MBA. Class 2014.
WEMA Foundation Founder.
Your Career
After the orphanage, where I used to volunteer, collapsed due to the heavy rains, I went back to Kuwait to start a fundraising campaign to build a new orphanage in Zanzibar – the United Republic of Tanzania. Apparently, it wasn't a one-time project. I established a non-profit foundation called Wema (which means goodness in Swahili). Wema Foundation focuses on bringing that "goodness “to underprivileged communities with projects designed for long-term impact and sustainable change.
Summary of your Swansea University experience
Swansea will always be a reference point in my life. It widened my perspective both academically and personally. It was my biggest push to go out of my comfort zone in the sense of living abroad, and diversity: constantly meeting new people, even challenging the way I approach business and general life problems.
What are your top 3 favourite things about Swansea (the University/city/area)?
- The unforgettable waterfront! The sea scenery by the university has always been my favourite. Walking from Uni to home by the sea after a long day was so therapeutic!
- The weekend strolls in Mumbles with all its charm! The small cafes and local boutiques.
- My daily morning jogs at the Marina will always be the highlight of my Swansea experience.
Why did you choose to study for your degree at Swansea?
Swansea University ranked second in Wales and among the top 50 universities in the UK! And has a huge diversity that attracts international students. All the information I needed for admission was accessible and I got the help I needed easily. Swansea as a city gives the perfect ‘student experience’ outside of studying.
How did your educational background at Swansea University prepare you for your current role at Wema Foundation?
Studying at Swansea University widened my perspective and helped me get a better grasp of the modern world’s problems and how to impact those in need. In addition, my education equipped me with the necessary tools to intervene and do my duty as a global citizen to address these problems, I believe I have acquired these tools through the following three important factors that I was consistently exposed to during my studies:
Diversity: Being in a close-knit class of 25 students with more than 12 nationalities for me was a constant interaction with different mindsets that were shaped by several cultures. It helped me get a better grasp of global problems and how differences and conflicts can affect the way an organization and a team can function. It helped me improve my communication and always approach any business problems or projects with an approach that aims to map out all stakeholders in a situation, understand what their influences could be and their worries, and how to arrive at a solution that is satisfactory for all diverse participants affected by the situation.
Leadership: I believe that my leadership skills were not just shaped during relevant classes in my MBA program, they continuously grew throughout my studies, as it was challenged through class work, group projects, and continuous discussions of business problems. This growth has enabled me to enter a new field in a new country with a different approach to doing business, yet I was still able to align different stakeholders in governmental and non-governmental agencies clearly articulating problems and goals to them and leading everyone to work towards a common vision.
Business Acumen: The rigorous approach in Swansea University during my MBA program, through lectures, materials provided, problems discussed and solved whether during class or through group project delivery, helped shape the way I manage and set up business plans for an organization. In my field of work, it helped me understand and plan how to make a non-profit foundation sustainable through the generation of diverse sources of income and how to exploit business opportunities for the foundation’s beneficiaries to help create sustainable and recurring income for them.
Tell us about your current role at the Wema Foundation. Could you describe a typical day and the projects or responsibilities you are involved in?
Wema Foundation is a non-governmental non-profit foundation contributing toward international human development - and its projects are as varied as it sounds. From building wells for underprivileged communities in rural Tanzania, through education, health, sustainable livelihoods, youth, and women empowerment to creating and supporting Fatima House - an orphanage (but I prefer to call it a home) giving shelter to 46 kids.
There is an expression in Kiswahili language (the official language of Tanzania) - “fundi kila kitu” - which translates means “engineer of everything”. I often feel that this expression perfectly describes my current role at the Wema Foundation. Apart from being the founder, managing director, strategist, PR person for WEMA, and a secretary, I am also responsible and involved in managing the everyday lives of 46 children and their staff in Fatima House - the orphanage that I built 4 years ago where I am called Mama Hind and we all know how demanding it can be to be a mother - especially for 46 children.
Apart from all the everyday tasks one has to remember that living and working in Africa is something very unique and offers many challenges unheard of by people from GCC or Europe and I often have to remind myself of how different various cultures can be. Being constantly open and vigilant about societal differences is a vital part of my work - one has to rewire one’s brain to grasp and merge the Western culture I got educated in and an African culture. All for the benefit of the Wema and the people it serves because if I had just tried to implement knowledge and experience rigidly without considering the local values, culture, and traditions often the undertakings would be either extremely slow to progress or impossible to accomplish.
In your opinion, what are the most important skills that a business administrator needs to have?
Apart from the all the “traditionally” valued skills: communication, time management, problem-solving (oh yes, problem-solving here is an important one), supervision, delegation, etc. one has to be a humanist. Especially here, in Africa, where traditional societal values are still the foundation of everyday life. It took me a while to start grasping these differences and trying to use these to the benefit of Wema and my work, but right now I have to be equally a business administrator and a humanist as both of these areas are vital to successfully run an organisation like Wema in Africa.
Your top tips to start a career in Business Administration.
BA is a demanding role - especially because world in 2023 is a very competitive place and in order to be successful one has to be extremely versatile and strong minded.
In my opinion one should start with observing oneself: who am I, what do I like, what are my strengths and weaknesses, am I a leader? Do I feel ok when taking responsibility for others? Am I creative enough to come up with unique ways of running a business? If the answer to the above is Yes then it would be vital to pursue an education that would allow you to understand the intricacies of establishing and/or making it a successful endeavour. An MBA from Swansea would be helpful.
Once you get your degree I would focus again on yourself. I would think what is it that interests me, what is it that I want to do even if I am not getting paid for it? If you find the area that you are passionate about you will never have to work anymore - you will just pursue excellence in the subject that brings you joy as E.Hemingway said: “ find something that you love and the money will follow”
The next step for me would be getting an internship - finding a place that does what you want to be doing and immersing yourself in it. Start low and build your experience on as many steps of the ladder as possible so your perspective is vast. It will be beneficial in the future.
After all that - you are well on your way and good luck.
What do you envision achieving in the future within your field of expertise?
My plans are not limited to what I am already doing - there is so much more Wema can do to help more people; children, women, and unprivileged communities. I am currently focusing on creating a self-sustaining model for Fatima House which will allow me to focus more on other areas like Wema Scholar and Wema Academy. Plans are to create a blueprint for Fatima House and Wema initiatives so these could be implemented regardless of the location and hopefully with a minimum of my hands-on involvement. I strongly believe, despite sometimes hearing otherwise, that one can achieve a lot if one wants. One just needs to want.
Would you recommend Swansea University to someone thinking of going to University?
One answer to this question was from a friend whom I met during a volunteering trip in Zanzibar. A simple question evolved into talking about our ambitions, our thoughts about using business and commerce to improve the living conditions of those in need, how we want to transform our careers to be in roles that are more meaningful to address the pressing social challenges and how my education in Swansea university helped me broaden my understanding and perspectives on these topics. After several months, my friend approached me again letting me know that he had made the decision to pursue a postgraduate degree and we took on a journey together with me helping him with his applications and his move to study abroad.
