In an era where innovation and diversification are crucial for economic growth, Dr. Jesca Mhoja Nkwabi stands out as a leader in Tanzania’s business space.
As CEO of KOM Group of Companies, Dr. Nkwabi has led her company into diverse sectors, including agroprocessing, food manufacturing, and steel production.
Her leadership has not only expanded KOM Group’s influence across East Africa but has also created countless opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially women and youth.
In this exclusive interview, Dr Jesca Nkwabi spoke to Today Africa about her entrepreneurial journey. Watch the interview here.
Please tell us a bit about yourself?
Dr. Jesca is a serial entrepreneur. She’s a business and research consultant, she also serves as the CEO of KOM Group of Companies which is based in Tanzania and which deals with agro-processing, industrial manufacturing and trading.
What does your company do?
Kahama Oil Mills Ltd is one of the few inspirational stories about a business that started from humble beginnings to scale the heights of success through hard work, focus and a ‘never say die’ attitude. The company deals with ginning cotton, processing cotton and sunflower seeds to edible oil and its by-products are sold as animal feed.
KOM also manufacture’s industrial goods such as:- PVC poly pipes and fittings widely used in water piping, sanitation, and conduits for industrial use, steel tubes, which produce round and square pipes used in building and other large installations in various commercial, domestic, and industrial facilities aluminum fabrication for production of galvanized and colored iron sheets used in roofing and other covers.
Plastic pails/jerry-can manufacture which are used in packaging for edible cooking oil in various sizes and shapes from 5 liters, 10 liters to 20 liters. IPS plastic furniture/utensils where a variety of goods are produced ranging from chairs, tables, kitchenware used in homes and offices or hospitality amenities in their various shapes and sizes. In addition, KOM owns a pharmacy, supermarket, bakery, and restaurant.
As a known industry leader, we’re used to working with all types of customers – local or global, large or small. We work in a highly competitive field, so we’re constantly investing in technology and research to make sure we stay ahead of the curve. Our commitment to quality guarantees our success and your satisfaction.
As someone who is leading the group, what is the driving force behind your vision for the KOM Group?
Thank you so much. So keeping our vision in mind, we look at what our customers want and keep up with their needs and expectations. As a group we are 20 years old, so we’ve been in the industry for over 20 years now. And yeah, over the years, there are different demands and expectations, technological advancements. And so we are able now to sort of listen to what our customers want or match what the market expects us to do and then be able to deliver that to our different customers.
What are the challenges that you have faced in the early stage of your career and how did you overcome them?
Some of those challenges were of course like building a strong team because you wouldn’t understand that a team makes a great organization. So really having the right people on board is always key so that you are all moving towards the same goal and ensuring that the company reaches greater heights.
That was one of the major challenges and also considering if you take some of these industries technologies were new by that time having advanced technologies to process. Sometimes we were required to go and source people from other countries just to come and help train the local people so that they can catch up. So those were some of those key challenges.
Also the marketing aspect, because when you put a product out there, you need to attract customers and you need to invest heavily in your marketing. You need to know your customers. Different customers want a certain product, different markets demand for a certain product. So, once you’re able to analyze and understand the customer well, then you are able to sort of align accordingly to ensure that you’re delivering the right products to the right customers.
Those were some of the key challenges and of course keeping up with technology. As I said before, our driving force is always to be able to meet our customers’ expectations in accordance with the market trends or what they expect at that particular time. You find out that you might have certain technology but it’s outdated now you’re forced to sort of yeah invest more for an advanced technology so yeah these were some of the major challenges that I encountered during my early career.
But also, even though it’s a family business and we have been in business for over 20 years now. Taking up the CEO position four years back, it was more of having to learn some technical stuff and be able to understand better so that when we are communicating with a team, it becomes easier to understand where we are headed. So those were some of those challenges that I encountered. But thankfully I have my mentors, I have a strong team that was able to guide me through.
The KOM Groups have different portfolios, how do you manage such a diverse portfolio while ensuring growth across these different sectors or different groups that make up your company?
We are a highly diversified company here in Tanzania. So in our different subsidiaries, we have managers who have their separate portfolios. And that really enables me to know what my managers are doing with each subsidiary.
Your focus is on women and young entrepreneurs. What motivated you to become an advocate for them and what are the initiatives that you have started that are helping you achieve this purpose?
Personally, I’m passionate about promoting entrepreneurship among youth and women. So here in Tanzania, I head an initiative called Young Women Entrepreneurs with other founders. So we promote entrepreneurship activities among young women between the age of 20 to 35. And what we do is we do capacity building workshops, we share our own experiences.
But we also recognize those who are performing better to be able to mentor and coach others in their respective sectors to be able to take up entrepreneurship activities. But also keeping in mind that employment is limited all over Africa. It’s a very known problem a lot of youths are facing.
So, entrepreneurship is the answer to all of this because we have a lot of untapped opportunities that are viable and now when youth, especially women, if they’re able to engage into these entrepreneurship activities they can be able to contribute actively to their own needs and also to the economic development of the country as a whole.
As a leader, what lessons can entrepreneurs in Africa, especially in your industry learn from your experience?
Like I mentioned earlier on I think the key issue is to be able to really know your industry, know your customer, but also be agile. Because you might be in business for a long time, but now trends are changing, customer expectations are changing, so you really need to adapt to that.
