What This Top Tanzanian Entrepreneur Looks for in New Hires Will Surprise You - - It's Not Education

 

 Photo: Eric is the founder and CEO of Problem Solved Ltd., which created Minishop. Problem Solved and its founder have grabbed the attention of government organizations and investors. In 2011, Eric won US$15,000 in the Apps4Africa challenge. In 2013, he snagged US$328,000 in funding from the Financial Sector Deepening Trust.

Eric Mutta, far right, is the founder and CEO of Problem Solved Ltd., which created Minishop. Problem Solved and its founder have grabbed the attention of government organizations and investors.

By Sakina Nanabhai

A combination of IT and accounting sounds like a boring business premise - at least, that's what I thought before I interviewed Eric Mutta, an IT entrepreneur working to revolutionize bookkeeping and accounting systems in Tanzania, and across the world, through his software, Minishop.

Eric is the founder and CEO of Problem Solved Ltd., which created Minishop. Problem Solved and its founder have grabbed the attention of government organizations and investors. In 2011, Eric won US$15,000 in the Apps4Africa challenge. In 2013, he snagged US$328,000 in funding from the Financial Sector Deepening Trust.

Apart from his IT savvy, Eric knows how to break stereotypes and change perceptions through his can-do approach to work, bold business plans, and unconventional management style.

To learn more about his passion to help companies across Tanzania with bookkeeping -- one of the most tedious tasks of managing a business -- Akilah Net's Sakina Nanabhai got in touch with Mr. Problem Solved himself for a wide-ranging conversation on everything from his "autopilot" management style to the three things he looks for new hires.

Where do you see Minishop in the next 10 years?

In 10 years, my company, Problem Solved Ltd, will be 17 years old. Minishop has to have a global reach by then; otherwise, I would have been doing something very wrong. I want to be in at least 100 countries worldwide, including all of those on the African continent.

What are your predictions for the accounting and IT sectors in Tanzania over time?

IT has a lot of potential, and it is growing fast in line with our fiercely competitive telecommunications sector. The recent change in VAT laws will slow down growth by making IT equipment more expensive, so I hope the government rectifies that situation.

Accounting still has a very long way to go. Did you know in Tanzania we have only around 5,000 certified accountants in a country of 46 million people! I am working to change the culture in this area through the Minishop accounting system that makes accounting easier and more accessible for small businesses. Some 57% of these small businesses rely solely on mental records -- a situation that makes it hard for them to get loans and grow their businesses.

You posted on Facebook about your routine of sleeping during the company's peak working hours and how that has encouraged your employees to tackle problems without depending on you. Could you please elaborate on your "autopilot" style of management?

I like to say that delegation + automation is the mother of all business success.

I have 20 employees now and a lot to do. So first, I empower my employees with everything they need (allowances, training, and equipment). Then, I religiously delegate anything and everything I can. We have a huge poster on my office wall that says, "Delegate or Die!" So, you can imagine my style of management.

We have a set of seven company values, one of them, which is applicable in the matter of delegation, says, "Be cautious but daring when faced with tough decisions." This principle allows employees to make up their own minds when I am not there and to do so without fear.

Being an engineer, I also like automation. If I do something repeatedly with a well-known procedure, I create computer software or processes to automate it. One area where this is actually happening right now is in payroll processing, which I have done by hand for two years, but will now implement within the Minishop accounting system because it simply takes too long to do it manually when you have 20 employees.

These two things -- delegation and automation -- when combined, produce a company that gets things done in a timely manner, with correct results, and ultimately lead to a successful company.

What new projects are you working on?

For the past year and a half, I have been working on a massive initiative called Minishop Online. Our accounting system, Minishop, works offline and does not require an Internet connection (which is a big selling point in Tanzania where the Internet is not always reliable or even available).

However, many people have Internet these days, and it is fairly cheap. So Minishop Online is a set of online services that make use of an Internet connection when it is available to enable things such as viewing your sales reports when you are away from the shop, backing up your data online, etc.

It is a big engineering effort, but when complete, I believe it will drive the next five years of Minishop's accelerating growth.

What are some essential qualities you look for in potential employees while hiring for Problem Solved?

Let me start by saying what I don't look for: educational qualifications!

Education is important, but the most valuable education anyone can have comes in the first three months of working in a small but fast-growing tech company.

I do look for passion. I want to work with people who I can inspire to wake up every morning and who I look forward to working with, people who can work all day and have fun every minute of it. I wish to work with people who want more than just money from their job, people who want to change the world!

Recently, as the team and customer base has expanded, I have started paying more attention to logic. I want people who can think systematically and with attention to detail, because they are essential elements for problem solving and for delivering high-quality results.

The third and final element is not an official requirement, but it really helps if you want to work with people at Problem Solved: You can't take yourself too seriously. You have to know how to make fun of yourself and to have a good laugh every day, sometimes over silly things. Problem solvers (as employees here are called) are all kind of CRAZY!

Any final words for our readers who wish to follow their dreams and take risks like you did?

I would say that the only things that are impossible are the things you never give yourself a chance to try.

Expect to fail, several times even, because that is part of the educational process in chasing your dreams.

Expect to succeed, especially by working hard and adapting to whatever life throws your way, because that too is part of the educational process in chasing your dreams!