99FM ROYAL HUSTLERS - Josefina Nekongo

It is easy to look at successful people and want to be like them, but Josefina asks, “Are you willing to walk their journey?” This young Namibian is walking the walk in board meetings, the High Court and in her own department at the National Housing Enterprise (NHE).

Josefina Nekongo grew up in a loving home in Grysblock, Katutura. “That love,” she told 99FM, “is the premise for everything.” The house was full of laughter and playful teasing between Josefina and her two younger brothers. However, even as a child she was intentional and wise in her decisions, wanting to help those around her.

She was always a gatekeeper and a protector, enforcing the rules and looking after the younger ones around her. While in Grade 10 at Centaurus High School, she came across the discipline of law and her career path opened before her. Josefina studied law at UNAM, becoming an admitted legal practitioner of the High Court and gaining experience in shipping and administrative law, corporate governance and compliance management.

At 24 years old, she became a company secretary – an opportunity which shaped her into being someone who takes challenges head on without backing down from her values. Opportunities are never promised, but when they come along, Josefina urges young people to be ready. “Don’t let your youth hinder you,” she says, knowing that young people can be grounded, respectful and trustworthy.

These days she is the legal services, compliance and risk manager and the company secretary for the NHE. She is a council member of the Law Society of Namibia and a board member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association. The responsibility of managing a department of people, advising boards of directors, and organising AGMs for shareholders is not too much for Josefina. She is also pursuing her master’s in business administration (MBA) with aspirations of venturing into operations and strategic management.

She says she is motivated by where she was yesterday. “It motivates me to be somewhere else today. Where my journey began to where I am now was much more difficult than where I want to go tomorrow.” Small steps every day outweigh grand leaps that are not sustainable.

Seeing people work hard encourages her to do her best, especially women who are stepping into new territory and occupying space. As a manager at NHE, this means acknowledging that there is a legacy of fewer women in certain positions and industries. “As a woman, you have to be failing at something to be succeeding at the other; if she is winning at the office, she is not making dinner at home. My role, the way I see my leadership style, is how can we set performance targets that encourage women to still succeed at home and at the office?” For example, working hours are not that important to Josefina because she is an output- and performance-based manager. “I’m not interested in what time a person gets into the office, I am interested in what they produce,” she says.

Josefina’s career and life advice is simple: be teachable. Use the free resources available to you to capacitate yourself. There are online short courses and the ‘University of YouTube’ is at your fingertips. And then, get a mentor. You can learn from people who have walked the walk, capitalise on their mistakes and not repeat them. “You are never too old or too successful for a mentor,” she told 99FM, “because there is always someone further along than you.”

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