Its surrounding neighbors survive because of it, and several South Africa companies derive their profits from Nigeria. Their banks such as Punjab National Bank (PNB), Ecobank, United Bank of Africa (UBA) among others have spread from West Africa to East. “There is a lot we can learn from Nigerians in terms of how their pursuit of business, which is fearless,” says Ms Njeri.
In the course of her career, she has also met prominent people, from artists, state officials, fist ladies, business leaders, entrepreneurs among others. In each of the countries she has lived including Kenya, she also wrote for a local publication. Currently, she has a column in the Sunday Standard newspaper of Kenya, on her life in Kampala, Uganda.
Lessons learnt
To anyone wishing to take her path she says; be motivated, self driven, always have integrity and be passionate about life and what you do. “Write your vision: when it is written, it makes you committed to it. Even the bible, in the book of Habakkuk states, write your vision and present it to the Lord,” she says. “This is what has always worked and continues to work for me, accompanies by daily prayers.” Surrounding herself with family, good friends, mentors and people who inspire her, also keeps her on track.
She calls it a tough experience moving to a new country, especially for a young lady. Fitting in is never easy. Keeping a wide social network across the continent, who teach her the different cultures, help her fit in easily. Her wish is to have more information on Africa online. There is need for up skilling Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, she says.
When not working, she likes to host people and throw parties with both East and West Africans, a habit she got from her parents. Travelling to new places and reading widely especially on African politics also help her unwind, and so is playing some golf and attending the gym three to four times a week. “In music I still thrive on Tshala Muana, Mbilia Bel and good old Koffi Olominde,” she says.
Looking at more growth, she hopes to soon enroll for a business course in either Harvard, Wharton in the US or London Business School in UK. “This is the time for me to increase my knowledge, skills and network at a global level and bring it back to my passion, Africa,” she says.
She longs to see development of post conflict states of Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroun, and Cote D’Ivoire. “I would like to see Kenyan banks, telecoms, advertising and manufacturing companies also setting up in Nigeria and South Africa. This would be excellent in terms of skills and knowledge sharing,” she says. Writing a travel book is also among her plans, to feature some of her favourite places such as Ghana, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Gabon – and modern slavery in Mauritania. “At the end of the day, I am my own brand and I always intend to position and promote myself as the best brand that I can be,” she says.
Living in different countries she says is always good for the CV and encourages it. But east or west, home will always be the best place to be with your loved ones, she says.
|
