Frank Molla, the managing director at MDP Africa, a fintech company, wants to make something clear. He wanted to get a university degree, but he just couldn’t. If he had it his way, he would have.
The clue is in the numerous executive leadership courses he has taken: Two at Harvard University, a quintet at Strathmore Business School, among others. “My executive courses are beyond degrees,” he says.
No need to rehash his life story; who doesn’t know he was a garbage collector or a matatu tout? Or that, because of his questionable antecedents and the stain of a childhood in Kariobangi South, or K-South as he calls it, he is not pure, yet he has the potential for purity, like a soiled white shirt.
“Here,” he says, “I can’t just go over the fence and ask for salt from my neighbour, like in K-South.”
Here, Frank is a bee caught in a Venus flytrap, needing to translate himself, peppering his sentences with Sheng, talking about ‘root systems’, and ‘hood’ and ‘fake lifestyles’—the boy from K-South upsetting the caste system in Karen, in a neighbourhood where everyone keeps to themselves.
Frank, what do you miss about yourself before you became important?
That’s an interesting question. There’s a certain level of freedom where you really don’t care what people think. You would do anything, and nobody would judge. In K-South, I’d hooch over and ask my neighbour for salt.
The funny thing about exposure and being a CEO is that there is a certain expectation society has put on you. So you are very cautious and end up bucketing your friends—social friends, marriage friendships, book clubs, et al. I miss that carefree life.
You’ve been at the bottom, and now at the top. What is similar between the two positions in life?
There is still K-South in me, my root system. What has remained consistent is my belief in the importance of friendships and meaningful connections. I have a WhatsApp group with my friends from K-South to date. They were here at my place recently, although you can’t say you are humble; someone else has to tell you that [chuckles].
What are the pros and cons of being you?
You should have sent these questions [chuckles]. That’s a hard one.
The word authentic has been abused, people say, ‘come as yourself, the way you are,’ and I don’t want to use the word ‘authenticity’, because there are authentic thieves, authentic liars, and authentic laziness [chuckles].
My pro is that I want people to come as who they are, which is also a con, because I struggle with people who do things just to fit in. This is why I helped start Executive Connect [a club that hosts top executives] on humanising leadership, to put your titles aside and talk as you are.
What about the con?
Faking who you are, being ashamed of where you come from. Don’t do things to please people.
Do you ever have survivor’s guilt for leaving K-South?
For the longest time, I had a poverty mindset. I was running but didn’t know that I was. I was running because of the fear — what if something happens, and I end up back there? I also discovered that I wanted to be a saviour; if anything happened, I wanted to be the one who stepped in. The disadvantage is that you don’t give other people room to contribute. I felt I had this weight on me to do something, but I got help from coaching.
Do you feel bad that you left your friends behind?
No, and we talk about this every time. We meet all the time. The point is, if you are in K-South, I hope you are constructing something somewhere, because I know my friends are working at reputable companies. I have no guilt, and I have zero apologies; this is the path I chose.
We don’t discriminate. My friend supplies my family business in Nairobi with eggs, and if there is something we can benefit from each other, we do it. For instance, we have been visiting each other’s parents and we contribute equally—we have gone to Murang’a, then Juja, then Kisumu, then Western Kenya until we are done. There is no guilt, for we have all accepted ourselves.
Is there an advantage to having a façade as a CEO, or can CEOs just be themselves, as you said?
Both can work, but one has a fixed timeline. The people-pleaser CEO is short-lived, because your real self always comes out when something triggers you. Leadership is built and grown into.
Perhaps in the past, leadership was dictatorial, no compromise, and people still delivered, not because of passion but because they needed the money. The downside? When employees got the opportunity to leave, they jumped ship. Some CEOs deliver results, but at great human cost.
Leaders who take the human angle today, and are just themselves, tend to achieve not the best of results, but consistency in results with low staff turnover. Be firm but kind. However, just because you are the top salesperson does not necessarily mean you should be the head of sales.
How do you define yourself without the titles?
Ah, Frank Molla. People call me Rafiki. It picked up because when I called someone, I would say, ‘Hey Rafiki’ That’s my brand.
What never makes it to your CV?
I’m a dancer and a trainer of Rhumba dances. I started dancing with Joseph Imbwaka ‘Rogarow’ at Visions’ Plaza, then went to Impala, Karen and Parklands. I join Rhumba dance challenges that last up to three hours. We’ve been to Nakuru, Arusha and Uganda. But I also play the sax.
MDP Africa managing director Frank Molla at a past event.
Photo credit: Pool
Self-taught?
No. My son was in music class, playing the trumpet. The teacher said to encourage him, somebody needs to do it practically, so I bought a sax [chuckles]. Initially, it was just for fun, but he dropped the class, and I continued, haha!
What is it about Rhumba dances?
It’s a mix, and it’s a full exercise. Dancing is my happiest place where I am just free, just myself. But because I travel too much and sit on the plane, this is my favourite exercise. I’d land and look for a dance class, be it at Impala or Soweto in South Africa.
Is leadership really that lonely, or are some CEOs just bad at networking?
The air is thin at the top. I have been lonely every step of my career. You are not promoted as a group; you don’t grow as a group, you grow as you, and by what you demonstrate. That vision you have for yourself can be lonely. When I got to an MD role, I realised the air is thin because there is much to be done, so much expectation from people and from yourself, and you are carrying the brand of an entire institution.
What do you need more of in your life?
Time. How I spend mine matters to me. I always say I have 48 hours in a day because of the things I do. I am employed, an entrepreneur, I run an executives’ programme, and I sit on no fewer than three boards.
You don’t wake up earlier?
Yes, but what do I want to achieve at 5am? I sleep at 11pm and get up at 7am, and when I am on leave, I can sleep up to 10 am. I delegate a lot, and that is why I can do many things.
Even from an eight-to-five perspective, some people spend more than an hour in traffic, chatting, going for lunch, et al. A lot of time is lost in all those things. For me, I become more intentional about the time I lose than the time I use. I plan my day critically, and the universe aligns with that plan.
What do you need less of, then?
Hard questions. People only say they prefer less after getting more [chuckles]. I’ll tell you this, I have driven one car for the last 10 years. Before that, I had a Range Rover, a Jaguar, and some I forget. Now? I want fewer liabilities. Why do I need all these cars? All my shirts are white, for ease of choice, and I have fewer than five suits, all blue, ever since.
How do you show yourself love?
Haha! I shop, and I shop for quality. I thank myself every month after giving to others; I keep some portion to myself, and I have a reserve price, which I almost always exceed [chuckles].
I am very specific about what I splurge on, especially clothes and good food. I recently went to The Atmosphere, at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, on the 122nd floor, where there is a minimum spend requirement. We ended up spending quite a lot on food alone. It was worth every cent. It’s not the expense that drives you; it’s the quality, and also the crowd.
What is the most K-South habit you have brought to Karen?
Haha! A longing for communal living. I still want to ask for salt from the neighbour, just to connect. We have a WhatsApp group, but everyone keeps to themselves. Here, you just can’t go to someone’s house or do something over Christmas, which is why I think I bring people from outside. But it’s life.
