Committed to growing on the job
Elzine Kirby Getruida !Gawaxab is a 29-year-old that describes herself as a loyal, respectful and loving person, with great ambition and a knack to be goal-orientated. She holds a Bachelor’s of Commerce degree, with a specialisation in finance from Stellenbosch University, after which she went on to attain her Honour’s degree with specialisation in industrial psychology from the same university.
She recently completed an intensive three-year Master’s of Business Leadership with focus on economics from the Graduate School of Business Leadership in Pretoria.
Elzine is a beautiful and brainy young lady who was born and raised in Windhoek, then her family relocated to the United Kingdom in the early 1990s where they lived for a couple of years. Elzine says her family then returned to Namibia where she continued her secondary education. She says that the early exposure to European cultures, languages, food and customs gave her a global outlook on life, but expressed that her foundation and her future remain in Namibia.
She says that she is “inspired by change and the possibility of change. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu mentions that ‘sometimes we have to lose the small battles in order to win the war’ and it is in losing these battles that one has the opportunity to regroup, change direction and alter the trajectory [of your life],” she shared with The Zone.
Elzine said that as a young Namibian she decided early to become successful in the goals she has set: The pursuit of her Ph.D., the growth of her IT business, the success of the country – Namibia and to build a family of her own.
Attaining a Master’s degree for Elzine means opportunity and choice but, more importantly, it also means greater responsibility. “I have the responsibility to give back to the economy and use my knowledge for socioeconomic transformation in the country.”
Elzine says that she chose the focus of her Master’s degree after she considered the variety of options available. “I decided that the Master’s in Business Leadership was the best route to develop my leadership skills and contribute to the country since the programme combines academics and experience and is relevant to the problems we face as a nation,” she explained.
When she completed her undergraduate degree she says she immediately decided to continue with her Master’s without taking a break. She was also working at the same time and believes that combining academic work with practical experience is a way to differentiate herself in the corporate world amongst peers in her age group.
When The Zone asked Elzine about some of the challenges she faced as a Master’s student in the early days, she describes those days as sometimes being overwhelming and intimidating at first. “I commenced with my MBL programme at 25 with an average age of 37 in class, and I was surrounded by industry pioneers, thought leaders and executives. I recall my first few weeks into the programme I phoned home and I said to my dad ‘Everyone else in class seems to have so much more corporate experience’ and my dad said ‘that is true – that variable we cannot change, but you have a superior ability to consume and synthesise information’.”
As a result of these experiences Elzine says that she realises that understanding her personal strengths keeps her going. “It was a paradigm shift, and slowly I started to engage, sharing my opinion and excelling,” she shared with The Zone.
Her parents she says are the people that she owes the most to, as they have helped shape the person that she has become. “My mom has been a pillar of strength during all my endeavours. My dad Johannes has always taken an active role in my career. People comment that he and I are very alike in demeanour, traits and characteristics. The level of impact possible in Africa was cemented when my dad started running Old Mutual Africa operations and I want to emulate that in my career.”
She says that she believes that Namibia can be a shining example of African success on the world stage given that, “We are one of the most stable economies on the continent. The issues that I am passionate about come at the intersection of barriers that I see preventing Namibia from dominating on the continent and a reflection on the skills that I have gained,” Elzine shared.
In her Master’s thesis she discussed how the status quo limits both the Namibian economy and its people from growth, given the grim unemployment figures.
“Despite the statistics we have seen multiple national economies rise to prominence through strong collaboration between the country’s visionary leadership and the emergent vibrant youth. I believe Namibia has the necessary ingredients to be a paragon in Africa,” she enthused.
She is inspired most by her parents whom she says together have built their family and their lives from humble beginnings. In her spare time Elzine reads African literature about inspirational African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela and Namibia’s founding president Sam Nujoma. “I also enjoy the current issues of Drum magazine over a glass of champagne with a close group of girlfriends,” the dynamic Elzine explained.
