Weekend with the CEO
Simon Wafubwa’s Cross of Black Tax
Saturday October 21 2023
Enwealth Managing Director Simon Wafubwa. PHOTO | LUCY WANJIRU | NMG
To whom much is given, much is expected. That is Simon Wafubwa’s yoke. Like his compatriot, the one from Cyrene, he seems to be carrying a lot of crosses. Black tax. Perfectionism. But, his woodiest cross is the financial institution which he has shouldered, Enwealth Financial Services, a multi-billion pension scheme. If there is any kind of burden there, he makes light of it.
Nairobi’s burden is that often it resembles a city that is always working; thus, its citizens are either those who have made it or those who are in the process of making it. Simon says he is the latter. In 2011, he founded Enwealth Financial Services with just about Sh300,000 and a computer. In 12 years, the firm is now worth about $850 million. Not too shabby for someone who is making it, eh? In this city, he seems to say, you need faith to make it.
“And why not?” He invokes this after every other sentence. Simon is blessed. It’s in his aura. He uses the word Christ a lot. And grace — the virtue. It’s how he makes sense of his relationship: What God could be for him. What he could be for God.
That’s why, when he is not eating mahindi choma, or getting embarrassed by his son in football, he’ll — occasionally — preach in church. He however says he doesn’t collect tithes. I put it to him that that was a missed business opportunity. He breaks down in laughter. “No,” he says. But that no sounds suspiciously like it has a maybe in it.
What’s the first thing you did this morning?
I prayed. I read the scripture. I was reading Romans 8:26, which talks about how the holy spirit helps us in our weaknesses.
What’s your weakness?
I am a perfectionist. I get frustrated when I don’t get things to the desired taste, quality, and preference. That means I have to substantially stretch myself or the people around me. Some people may think I am so demanding, but that’s where the value comes in.
Word on the street is you also moonlight as a preacher.
Christians pray a lot and wait on God. But God’s grace is expressed in structure. Peter had toiled the whole night without a catch, running a multinational fishing company. Maybe he was in the CRB, or his business model was not working well, he probably had done strategic business retreats in Naivasha, but nothing was working. Then Jesus comes in and says, rework your structure. The most selling commodity is hope. People will buy it from anywhere.
Is there a Bible verse you struggle with?
It is not easy to love your enemies haha! It is a growth opportunity for most of us, especially those that persecute you. And those who compete with you. We are always growing in the knowledge of Christ and growing in grace. I also struggle with the black tax. People have wild expectations.
Robert Lupton wrote a book called ‘Toxic Charity’. Every time you give money you deprive the recipient of the dignity to earn. We exchange and sustain poverty through free things. The first time you give money, people will expect it, the second time they will anticipate and by the fourth time, it is a right. (Chuckles)
Has this happened to you?
There was a time I gave money to someone. After five days, they hadn’t called so I thought they didn’t receive it. I called to ask whether they’d received and they said, “Yes, we got the money but hukuweka ya kutoa.” I asked, “So hamjatoa?”
What do you struggle with with money?
Retention haha! I ask people if money were to be their spouse how would they describe the relationship? People say complicated, or long-distance, or divorced. Statistics indicate the wealth of the entire world is in about 10% of the population. Simon Sinek wrote a book “Start With Why”. Most people start with ‘how’. Money answers to why, rather than how.
What’s your why?
To add value to humanity through compassion for God’s glory.
What’s the dumbest thing you’ve spent money on?
(very long pause) I travelled to some country and found a nice suit. We didn’t take measurements haha! I got to the house and it didn’t fit! Worse, I bought one for my wife too haha! The only option was to eat fatty things to add weight to fit in it.
What’s one meal you can eat every day?
Mahindi choma. I am from Kitale. So mahindi choma with that tea made with fresh milk straight from the cow.
How often?
Every weekend we have a supplier who brings us fresh maize.
What’s your typical weekend like?
A bit of church activities and playing football with my eight-year-old son. It keeps us fit and we bond at that time. I do a bit of walking, and then I have a reading plan: every year I do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis on my capital — social, spiritual, knowledge/career, financial, and discipline.
This is the future I want to become and therefore this is the kind of knowledge I need to acquire to get to that. This year the theme is good to great. Currently, I am reading “Anointed for Business” by Ed Silvoso. The books I read are sort of an answer to my SWOT capital. I’ll also make a few calls to check whether my chickens in the village are thriving. Often they are not hahah! Farming through the phone is a lost glory. It does not work. (chuckles).
When you think of the weekend what comes to mind?
Rest, reflect and reset. Taking stock of the past and aligning the priorities into the future.
What’s one thing you wish you could do better on your weekends?
I could rest more.
Do you have a special treat just for yourself?
Once in a while, my wife and I would go to Fogo Gaucho. And we realized the rate at which we were adding weight was causing alarm. And that’s how we switched to maize haha!
What’s your favourite thing about yourself?
Meeting with people sharing personal life stories and seeing their lives change. There is a lady who had lost her job and the circumstances through which she had, led her to a very emotional decision. We spent three hours talking, and she left there with a different persuasion and now she set up a business that provides consulting in Africa.
What’s your nickname?
My late grandmother used to call me William. Maybe there was a William who they aspired me to be like in the village, a relative.
What is something you believed to be true but long realised isn’t?
I used to think that resources were scarce. I later realised that is not the case, only resourceful minds are. Pesa iko. Wewe tu ndio huna.
What is one thing you have that money can’t buy?
Money can’t buy eternal life.
If you could talk to any animal, what would it be?
I wouldn’t! Why would I want to talk to an animal haha!
If you are not at home or the office, where would you be?
Mauritius. I love the culture, the people and the food.
Are you a heavy packer?
No, just light and necessary. What is necessary for the moment?
What’s the first thing you do in a new place?
I pray for the place, for God’s grace and to get to know the people, the food, and the culture. I also learn a few native words.
What’s the most painful thing you’ve been told?
People telling you that you will not make it. The key is to never allow other people’s thoughts to become your reality.
Have you made it?
I am in the process of making it. Like Paul (the Apostle) would say I press on.
What is a misconception people have about you?
The idea that one has a lot of money just to give out. People are asking can you loan me five million? I never say I don’t have. I just tell them, “Not now.” The scripture says we shall be lenders to the nation and not borrowers, so I am okay with how they view me.
What’s the most amount of money you’ve lost?
We are fairly cautious in our money dealings. At a personal level, I put my investments somewhere and it took quite a bit of time to see if it’s coming up.
What’s life’s simplest pleasure?
Humility. There is profound power and positioning for learning. You have to delegate balance by defining your boundaries.
Who would you like to take for lunch?
My wife. I do that often.
What do you love most about your wife?
She cooks well. She prays for me and for what we do. She is an amazing intercessor.
What’s one thing you could do better as a husband?
Maybe report home a bit early haha! Sometimes work gets in the way of life.
What is your weekend soundtrack?
I am more into the Gospel. The likes of Nathaniel Bassey.
What is a weekend hack that you know can make my weekends better?
A fair good measure of rest. Sleep, but sleep well.
Are you happy?
I am more joyful because happiness is dependent on happenings.
Who do you know that I should know?
The professor Kabiru Kinyanjui. He is profound in knowledge and reading books. He helped me substantially to build a track record in reading. And my pastor, Reverend Jackson Mugambi. He is awesome. He comes across as a father figure, he is deep in wisdom and his leadership skills are exemplary. You should know him! Come to church on Sunday. Is that a date? That’s a date haha!