Miriamu: The secret to career growth is a positive mindset

Dar es Salaam For women who want to achieve success, having a positive mindset is essential, according to Ms. Miriamu Malima, CEO of UmojaSwitch Company Limited.

He says that no matter how hard a person tries, there will be obstacles along the way to progress in their career.

However, these obstacles can be overcome by maintaining a positive attitude and believing that one will succeed. “If you take the obstacles in a positive way, it is easy to find a solution, but if you take them negatively, you will find that you will not progress to another point in your career growth,” says Ms. Miriamu.

Ms. Miriamu leads the technology company’s strategic positioning and overall operations.

UmojaSwitch leads the development and provision of electronic payment services and banking solutions to financial institutions across the country.

Innovative strategies developed together with UmojaSwitch executives enabled the expansion of the Umoja network, company scale, interoperability of Umoja products and much more.

Prior to UmojaSwitch, he worked in management, finance and accounting, operations, leadership, business development and strategic planning.

It is supporting financial inclusion by offering a range of banking solutions that enable it to reach more people, including the unbanked and underserved population.

However, Ms. Miriamu is a certified public accountant (CPA-T) with a degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in business management, and is currently pursuing graduate studies in economic diplomacy.

Mrs. Miriamu’s journey to become the person she is today is about being ready to learn and take the opportunities that come her way.

“I have grown step by step because of the many places I have been; when I was at university but also from the places where I have been working. My first career started after my first year of university; I started as a volunteer, and later I got a job in a bank in the finance and accounting department,” he explained.

Commenting on this, Ms. Miriamu says that in order to grow, she started doing other initiatives until she got a place at UmojaSwitch in Tanzania.

Moving to a tech company was another option because it’s a different field for her, but she managed to learn those technical skills, and now she’s the CEO.

His success was inspired by two things: his belief in self-growth and the people around him.

“I will not forget the people who were inspired by the process; there are people I met during my studies who gave me ideas to do certain things. But there are others that I have met at work where we connect,” says Ms. Miriamu.

Speaking about UmojaSwitch, Miriamu explained that the organization has strategies and initiatives in place to make women in the company feel valued and respected.

“We usually take them to different workshops to increase their knowledge and skills in their positions, but we also have mentors to help them become better versions of themselves. However, we create an atmosphere where there is no bias between men and women; all employees are treated equally,” he says.

Commenting on this, UmojaSwitch is based on equal employment opportunity.

While striving to achieve success in her career, Mrs. Miriamu explained that what helps her to be here today is her clear goals, which she creates from the beginning.

“Having a clear goal helps me learn the most and face challenges. I also have the confidence and belief in myself to take advantage of the opportunity that comes my way without fear. The last thing is to network in social life and in the work environment, to learn from others,” explained Mrs. Miriamu.

Regarding the challenges faced by women to be leaders, Ms. Miriamu stated that balancing work and social life is a big challenge.

According to her, most women do not balance their family responsibilities, work life and other social lives, which prevents them from growing.

“There are times when the job becomes too demanding and the family needs you at the same time, and from then on, most people decide to leave the job. The other thing is beliefs; most people think that if a woman starts taking care of her family, she will not be able to do these effective jobs like men. So that becomes the biggest challenge, because they won’t be able to get a promotion,” he said.

Despite the circumstances, Mrs. Miriamu believes that if organizations create a friendly environment where women are motivated, more women will have opportunities.

“If women are motivated in organizations, they will be able to take chances without fear”, she explained, adding that the lack of confidence of most women leads to them not taking advantage of opportunities.

“There are many women in our country who are qualified and well educated, but what failed was a lack of confidence. But I also encourage more women to consider their career development, adding more skills through work experience and training opportunities,” she says.

“These are all necessary because there are some opportunities that require experience and certifications, so we need to renew ourselves,” he added.