Diana Mulili, Chief Growth Officer, Xetova during the interview at the firm’s Riverside offices on January 31, 2022. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG
Diana Mulili explodes into laughter at the thought of being a housewife. The chief growth officer at technology firm Xetova says she would fare badly as one.
“I’m very intense and my children would probably hate it. It’s probably good that they get me in small doses.”
She has two, aged 19 and eight.
We are meeting at Xetova’s Riverside office to talk about women and leadership, business in Africa, and supply chain technologies, subjects that she speaks about with intensity and clarity.
After 15 years in the tech business, she believes value chains are the future of business.
“I see myself playing in the digital space to create ecosystems that will disrupt how we do business,” she talks on plans to scale her experiences to have a Pan-African reach and influence.
At Xetova, she is responsible for identifying and penetrating new markets. Founded in 2019, the company now has a presence across East Africa and launched recently in Ghana.
“Over time, I’ve learnt that you can’t be on any extreme end,” she tells me as soon as we settle down for this interview along Riverside Drive.
She is talking about her most important life lesson: balance.
“You must be aware and present so that you can bring the best version of yourself at the moment.”
I ask what her present moment in life is, and Diana says she is at a place of gratitude.
“Gratitude for my support system, for the future and the opportunities in technology.”
Data science, she says with vim, is the future and that “this is the most exciting time to be in tech in Africa.”
The continent is already undergoing a tech revolution, with disruptions in all dimensions of life. The Covid-19 only accelerated them.
“When Covid-19 started, slow-burn innovative concepts had to be put on the table,” she says.
But even with these developments, Diana laments that there exists systemic constraints that keep holding Africa back. “Our supply chains are broken. We need a patient and long-term approach to solve these, by having ecosystem conversations.”
Players must also realise that they are not in competition and instead “pick a piece of what they can work on to add value and in a coordinated fashion.”
Funds, incubation centres, mentorship programmes and other forms of facilitation are now available for African tech start-ups. It is easy to understand her eagerness.
“We’ve solutions for what’s ailing us because we interact with these problems every day. The onus is on us to not waste these opportunities,” says 41-year-old who identifies herself as an Africanist, intentional and a doer.
Her other lesson is that rewarding oneself is as important as working hard. She says she works out “to keep me sane” and through travel.
“Whether in Lamu or France, Mauritius, South Africa and Japan, I love to go on beautiful trips.”
But it is being a parent and “having the opportunity to mould lives” that has been her “most fulfilling experience.” Even more exciting has been to raise her two children in the era of technology.
“My daughter already knows so much about Metaverse. She has her own Avatar, plays games and interacts with other people on Metaverse. It’s her world. My children teach me as much as I teach them.”
Professionally, her network is as wide as it is profound. In her circle are Dr Sylvia Vito, AstraZeneca’s Africa head of acceleration and market access, Lancet CEO Mwende Musunga, hotelier Juliet Njogu and Marcia Ashong, founder, TheBoardroom Africa.
“Whether it’s in careers or entrepreneurship, women are taking up leadership positions everywhere,” she says.
Yet the situation of women’s representation in leadership is not as flattering. Does she, for instance, think gender parity on the corporate scene will be attained in her lifetime?
Diana stares into space, contemplative. When she speaks again, she deadpans: “It can’t be attained in my lifetime. If we take the wage gap between men and women as a metric, we have a long way to go.”
Some women choose to raise their families at the expense of pursuing a career. Diana says doing so is not regressive.
“If that’s how one defines success, then they should get the right support to do it well. The same if one chooses to become a career woman.”
To her, it is not a zero-sum game. Building organisations and families, she says, ultimately contribute to humankind’s progress.
Has she ever pictured herself as a housewife? How would she fare? “Yes, I have,” she says guffawing with laughter.
“I have the energy to do more. As an African, I see my role not just the mother of my children, but other children in the community as well.”
I’m curious to know what inhibitions women in senior leadership roles face in their quest for growth.
For starters, working “three times” as hard as their male counterparts, she notes. “You have to keep proving your relevance and the value that you bring to the table.”
She argues that “certain things work better for men” because of how business works. “Men are propelled in their careers by a combination of both formal and informal relationships in their boys’ clubs.”
Girls to have their clubs, I observe. “Girls’ clubs aren’t as aggressive as boys’ ones. Boys watch out for each other. It’s great that girls too now have avenues where they can watch out for each other,” she says.
Diana does acknowledge, though, that gender relationship should not be based on competition but support.
“There should be access to opportunities for both men and women to showcase their contributions and to do their best.”
To this end, she has taken up mentorship for young professionals, men and women, “because both have to grow at the same pace” for balance. That most of them do not have a plan, she admits, is what unsettles her.
“The first question I ask young people is, ‘what’s your vision in life?’ As a professional, you’ve to start with the end in mind. You must also be self-aware to determine which spaces you can best play in.”
She says mediation helps her to reflect, manage her ego and to evaluate herself. A Catholic, her meditation sojourns have taken her to the State of Uttarakhand, India, to strengthen her beliefs.
After many years in senior leadership, she says her biggest takeaway is that people generally have the “best intentions” and that humans inherently have the answers they seek.
“We like to give instructions. We don’t allow people to bring themselves out in conversations. When you own a solution, you’ll see it through.”
The Stanford University-educated professional says the biggest difference between the African and American systems is that one emphasizes what is ‘correct’ while the other nurtures thinkers and explorers.’
‘‘We [erroneously] tend to look at innovation as new things or tech. It’s all about coming up with better, cheaper, and more efficient solutions that make you more productive.”
As we wind up, Diana tells me she feels validated by the efforts and contributions she has made to the tech space.
“Given where I am in my career, I’ve had a return on the effort I’ve made by being intentional in my work.” She does admit, though, that privilege has played a part in her circumstances. “I’m lucky to have a fantastic support system.”
Toyota Kenya chairman Dennis Awori is a member of this support system. “He’s someone I listen to because he helps me to figure out my career.”
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