Success is a term that means different things to different people. For some, success may mean reaching a certain level of financial stability or professional achievement. In contrast, for others, success may mean having a fulfilling personal life or positively impacting the world. Mamoroke Lehobye’s definition of success is a person’s ability to advance their wellbeing and mindset forward while positively impacting others.
“For the world community to succeed, it requires thought provoking leaders that seizes opportunities to solve big problems while taking cognizance that their wellbeing is also a priority,” states Mamoroke.
Since she wanted to use her ability to simplify complex finance activities and concept to ignite entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses that contribute to the African success story, Mamoroke founded MyCFO Africa in 2012. She is currently the Group Chief Executive Officer of the organization.
MyCFO Africa and its services
They are a boutique CFO advisory firm dedicated to providing bespoke, fit-for-purpose finance solutions to help emerging and growing enterprises sustainably grow and scale their businesses to create value and wealth.
The company collaborates with Business Development Support programs, incubators and accelerators to Capacitate, Advice, Resource and Educate Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) wherever they may be on their finance transformation journey. They collaborate and partner with like-minded corporates and professionals to accelerate the journey of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) towards creating value, building wealth and establishing generational legacies.
MyCFO Africa’s vision is to ignite entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses that contribute to the African success story. Their plan for the future is to build a continental team that can take emerging and growing enterprises through a finance transformation journey to realize wealth.
Motivation to stay determined and shine bright
Success in business doesn’t have to involve complicated new techniques. Simple mantras and a little morale and boost to the employees help any business to grow and flourish.
The mantra at MyCFO Africa is: Do what you love, it will shine through your actions.
Following this, everyone at the office is encouraged and supported to do what they love instead of simply just coming to do a job.
The journey from Chartered Accountant to Executive Leadership
Mamoroke is a Chartered Accountant with more than 20 years post qualification experience. Mamoroke’s dad encouraged her and her siblings to read the Sunday papers from a young age and Mamoroke came across the qualification of CA (SA) in the CFO jobs that were advertised. Her eagerness to learn about the profession got her to secure a bursary from the South Africa Institute of Chartered Accountant to study to qualify as a Chartered Accountant.
“My bursary was linked to one of the big 4 auditing firms where I completed my articles and qualify as a Chartered Accountant (SA) in 2000,” she says.
Mamoroke states that she has been fortunate to have sponsors and mentors that have made her journey as a leader in the industry easier than the amazing women Chartered Accountants who came before us. Through their visionary thinking, they were able to formalize the power of a network through AWCA that allowed for peer-to-peer growth. “All the peers that I met through AWCA are a phone call away and there are always there to support and guide me as a leader,” she states.
Mamoroke’s sphere of influence is broad: She is a mother and sister. She is a business leader through the boards she sits on and MyCFO Africa.
Mamoroke wishes to be remembered as a leader who sets the following examples:
- Anything is possible if your mind and your heart completely embraces opportunities.
- Hard work pays and giving up is not an option.
- Empowering others is rewarding and feeds the soul.
Challenges are necessary to learn and grow
Every challenge we face is an opportunity for growth. When we overcome a challenge, we become stronger and more resilient. We learn new things about ourselves and about the world around us. We also develop new skills and abilities that can help us in other areas of our lives.
Navigating one’s way through challenges, builds resilience, however, if one does not have fun through the process, the work can definitely become mundane.
“Not all businesses are unicorns,” states Mamoroke. There are some of us, who are here to solve a problem that already has solutions. Thus, it was important for Mamoroke and her team to understand what made us unique and they then illustrated their respective uniqueness with passion. At MYCFO Africa, they know their market, its segmentation and their distinctive position in it. They constantly ensure to know their customers’ wants and needs. Along with that, everyone in Mamoroke’s team also ensures to have fun while working.
A regular work day in the life of Mamoroke Lehobye
Mamoroke tries get in a 30 minutes exercise routine every morning. It takes her 45 minutes to get to work if she’s not listing to inspirational music. She then gets on call following up on her to do list trying to close on things pending on her side.
Mamoroke leads a team of professionals who have the necessary technical skill and competency to support their clients. Her role is to coach them through their daily challenges and motivate them to keep a cheerful spirit so that they can get the best out of each day.
In between all of this hustle, Mamoroke gets calls from her daughter on daily dramas of a teenager. It is tough being a mom, but Mamoroke handle and manages everything with ease. “This is never easy. I strive to give everyone in my personal life time with me to connect. Some get more of me than others.” she states.
Mamoroke is an exceptional businesswoman and serves as an inspiration for everyone around her. Mamoroke is hardworking and attentive to everything in life as a leader, a mother and every other title she holds on to. She likes to proudly defines herself as a ‘Rockstar’, and there is no doubt that she truly is one.
“This year I set myself a goal to be Happy, Healthy and Wealthy,” exclaims Mamoroke.
Mamoroke’s wise words of advice to all aspiring leaders are: Be you and strive to lead authentically.