Elzine shared with The Zone that her next venture involves private equity in East Africa. “I’ve recently launched a tech-based company in Namibia called Innovation Technology Squared which principally focuses on providing sophisticated technology to solve unmet needs in the Namibian market.” She said.
Keith Vries
She recently completed an intensive three-year Master’s of Business Leadership with focus on economics from the Graduate School of Business Leadership in Pretoria.
Elzine is a beautiful and brainy young lady who was born and raised in Windhoek, then her family relocated to the United Kingdom in the early 1990s where they lived for a couple of years. Elzine says her family then returned to Namibia where she continued her secondary education. She says that the early exposure to European cultures, languages, food and customs gave her a global outlook on life, but expressed that her foundation and her future remain in Namibia.
She says that she is “inspired by change and the possibility of change. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu mentions that ‘sometimes we have to lose the small battles in order to win the war’ and it is in losing these battles that one has the opportunity to regroup, change direction and alter the trajectory [of your life],” she shared with The Zone.
Elzine said that as a young Namibian she decided early to become successful in the goals she has set: The pursuit of her Ph.D., the growth of her IT business, the success of the country – Namibia and to build a family of her own.
Attaining a Master’s degree for Elzine means opportunity and choice but, more importantly, it also means greater responsibility. “I have the responsibility to give back to the economy and use my knowledge for socioeconomic transformation in the country.”
Elzine says that she chose the focus of her Master’s degree after she considered the variety of options available. “I decided that the Master’s in Business Leadership was the best route to develop my leadership skills and contribute to the country since the programme combines academics and experience and is relevant to the problems we face as a nation,” she explained.
When she completed her undergraduate degree she says she immediately decided to continue with her Master’s without taking a break. She was also working at the same time and believes that combining academic work with practical experience is a way to differentiate herself in the corporate world amongst peers in her age group.
When The Zone asked Elzine about some of the challenges she faced as a Master’s student in the early days, she describes those days as sometimes being overwhelming and intimidating at first. “I commenced with my MBL programme at 25 with an average age of 37 in class, and I was surrounded by industry pioneers, thought leaders and executives. I recall my first few weeks into the programme I phoned home and I said to my dad ‘Everyone else in class seems to have so much more corporate experience’ and my dad said ‘that is true – that variable we cannot change, but you have a superior ability to consume and synthesise information’.”
As a result of these experiences Elzine says that she realises that understanding her personal strengths keeps her going. “It was a paradigm shift, and slowly I started to engage, sharing my opinion and excelling,” she shared with The Zone.
Her parents she says are the people that she owes the most to, as they have helped shape the person that she has become. “My mom has been a pillar of strength during all my endeavours. My dad Johannes has always taken an active role in my career. People comment that he and I are very alike in demeanour, traits and characteristics. The level of impact possible in Africa was cemented when my dad started running Old Mutual Africa operations and I want to emulate that in my career.”
She says that she believes that Namibia can be a shining example of African success on the world stage given that, “We are one of the most stable economies on the continent. The issues that I am passionate about come at the intersection of barriers that I see preventing Namibia from dominating on the continent and a reflection on the skills that I have gained,” Elzine shared.
In her Master’s thesis she discussed how the status quo limits both the Namibian economy and its people from growth, given the grim unemployment figures.
“Despite the statistics we have seen multiple national economies rise to prominence through strong collaboration between the country’s visionary leadership and the emergent vibrant youth. I believe Namibia has the necessary ingredients to be a paragon in Africa,” she enthused.
She is inspired most by her parents whom she says together have built their family and their lives from humble beginnings. In her spare time Elzine reads African literature about inspirational African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela and Namibia’s founding president Sam Nujoma. “I also enjoy the current issues of Drum magazine over a glass of champagne with a close group of girlfriends,” the dynamic Elzine explained.
Elzine shared with The Zone that her next venture involves private equity in East Africa. “I’ve recently launched a tech-based company in Namibia called Innovation Technology Squared which principally focuses on providing sophisticated technology to solve unmet needs in the Namibian market.” She said.
Keith Vries
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