Meet the Boss’ is a How we made it in Africa interview series where we pose 10 questions to business leaders across the continent.
Mustafa Suleimanji, managing director, Lamudi (Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique)
1. What was your first job?
I am Tanzanian, but I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, so every summer we used to come back to Tanzania. But one summer we were not able to and I was sitting around watching TV. My father gave me an opportunity to work at the company that he worked for, as a graphic design intern. I was learning as much as I could. I must have been 14.
2. What parts of your job keep you awake at night?
What keeps me awake at night is ensuring I am doing whatever I can to have my team happy, motivated and working to their maximum potential. I am managing four large teams and without them we wouldn’t be where we are. I think about that deeply.
3. Who has had the biggest impact on your career and why?
All the credit goes to my parents because they have supported me in whatever I did. No matter how harebrained the idea was, whatever I wanted to study [and] whatever I wanted to do, they supported me 100%. They sent me to the best schools and they gave me all the tools I needed.
My first job also encouraged me. I worked in Nairobi with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the Somalia operation. The supervisor there was called Guillermo Bettocchi, a very inspiring leader. The team was small when I joined as an intern and it grew so fast. I witnessed the way he operated, the way he dealt with people and how he managed things and it really inspired me. I look up to Guillermo as a very strong and inspiring leader.
4. What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?
While in Somalia, Alex Taylor, my direct boss at UNHCR, told me no matter what decision I take and no matter what I do, I should always bear in mind how that decision affects someone else. I think if you keep that in mind you will be able to execute successful projects. I have never forgotten that.
5. The top reasons why you have been successful in business?
I am good with people and I think a lot of the successes are due to the relationships I have developed with clients and with my team. I also owe a lot of success to my team and to Africa Internet Group (AIG) co-CEO Sacha Poignonnec who provides excellent advice and motivation to succeed. I am hugely motivated by AIG’s vision. It’s an exciting time in Africa and the internet is shifting the way we do business.
6. Where’s the best place to prepare for leadership? Business school or on the job?
On the job.
7. How do you relax?
I enjoy food. I like to play squash. I also like to go to the beach. There is a beautiful beach here but I won’t tell you its name. It’s a secluded beach about 30 minutes drive from Dar se Salaam and very few people know about it. The ones who know it will know which one I am talking about. I also like to barbecue. In fact the favourite product I bought in 2013 is a Cookswell Jiko. Using those Jikos is definitely one of my favourite past-time activities.
8. By what time in the morning do you like to be at your desk?
I wake up at 6am and I do a bit of emailing for about an hour. When I come to the office I am usually speaking to people or out visiting clients. I am in the office by 8:30am but it is quite hectic and there is no time for my computer.
9. Your favourite job interview question?
Right after graduation I interviewed with a bunch of investment banks and after a few interviews I realised I do not want to be an investment banker. In one of the interviews I was asked: “How many golf balls can you fit into an aeroplane?” I know it is a logic question but at that time I found it quite hilarious.
10. What is your message to Africa’s aspiring business leaders and entrepreneurs?
A long time ago someone very dear to me told me two things to follow in life to be successful: be modest and be inclusive. If you follow these two mantras I think you will be successful and happy.
Mustafa Suleimanji is the managing director for Lamudi in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. Lamudi is an online real estate marketplace where property owners and agents list their property for rent or for sale. The company is a subsidiary of the Africa Internet Group (AIG).
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