Jubilee Health Insurance Tanzania CFO Nickson Motta believes a CFO's most important skill is a forecasted mindset. It is a conviction that has helped him unlock growth consistently across insurance and renewable energy.
Discipline is the first word Nickson Motta reaches for when he describes how he got into finance. Though not a finance professional, his father recommended that he pursue accounting. Even before he joined high school, his path was laid out before him. Although Nickson was not enthusiastic about it, he pursued it single-mindedly. His ability to hone in on a goal has seen him through every stage of his career.
“I've been driven by this thought that mostly I am not motivated, I have discipline. Discipline doesn't wait for what motivation procrastinates on. You can't expect your actions to follow motivation, but you can with discipline. Motivation is inconsistent but discipline is constant,” he says.
Nickson’s discipline was evaluated when he first joined the insurance industry. The company he worked for had accumulated nearly Tsh12 billion in unpaid taxes over a few decades, making it impossible to get tax clearance. This also meant it could not qualify for tenders or attract new clients. Nickson threw himself into the task of reconciling the taxes, a process that seemed interminable at the time.
“The company had already existed for more than 20 years. I took it upon myself and started doing all those reconciliations and clearing all the taxes that were there. We were able to clear almost all 12 billion and got tax clearance for the first time after nearly 5 years,” he reveals.
Once clearance was obtained, the impact was immediate. The company landed a large mining client worth nearly Tsh10 billion. But for Nickson, the experience was a window into how persistence could turn the fortunes of a business around. It also confirmed what he already knew: that CFOs must expect risks before they become crises.
Planning for challenges
From 2019 to 2022, Nickson served as head of finance at Engie, a European utility company building solar mini grids across Africa. Running finance across several countries required him to adapt to different local contexts.
“When you work in renewable energy across borders, you learn that the same model cannot apply in every country. You are dealing with different laws, different currencies, and quite different communities. It taught me to respect context and to plan for challenges I had not faced before. Those lessons still shape how I manage risk today.”
The role expanded his view of how finance supports development in different sectors. When he joined Jubilee Insurance shortly after, he brought with him the lessons learned from managing projects across borders.
“If you cannot mitigate the risks where the business is heading given what you already have in terms of the numbers, then that is one of the key things a CFO should be afraid of. You need a forecasted mindset where you look at the business in terms of the big vision, not just numbers,” he explains.
In his quest to be a better leader, Nickson attended a leadership academy, where he completed a Myer’s-Briggs personality assessment. The exercise gave him clarity on how he makes decisions and interacts with people. It also changed how he coaches his team. He now encourages them to take similar tests, as he considers it an effective way for a leader to understand themselves before leading others.
Listen and understand
“Before you arrive at any decision, it is quite important to listen and understand. I focus on these because they also drive decision making in daily life. I focus on understanding human complexity because in leadership, you meet a lot of people, and it is important to understand their perspective,” he says.
An avid explorer, Nickson enjoys visiting novel places. He often plans a trip or two every year to places that let him experience diverse cultures and cuisines.
“One of the places I wanted to go to this year is China. I just wanted to see how China is evolving in terms of technology, in terms of industry, and in terms of finance. I think China is quite diverse in terms of that. Maybe next year, I will go to the Amazon in Brazil just to experience that natural beauty and serenity. We are here for a brief time, so I’d like to have a taste of every culture and diversity in this world,” he says.
