Emmanuel describes himself as an artist. Simply put, he likes to create art in everything he does. This means whether he is working on a project, hobby or on-off deliverable, He always tries to add a touch of creativity to the job. Some people say ‘ Think outside the box.’ He says get rid of that box and just let your mind wander.
He is a product lead at Cellulant,and is responsible for ensuring our product achieves the product market fit and continuously delivers value to our customers.
How long have you been at Cellulant?
As an official employee, a little under 2 years. As an affiliate, about 4 years.
What team are you in and what are you responsible for at Cellulant?
I am a part of the product management team, where I work as a product Lead responsible for managing the growth and operation of one of our products at cellulant which we call proximity payments.
What and where did you study?
I studied Computer Science at the African Leadership University (ALU) Mauritius.
Why did you study what you studied?
Computer science came as an unprecedented turn in my student life. I was initially a business student but after my first internship at cellulant, I changed to computer science. I have a couple of reasons for this. I was quite fascinated by how much technical knowledge engineers had. I also think that engineers are the best thinkers. This is in terms of how they approach solving a problem. I got to witness this first hand during my internship at cellulant, therefore as soon as I was back on campus, I knew I had to switch. I am happy I did.
What drives you?
Impact! I am driven by the need to make an impact on this planet. The need to do something that changes the lives of people around the world for a very long time and be remembered for even after I’m long gone.
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What attracted you to Cellulant?
I got attracted to cellulant after I heard the chief of Brand talk about the company at a conference in my university. She was so eloquent in the way she described a company that was chasing a bold vision of creating a billion dollar business made purely by Africans for Africans. As a pro-africa person I really wanted to be a part of that story.
What drove you towards fintech in general?
Cellulant drove me towards fintech. After working with the company for close to 4 years. I have come to realise that fintech will have a really key role to play in human economical behavior over the next few years. The ground breaking solutions being created by fintech companies have already changed the world as we know it and at this point. I think I have a role to play in this wave of change we are bringing.
What’s the one problem you are best at solving for your clients/customers/market?
Most times people are able to identify problems and opportunities but tend to not know how exactly to create a solution that would allow them to actualize value. It’s why we hire consultants and the like, isn’t it? My strength lies in my ability to critically think and design solutions. I think in a very visual and architectural fashion. This makes it easy for me to not only understand problems, but also design solutions and communicate them in a way that all stakeholders can fully understand how they can create value. Basically, at my core, I’m a problem solver.
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What would you say have been some of the most challenging moments for you on the job?
The most challenging moment in my career has to be my current situation. I’ve had to create a product from scratch and take the responsibility of managing its operations and growth in 6 countries. It’s probably the most challenging thing I’ve ever done! But I’m happy because Cellulant provides me the support I need in mentorship and feedback to ensure I succeed like our EVP states #UnlimitedOpportunitiesUnlimitedGrowth
Which have been the most rewarding moments?
When we designed and rolled out a digital payment solution for our customers across Zambia (proximity payments). The idea behind it was to enable merchants to collect digitally via mobile money while using a single portal for reconciliation, reporting and settlement. We started off with one merchant and today we have boarded over 1000 merchants and processed over 2 million dollars worth of transactions. Furthermore, we have proceeded to deploy the product in 5 other countries where we are experiencing constant growth.
Who has been the biggest influence in your career?
It has to be Elon Musk.
Before he is a businessman, he is a problem solver. He tries to come up with the most cutting edge ideas to solve the most difficult problems. The solutions are normally unorthodox but tend to solve the problem better than everybody else!!
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In your own words, what does Cellulant want to do in Africa and why is that inspirational for you?
Cellulant is set on a bold mission of building a billion dollar company providing solutions to the biggest financial and technological problems in Africa. The best part is they are making sure that this goal is achieved by africans! This inspires me because it’s about time that Africa gets as many of these kinds of organizations as possible.