And adapting to that also means investing highly in sophisticated technologies that can provide better quality goods, which is what the customers expect. There are a lot of untapped opportunities in Tanzania. Like if we take sectors like the fruits and vegetable sector, only 4% of processing happens here. Whereas more than 2.7 metric tons of fruits and vegetables are produced annually.
So you see there are still gaps in the processing activities. Rather than us now being Tanzanians or Africans depending more on imports. So tapping into processing is equally important and since we have the raw materials, what I would advise or what I would like other entrepreneurs, especially in the agro processing sectors to take with them is that do not just depend on exporting your raw materials you can add value and sell them globally.
You had your leadership training in Oxford and Havard, and that has given you a global perspective about how things work. So how do you balance these global strategies with the local realities on ground in Tanzania?
That’s a very good question. Leadership is universal whether I’m in the UK, in the US, or in Tanzania. The skills are the same. So having had my leadership trainings from the two institutions, I have been able to hone my leadership skills in terms of knowing how to grow my team internally, knowing how to exert influence, knowing how to use my power very well to engage with different stakeholders, knowing how to negotiate for better deals for my company.
Those are some of the things that I’ve taken with me with regard to those training that were given to me. Also I do believe in continuous personal and professional development. Because I can not lead a team if I’m not well advanced with what is happening or keeping up with what is happening globally. It has not only helped me to stay ahead of the game but also has helped me to really align more to my leadership and my team, lead them better, understand them better, gain self-awareness, which is quite important for a leader.
Being able to study the sort of power I can use to influence others, is it the personal power or expert power? I would say they’ve been very crucial in helping me to sort of grow and advance more as a leader and also build a stronger team.
You understand the benefits of having systems and processes. How can someone who is new in business or in entrepreneurship build systems and processes that will help in smooth running of their business?
First, I would say it’s important to have strong policies as you’re starting your business. Because that’s the fundamental guideline to help you assess yourself of what is acceptable, what is not acceptable. Once you have those policies in place, then it gives you a sort of a guideline on how to conduct your recruitment, how to handle your finances, and how to engage with various stakeholders. So that’s quite crucial.
Also for businesses that are just starting up, it’s okay to start up with something small, a small system. And then as you’re growing, now you can invest in sophisticated systems like ERPs. But make sure that they meet your industry and your goals as a business. Because systems are put in place to assist you in making your work easier. So make sure even if you’re going for systems, that it’s something that aligns to your industry, aligns to your business. The key thing here is to have policies in place, which will guide everything that you do.
So what role does technology play in the different portfolios that make up the KOM Groups?
Technology plays a major part, as you know, we are manufacturers. It plays a major role in terms of helping our activities done, but number two, being able to monitor and assess each department and each business unit. It’s quite important to be up to date with the sort of technology that is out there for your business and your specific industry. So that when customers trends and expectations are shifting, you’re not left behind.
Technology is crucial because it’s everywhere nowadays in businesses, whether you’re communicating online with different stakeholders from different countries, whether you’ve invested in sophisticated machinery and you require integration, you need the technology to, let’s say, consult with the engineer.
Let’s say your machine has a problem. You need to consult with engineers who might be in other countries. Let’s say France or Germany or the UK. So it’s quite important. Also it makes work easier even in terms of reporting systems, getting work done.
When employing someone, what are the things you look out for and when venturing into partnership with anyone, what are those signs that you consider?
For the employees, I look at the experience that they are going to bring to the company. But also, their reason for wanting to join my company. That’s very key. Is it growth or was there some issue in the past company? So that’s key. But most importantly what have they done? What extra have they done in terms of not only career-wise, but also maybe added certifications and experiences.
Because I believe those are key when you want a good employee who will be a very good asset to the company and who will add more value, not only to you, but also to the team members that they’re going to work with. So that’s what I look for when looking for employees. Also what is quite important is also the attitude of the employee because I’ve come across certain employees who are very good, have good experiences, but when it comes to the attitude, that’s where our values do not align.
And I’ve also come across employees who are just starting out, but with the right attitude, I’ve seen them grow to a managerial position or leadership positions. Having an employee with the right attitude, but also looking at their experience. But also not to shy away from sort of giving people an opportunity to show you what they can do.
Now, when it comes to partnerships, this is a different angle. First, the sort of partnership, is it a short-term partnership, is it a long-term partnership? But the key issue is do our goals align, do our visions align? Where are we headed? What sort of partnership is this? What values does this person share with me and with my business? And what are the terms that are laid forth in this type of partnership that we want to engage in? So those are critical.
What are your future goals for KOM Group and how do you plan to continue innovating in the manufacturing and food processing sector?
My future plans for the KOM Group is to take it global in terms of having global offices, but also having establishments in other countries. So that’s my vision for the next five years.
What advice would you give to others starting out in their business, more especially to women?
My advice would be before starting a particular business, make sure that you know the sector very well. Do your market research for you to understand the gap to be able to fulfill this gap. That’s key. But also as you’re starting up don’t just aim to make it in a short period of time. Because there are a lot of things that happen in businesses until they grow. So take your time with the business as you are starting small but also aiming to grow. That’s the key advice I would give to women who are starting their businesses.
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To find out more, contact Dr Jesca Mhoja Nkwabi at KOM Group
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