Rita Laibuta: Personal and Professional Insights

As some of you may know, I sit on the Board of the Young Women Social Entrepreneurs (YWSE) Nairobi network. We host monthly dinners - "How she does it" - where we have women speakers come and talk to us about their professional journeys so far.

April's speaker was Rita Laibuta. She is an Electrical Engineer by training and the Energy Consultant for the French Development Agency on the DFID /EU - funded Green-mini Grid (GMG) Kenya program. She is implementing Mini-grids and productive use projects in Kenya therefore providing electricity to more than 13,000 households and businesses and supporting more than 10 privately owned Kenyan energy companies. Rita is a 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow and a 2013/14 Tullow Group Scholarship Scheme beneficiary. She loves promoting the development of renewable energy projects and advocates for entrepreneurship in Renewable Energy including participating in the British Council Entrepreneurial Africa London Showcase in 2016.

Rita shared a lot of great insights that she has picked up along the way on her personal and professional journey, and I thought that these were too good not to share! Some may be more specifically applicable to women, but I would encourage everyone to give this a read. Do you relate to any of these? Do you agree or disagree? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

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A summary of the learnings picked up throughout my professional and personal life:

1. Battling the “impostor syndrome”: Every time I read my bio, I always wonder - who is this, and why is she lying to people? A lot of brilliant, accomplished women, including the COO of Facebook – Sheryl Sandberg, Shonda Rhymes (the founder of the production company Shonda Land and author of Year of Yes), Arese Ugwu (the author of the Smart Money Woman) and many others, talk about this annoying syndrome that plagues more women than men globally. Knowing that this said “syndrome” is not only affecting me but many other women out there has given me the confidence to own my successes.

We all have our failures, I have failed many times than I can count, but I have also achieved quite a lot. I am proud of my achievements and excited about how much more I will achieve in future. Re-reading my bio with the knowledge of this “syndrome” that affects many other women has helped me think to myself more and more that, “You know what? That is me. I deserve this. I did this.” I am learning to celebrate my successes and in turn, it helps me to celebrate the success of everyone around me, appreciating the fact that we are all on our different paths, and it does not hurt to pat each others' shoulders when we do good.

2. It’s all about the mindset – Life really is what you make of it - cliché, but it’s true for me. I have lived the typical negative Kenyan life. This was in me in highschool, in campus, until my friends in university - best friends to date - pointed this out. You know the talk: "there are no jobs”, “if you don’t know anyone you won’t go far”, “how do people get these things?”

I’ll tell you that it influenced this: my looking for a Masters scholarship until I got one (and no, I did not get a first class, so trust me, I was not applying while thinking I am the most brilliant Engineer in this country); applying for the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF), (I got rejected in 2015 by the way), but I was one of the 1000 Africans meeting Obama in the summer of 2016, in Washington DC! I had decided to apply every year until I got in.

I've been accused of living in a bubble. And I'll admit I love my bubble. The thing is, a positive and fluid mindset goes a long way, and it is a choice we have to deliberately make. We can today choose to see ourselves as winners in what we do or as victims of life, constantly wondering “How do they get those things (jobs, recognition, etc.)?"

3. On mentors and relationships – I am the type of person who, if stuck in a rut, will be googling a book on "how to get ahead in your career and relationships", “how to negotiate”, “how to become financially independent”, etc.

Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In spoke to a lot of my work related doubts. Thanks to Shonda Rhymes, I am more comfortable in inserting myself in uncomfortable situations, saying yes to requests that I would normally decline, like making public speeches; Outliers questioned my idea of what brings on success; Arese Ugwu, Robert Kiyosaki on money management, Stephen Covey is why I have a personal vision statement, Robert Greene has pretty scary laws.

My observation is that mentors do not only have to be people in our physical spaces. As an introvert, if the only option I had was to request total strangers to mentor me, I would have been depressed for sure. I have also learnt to look for groups with similar interests - you will always find these when you look for them.

And finally, I have found that mentors can be anyone around us; there is so much to learn from others. We have heard many times that we are the average of the people we surround ourselves with – I can safely brag that my circle is full of brilliant women and men. Women whom I learn from every day, women who have helped me be the woman I am today. So yes, it’s great to get that one figure that can mentor us in our various spaces, but if they are not easily accessible, look to learn from your surroundings, and books. And of course, what value are you adding to your circles? It is always a give and take. 

