Gregory Moloto: Founding Member - The Grind Foundation
Gregory Moloto - Regional Head (EC) – Foreign Exchange and
Money Markets Sales at Standard Bank
“It’s also important to preserve the history of our culture so that our young generation knows where we come from in order to determine their future.”
Q1: Tell us about where your life (and career) was circa 2013, before The Grind?
A1: I was born and raised in Bela-Bela in the Waterberg region of the Limpopo Province.
My career in Global Markets expands well over 15 years which involved different roles in Standard Bank. In 2003 I joined the bank as a trainee in the Retail Forex desk and my role involved executing Foreign Exchange deals for our SMME clients and also provide them with overall Dealing experience and market information . It was a steep learning curve for me as I also had to manage the desk as well.
Two years later I was a junior trader on the Forward Rand Desk, this gave me the opportunity to trade and manage Foreign Currency and Interest rate risk for OTC derivatives. This was an exciting time for me as this gave me the opportunity to learn how the bank manages Interest rates and Liquidity risk using different financial instrument ranging from FX Swaps, Bonds and Euro dollar futures.
When the JSE introduced the Currency Futures Markets in 2008, our trading team was tasked to establish the currency futures market as an alternative hedging instrument and Market prices, and also create alternative sources of liquidity via -the Yield X platform.
While navigating this exciting world of Trading financial markets and Managing market risk I was also juggling my studies through UNISA. Eventually I managed to complete my BCompt, Degree and my ACI Dealing Certificate. All of this came with the full support from my confidant and number one fan, my wife Thokozile Moloto.
We got married in 2008 and have been blessed with two kids Lethabo (14) and Reabilwe (12) and we are now based in the Windy City, aka Gqeberha.
Q2: How did the idea of registering a Foundation come about?
A2: My first memory of The Grind was when we had the Bloomberg Chat group that I was invited to by Thulani Kunene. What impressed me then was the diversity and knowledge that each member brought into the group. The amount of intellect and robust conversations that flowed through that group was amazing, we are talking about people in FX, Equities, Corporate Finance, Public Sector and even Actuarial.
The Chat Group morphed to a Whatsapp group and still maintained its name “The Grind” and that’s when the size of the group grew exponentially. We always knew in the back of our minds the main intention of the group was to empower and improve the life of an African child through a foundation we can all build and be proud of in the future.
The trick was how do we build this while we are also managing our careers and families. We were determined to make this work and as you know, nothing great was accomplished without making sacrifices. My first meeting I reconnected with Semadi Motau who was my senior in high school and shared the insights and intricacies of how The Grind Foundation is going operate and the impact we stand to make in the future . “I WAS SOLD”.
Q3: Was it an easy sell to the founding members?
A3: Definitely an easy sell as this was a group of individuals with a common goal to challenge the status quo and actually make a difference in the lives of our youth. Your contribution doesn’t always have to be monetary, it can be giving up some of your free time to teach kids and also contributing ideas that lead to the growth of our Foundation.
Q4: As a Grind member, what about our mission resonates with you?
A4: The Raising Legends program resonates with me as I’m raising a teenage boy and it’s up to me to show him how to treat and respect women. GBV has become such a pandemic in our country and it’s up to every man in every corner of our society to teach young boys how to treat and respect their mothers, sisters and aunts.
Q5: What, in your opinion, has been our biggest moment / milestone so far?
A5: Our biggest milestone was when we introduced Women in our foundation in 2018. This has brought a different dynamic to our group and also enabled us to do different projects that were never in our radar before. The new energy they bring into the Foundation has been refreshing and has lifted our Foundation to greater heights.
Q6: What would you like to be remembered for - what type of legacy would you like to leave?
A6: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." – Maya Angelou.
The feeling of helping someone who has the talent and capability but no resources and assisting them to become the best version of themselves without expecting anything in return. That same person needs to do find another person in a similar position he/she was in and continue the cycle.
This cycle must never be broken. Imagine if we all approached life that way, where would we be as a society. The Grind Foundation actually helps me achieve my legacy day by day.
Q7: This edition of the newsletter is inspired by Heritage Month and Our Origins. How important is heritage to you?
A7: Heritage allows us to recognize and reflect on our culture and our roots and also to appreciate the melting pot of cultural diversity in our country. It’s also important to preserve the history of our culture so that our young generation knows where we come from in order to determine their future. As a proud Mopedi it’s been my duty to teach my kids Sereto Sa Bahlaloga (Bashitameetse):
“Ke Mohlaloga! Ke Moshitameetsi! Ke kwena semetja matebele, makubu ya ba selalelo.
Masobjana a ma hwibidu maila go sobja, Wa soba a itshobela.
Malome Wee!!! Howaa!!!”
Grind Feed: Gregory Moloto