Boiketlo Mphahlele

Boiketlo Mphahlele - Sales and Structuring in Global Markets at Nedbank

“I want to be remembered for being committed to any endeavor I wanted to pursue, passionate about community work and caring but can dish a little bit of tough love.”

Q1: Tell us about yourself (background)?

A1: I mainly grew up and schooled in Pretoria but spent some of my younger years in Cape Town and Ga-Marishane. Having known all of my grandparents and three of my great grandparents is one of my most treasured experiences in life. Currently I work in sales in global markets and studied risk management in financial markets.

Q2: Did you always know where you wanted to be? 

A2: I knew I was interested in financial services since high school but my ideal role has changed since then. I decided in grade 9 already that I wanted to be an actuary. Once I began to understand the actuarial profession through various university events, I started to realise that this might not be my path. In second year, I switched degrees to Statistics which gave me room for electives. I had a bursary so I couldn’t make any major changes to my academics. I worked in asset management for almost 2 years before moving to the sell side.

Q3: What personal sacrifices have you made throughout your career?  

A3: I have been in my current role for just under 4 years. I have done the usual late nights – mainly trying to learn about different products. When I finished with my undergraduate studies in Pretoria, I decided I wanted to continue my studies at UCT. I had no funding for my studies so I needed to find a job. I was scared that if I found a job in Gauteng, I would abandon my plan to study further or settle for another course just to stay close to my job. It was also frightening – explaining my plan wasn’t easy, they worried I would become another unemployed graduate statistic. Searching for a job in another city was challenging. 6 months later I found a job in Cape Town. I did not have enough money to enroll immediately so I delayed my studies. When I enrolled, the cost of my school fees was high. The cost of tuition plus residence was just over 60% of my annual income. I lived on a tight budget but even that was not enough to stay on top of my payments. Fortunately, I received a bursary for my master’s degree which helped me pay off my outstanding fees.

Q4: Who was an inspiring woman leader to you growing up and who inspires you now?

A4: Growing up, women in my family inspired me. They encouraged and supported me. There is no one women leader I admire. I love hearing the stories of different women and their journeys thus far.

Q5: What are some strategies that can help women grow within their organisations?

A5: For me, informal mentorship has been invaluable to my career. Do not only seek out seniors or formal mentorship relationships. Many people would love to have the CEO or someone with an impressive CV as their mentor. Realistically, there are many levels to navigate before you can get there or cross paths with these individuals. The people around you have many life lessons to share or have experienced situations you are still going to encounter in your career. Learn from these people. I support the need for mentorship and sponsorship but I encourage other young professionals to focus on what they can control.

Q6: This year’s commemoration of Women’s month theme is the “The year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke: Realizing Women’s Rights”. What does this mean to you?

A6: I remember my great grandmother telling me that in her day, options for young women were so limited. You could became a teacher, if your family could afford fees; a nurse, which provided a stipend as you studied; or stay home, to likely look for alternative employment. She did not get a chance to explore what her interests are to determine her career. It felt almost mechanical. The progress of women’s rights over the years has afforded me more options than her. For that I am grateful.

Q7: How do you celebrate being a woman?

A7: By just being myself – I am proud to be a woman.

Q8:  As a Grind Member, what about our mission resonates with you?

A8: Grind members know through their collective efforts, we can address the issues in society that matter to us – I believe that is what the country needs, small incremental steps that will help change our community.

Q9: How do you feel you could use your unique skills, experience, and perspective to further our cause?

A9: I have a soft spot for initiatives related to young people. I enjoy promoting careers in STEM to young people and can continue doing this work as part of the Grind. From my experiences in other voluntary organisations, it’s important that we all chip in where we can to help spread the responsibilities. This helps keep the momentum going in the organisation. One day, the Grind will have a large investment portfolio that I can apply my structured products knowledge to : )

Q10: What would you like to be remembered for, i.e., what type of legacy do you want to leave?

A10: I want to be remembered for being committed to any endeavor I wanted to pursue, passionate about community work and caring but can dish a little bit of tough love.

Q11: If you had to choose, which fictional character do you resonate with? And why (it doesn’t have to be a female character)?

A11: If you had asked me this in pre-school, I would have listed all of my favourite Disney characters. Ariel and Princess Jasmine. They were always having an adventure. Now, Cruella de Vil would resonate with me. Cruella included what she loves the most into every aspect of her life. That is one of my goals in life, to have a career that allows me to weave my passions and skills.