4. And finally on self-love – I believe that self-love is the beginning of it all. You can call me the self-love ambassador. I strongly believe that if we were all taught to love ourselves from an early age, this world would look very different. You will always know a woman who has learnt to love herself from her talk, her principles: and it's a process. Women: we are beautiful, we have so much to give, but we have to start by giving ourselves. We have to learn to celebrate our success. I have read that science supports the power of positive affirmations.

“Affirmations are basically a form of auto-suggestion, and when practiced deliberately and repeatedly, they reinforce chemical pathways in the brain, strengthening neural connections”.

Affirmations make me feel good about myself. And so as I wrap it up, my answer to how I do it is this, “I wake up every morning to my “I AM” affirmations – I am confident, loved, loveable, awesome, enough, unique, special, strong, joyous…I am my biggest fan.”

I urge every woman to be their biggest fans. With this mindset, we will continue to conquer our worlds.

Don't Put Me in Your Box

Don't put me in your box, don't assume that because I'm a 24 year old Kenyan woman of Indian origin, I must fit a certain stereotype. I'm ambitious, and I want a lot more out of my life than you think I'm aspiring to. No, I don't need to 'think about settling down' because 'women should start planning their family around the age of 28'. Marriage, a family, all that- they're not unimportant, but they're not all that a woman can have. Don't measure my success by where you/your daughter/your neighbour's daughter were/are at 24. That's their story. And I'm writing my own. 

When you look at me, then find out what I studied/where I studied/where I've worked and say something like "Wow, I had no idea you were smart!", don't expect me to take that as a compliment. If you're willing to judge someone at face value, then I'm more than entitled to judge you for the person you just showed yourself to be. When you find out that I'm planning to undertake a workout programme and you say something like "Be careful or you'll get muscles!", don't be surprised when I look confused. 

If you learn about my accomplishments and say something along the lines of "Wow, that's so awesome for a woman/girl!", be prepared for me to look at you like you just sprouted another head. Does being a woman exclude me from aspiring to success? Does being a woman mean that I'm automatically less intelligent than everyone else you know? 

I remember being asked at a job interview "You have a really impressive background, but wouldn't you rather just work in the beauty industry? You know, being a woman and all?"

I won't apologise for not laughing at your racist, homophobic, and/or sexist jokes- no matter how uncomfortable that makes you. No, it's not funny when you say that someone is 'not a man' because they chose to stay home with their children instead of going out with you. If you're the most loving, kind and supportive spouse, and you both have an awesome relationship, but when you're out with your friends you make jokes about how women 'nag all the time' or how 'men never get anything done'- that's not funny either. It's not funny when you think that just because your skin colour happens to be lighter or darker than someone else's, that gives you automatic superiority- it doesn't. You know what makes someone 'better' or 'worse' than someone else? Who they are. NOT the colour of their skin.  

If you laugh at people for being 'stupid and closed minded' but the last time you bothered to learn something new was when you were in formal education, and you dogmatically reject all that is unfamiliar to you... yes, I probably will say something. 

Nobody's perfect- but I think that those with the ability to make change happen almost have a responsibility to do so. If we don't grow, if we never improve- how meaningful are our lives really?

This is my life, and my story, and I want you to realise we can be different without being at conflict. Don't put me in your box- allow me to forge my own path. I'll make mistakes, I'll fail, I'll do stupid things more than once in a while. But I'll learn. And I'll grow.

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Don't put me in your box, don't assume that I must fit a certain stereotype. #inspiration https://t.co/bT0CwuZPBk @FemaleBloggerRT

— The Kenyan Nomad (@TheKenyanNomad) May 9, 2016

Bold and Badass: Vava Angwenyi

I first met Vava at the Sankalp Forum in Nairobi, a little over a month ago. We were at one of the sessions, a 'service provider speed dating session', designed to put entrepreneurs together with service providers. I was there as a service provider, and she as an entrepreneur. While we spoke for no more than 5 minutes, I was impressed by her, and wanted to know more. I heard great things about her from others too.

Naturally, I spoke to her about the YWSE (Nairobi) network, and thought that it'd be great to have her as a speaker. Little did I know how soon this was to happen! This past Monday (the 4th of April), was our monthly "How She Does It" YWSE dinner. Despite the rain and awful Nairobi traffic, Vava showed up, and managed to captivate her audience very easily!

Vava Angwenyi, Founder of Vava Coffee

Vava aims to make bold and badass (her own words) decisions in all that she does- a phrase that quickly caught on and proved to be quite inspirational to the rest of us! Vava has been working in the traditionally male-dominated coffee industry for 10 years now, and founded Vava Coffee in 2009, with the aim of providing sustainable livelihoods for coffee farmers. "As Africa, we have become too dependent on aid," she explained. "We don't challenge ourselves."

Kenyan children are expected to follow a certain path- go to school, get a good job, get married, have some kids, and then die. However, Vava knew that this wasn't for her. As someone who's very good at seeing a long term vision, she's never been short sighted, and she's trying to challenge the view that once you go to school and leave, the first job you get will be your dream job.

"Whatever you do, you HAVE to be passionate about it! When you truly believe in something, you have to see it through, and the rest of the pieces will fall into place."
-Vava

After she finished her first degree, she knew that she couldn't go back with just one degree- she was a Kenyan daughter, after all. So, she proceeded to get her masters in International Finance from the Netherlands. Once she finished her thesis, she went home- and was treated like an outcast for a while, due to the high expectations her family had of her. When Vava, who has a background in actuarial science and finance, told her mother that she was going to quit and join the coffee industry, her mother presented her with all the invoices for her school fees, and told her to pay them back, "once she was successful".

It wasn't any easier finding a support system within her friend circle; most of them didn't understand what she was doing, or even why she was doing it. She shared a crucial lesson she learnt along the way: "If you're trying to create change and you're sure of yourself, you've done enough soul searching- it has to be more than the money that drives you." In her own words, what has happened in her life so far has been phenomenal.

In a journey like Vava's, there are bound to be moments where one would want to quit, and it is crucial to find a good support system, be this physical, virtual or both. Her lovely daughter, Timanoi (who attended the dinner too), is a great support system, who from time to time reminds her mother "Mama, you can't give up!"

When you want to quit and don't have support, the right people will stick around. Vava does advise, however, never to share all your problems with others. She also stressed the importance of having a virtual support system, great people whose quotes and stories resonate and help you push forward. For her, two of these people are Steve Jobs and Nat Robinson (author of Creating a Cash Cow in Kenya).

Sometimes, it's hard to realise how something that is happening at the time can actually be for our benefit. While Vava was staying with her mother, she was given 7 days notice to move out and find a place of her own. This pushed her to work harder and do better, and she credits this as being one of the factor that brought her to where she is today. Parents in Kenya have a tendency to shelter their children- Vava mentioned the fact that it's not uncommon to find children of 35 or 40 living with their parents, and unconsciously expecting to be spoonfed. The education system doesn't help with this, as more often than not, children tend to just cram and regurgitate, and expect to be handheld. According to Vava, children from educational systems abroad are all rounders, capable of thinking outside the box, and are more adaptable. The moment you start having real responsibilities in life, you start learning and growing, and for Vava, this experience definitely helped her do both.

Some questions members of the audience had for Vava:

What have been some of the biggest moments you've had that've made you feel like everything has been worth it? 

Honestly, the best moments have been when my farmers are happy. Recognition is good, but money is also important; I have previously said no to awards that have no money. A funny moment that happened recently was when I toasted with my six year old daughter. Me: "Here's to making change and increasing impact." Her: "Here's to making money!" I've created a monster!

(Vava also works with women from Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi, who work to make the gift bags for the coffee produced.) 

There have been times when the women in Kibera have prayed for me, have been there for me, have given me encouragement. Most of them are HIV+ and they don't have a lot to give; they really helps me to put my problems in perspective. They're joyful. There's a lot we can learn from these women!

Other moments that count are when my clients are happy, and when emails come in telling me that I inspire people. Funnily enough, theses emails always come in when I need them most. They make me cry and inspire me to get up and get going.

What are some of the challenges women entrepreneurs face? 

Many in this country- especially if you're outspoken! When going to a bank for money, it's not uncommon to be asked questions like "Does your husband know what you're doing?", "Can't he give you money?" or even "Does he approve?".

My advice? Let people think you're crazy. Our society hasn't yet absorbed the strength of a woman!

I entered a traditionally male-dominated industry, and everyone thought I was crazy at first. However, now, the people who used to laugh at me stand up and listen when I have something to say.


Not only is Vava an inspirational entrepreneur, but she's also won many awards for what she's done including the top 12 social enterprises worldwide from the BBC world challenge program! Interested in learning more about Vava? Check out her website and Facebook page! Let's all strive to be bold and badass like Vava, shall we?

Liked this post? Leave a comment on Facebook and let me know, like or retweet the tweet below, and feel free to share with friends and family!

Here's the #boldandbadass Vava of @VavaCoffeeKenya https://t.co/NnH8PbBJcs #socent #entrepreneurship #KOT #Kenya pic.twitter.com/XcLoFG67eJ

— The Kenyan Nomad (@TheKenyanNomad) April 11, 2016

How to Adult: Personal Financial Management Tips

What exactly is personal financial management? A quick definition: "The efficient and effective management of money to accomplish objectives." Definitely a skill I wish I had picked up 6 years ago!

A few months ago, I attended a training on the topic hosted by the Young Women Social Entrepreneurs (Nairobi) network (of which I'm now a board member). The trainer was my eldest sister, and I really wish I'd thought to ask her about this before! Since attending the training, I've become much better at saving, which is especially helpful now that I'm working as an independent consultant.

Who knew it could be as easy as this?

What do I want you to take away from this post? Learning how to manage your finances is an achievable goal- not in the distant future, but soon. Financial independence is not something you need to worry about.

What are some of the mistakes we make when it comes to managing our money?

• Not prioritising savings
• Having a very vague idea of where your money goes
• Forgetting non-monthly expenses in monthly budgets
• Spending more than we need to
• Living paycheque to paycheque
• Getting into unnecessary debt

What are some ways we can get around this? 

1) Prioritise savings: A major change I made in the last few months is to treat savings as an expense- and to make this expense as soon as I have any money coming in. A lot of the time, we may transfer money to savings, but in our minds, we still 'have that money', and so tend to overspend, thinking that savings will cover our expenditures. Savings should be something that are put away and not touched, unless they're being used for a specific goal, like retirement, education or travel. If you think of savings as an expense, and teach yourself to put money away as soon as you get paid, you'll be able to save quite a lot in no time. 

How much should we save? This really depends on your personal situation, but ideally, when you're younger and (presumably) don't have as many expenses, you should be putting away as much as 20% of your income. You may think you're too young to start saving for retirement, but trust me on this one- no one is too young to start saving for retirement. Every little bit counts; I've heard of many families and individuals who started gathering loose change in containers, and would open them after a few years. 

How should we save? While having a savings account is a good idea, often enough, in some countries especially, the interest rates just aren't worth it. If you are serious about putting money away, think of doing a fixed deposit or something similar, or doing some research into various investment options. 

2) Know where your money is going: You may think that you have a rough idea about how much money is going in and going out, but keeping track of this in an exact manner can help you identify your spending patterns, and learn where you can cut down or even spend more. Luckily for us, there are various desktop and mobile apps available to help with this, and if you're so inclined, you can use a good old spreadsheet of your own. 

Personally, I use Toshl—it's very user friendly, and allows you to see exactly where your money is going. Since I started using this app, I've been much better at staying within my budget. 

3) Create a budget: By allocating certain proportions of your monthly income to certain expenditures, you can ensure that you won't overspend. An example of this would be allocating 10% to retirement, 10% to general savings, 10% to irregular expenses, 10% to fun/entertainment and 60% to needs. When creating a monthly budget, don't forget to include non-monthly expenses—divide annual expenses by 12, and track them as monthly expenses. 

4) Cut out unnecessary expenses: Do you have a magazine subscription that you barely use? Or maybe you spend at your local coffee shop every day when it'd actually be cheaper to buy and make your own in the long run? Are you paying for a storage space you don't really need, since you could just move what you have into a space you already own? 

Sometimes, we end up spending on things that are absolutely unnecessary. Once you start tracking your expenses, you'll realise how much you can save by cutting out these expenses. It may seem like cutting down on just two coffees a week won't save you much, but look at it this way- say for example, each coffee is $2.50. You'd save $5 a week, so $20 a month- $240 in a year! 

5) Do not live paycheque to paycheque: This is a mistake so many of us make, and don't realise how dangerous it can be. If it means that when you start working you need to cut down on expenses to prioritise savings, then that's what you should do. Ask yourself- if you were out of a job today, could you survive at least three months on what you've saved so far? It's important to have a bit of a cushion to fall back on, and if you live paycheque to paycheque, you won't be able to build this up. However, if you budget wisely, save early and start tracking your expenses, you'll have a safety net in no time at all. 

6) Avoid unnecessary debt: We live in a debt culture, where people tend to borrow and then overspend, with the goal of paying back 'someday'. As much as possible, debt should be avoided, and only taken on for necessary things. What are these, you may ask? A good rule of thumb is to only take on loans for essentials like education and housing that will add value to you, or increase in value over time. Do not take loans for things like cars—they depreciate as soon as you drive them out of the showroom. 

Credit cards can be amazing if used right, and can actually result in you saving money and earning rewards. When using credit cards, it's important to remember to pay them off monthly—use them as you would a debit card in a way. Avoid using debt as a crutch for expenses you don't really need to make. 

Hopefully, these tips will take you a little closer to the financial independence you've always desired! Have any others? Feel free to share in the comments below!

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Struggling with personal #financialmanagement? These tips should help! https://t.co/C8jn0IjLDT @FemaleBloggerRT #KOT #IHC #TheBloggingElite

— The Kenyan Nomad (@TheKenyanNomad) April 2, 2016

Live Free, Live Fierce: An Evening with Muthoni Gathecha

Muthoni and I at the 'How She Does It' dinner

Those of you who know anything about Sewanee know that it has an abundance of empowering people to connect with, and networking events galore! I can't even begin to count the amount of times I sat down with a group of amazing men and women and had meaningful conversations about anything and everything. Since coming back to Kenya, I've definitely missed the ease of access to people I could have such conversations and connections with. This is why, when a friend of mine suggested I attend a dinner and a talk that was part of a monthly series hosted by a nonprofit organisation in the area, I jumped at the chance. Connecting with fantastic, motivating women AND a great guest speaker? Of course I went! (And took my sister with me too.) I had a wonderful time, and definitely plan on going back.

Luckily for me, I was seated right next to the guest of honour, Muthoni Gathecha (psychologist, motivational speaker, actress and presenter at The Vagina Monologues), and I'm very glad that I was! Right off the bat, her energy was absolutely captivating, and her talk was extremely inspirational. As a woman who strives to be fearless and be her very best, it was amazing for me to hear from someone who IS fearless and even better than her best.

There was no way I was keeping this inspiration and empowerment to myself, and so I wrote down as much from her talk as I could, and knew that I'd end up writing about it before the week was over. Here we are!

'I am Muthoni and I am a woman.' Captivating words, and a great introduction. Muthoni explained that that introduction fits her best, because everything else about her was either acquired or learnt. Her job, her children, her studies and other such attributes only complement who she is, and do not have the right to define her wholly. I think this is a great message for women to take away, and learn to proudly own their identity! She also introduced herself as a happily divorced woman, and said (rightly so) that she did not have space for anyone who was uncomfortable accepting that.

Muthoni led us to the beginning of the series of events that built her up to be the woman that she is today. As a twelve year old, she was very forward. She would always be compared to her siblings, academically too. When she got back the results of an important exam that she took at that age, she realised that she didn't do as well as she thought she had, but her father was up in arms. At that point he told her "The best you could be is a househelp or a prostitute." Those words stuck with her, and she swore to herself that never again would such words be spoken to her, and she would achieve great things on her own merit.

At a time where everyone was choosing to pursue degrees in fields like law or medicine, Muthoni decided to get a degree in teaching. "I love the sound of my own voice," she said laughingly, "and I find it positively orgasmic to speak in front of people, and the power that gives me!" After she graduated, she was posted to Mombasa, and just two years later, at the young age of 25, she became a deputy head teacher. She had command, and the people around her obviously realised this. Two more years later, she was again promoted, and became the principal of her school. After five years in this role, she decided to pursue a Masters in Education Administration. Muthoni loves working with youth; they have a lot of energy and a lot to give, and she thrives off of this.

After a few years in a senior administrative role and a second Masters in Psychology, at the age of 50, Muthoni realised that she was stuck in a rut. Life had become monotonous, and she needed a change. There was a lot of turmoil in her life at that point, and she asked herself if that was all she had to give. So, she took early retirement at 50, and had a dramatic change; she went into acting. It wasn't easy at first, but Muthoni persevered, never stopped believing in herself and her value, and gave it her absolute all. For her first audition, she was considered too young for the main role. She was offered one scene in one episode in a 250-episode series, and decided to say yes in the spirit of not being negative. It definitely paid off; the actress who was chosen for the main role initially could not keep up, and Muthoni got the role!

Today, Muthoni is at a place where the offers are actually lining up to such an extent that she has had to turn them down. She needed to go through all that she did before she could realise her potential and all that she had to offer. She managed to move from what she termed an 'area of mediocrity,' where she had the safety of a salary at the end of the month, to a place where she had to challenge herself for every paycheque. This may seem difficult to some, but Muthoni is thoroughly enjoying herself! She has a lot of creativity and energy, and uses a metaphor that I absolutely loved: "I am not a car; I do not have a reverse gear. I move forward!"

Muthoni's energy is evident, and I'm very glad that I was able to meet her and be inspired. Though there was no way I could capture even a fraction of her energy in my words, I hope that you all are inspired by her too!