The most powerful lessons often come at moments of change. Bank of Kigali CFO Anita Umuhire, I&M Bank Rwanda CFO Dederi Wimana and PASS Trust FD Doreen Mangesho look back on the turning points that took their journeys in a different direction.
In 2008, Anita Umuhire qualified as a chartered accountant in South Africa just as the global financial crisis was unfolding. Almost overnight, the prospects of building a career in financial services seemed dim. Returning to Rwanda gave her an opening at Fina Bank, later acquired by Guaranty Trust Bank, where she rose quickly into senior finance. By her early 30s, she had become group CFO, yet the title left her with more questions than answers.
“I was desperate for a change and a chance to see if the grass was greener on the other side. I relocated to Kenya to work for The Regional Centre for Small Arms, a project funded by the Africa Development Bank aimed at eradicating the proliferation of weapons and light-weapons in African countries,” she says.
The pivot set her on a path of seeking roles where numbers and purpose come together. Years later, at Bank of Kigali, she says she has finally found the alignment she had once doubted was possible.
“What excites me most about BK is that we are literally transforming the lives of ordinary Rwandans from a financial standpoint. We are partners in the economic development of our country and what we do truly matters. We offer a community where you can belong and we will partner with you to realise your dreams. I can truly say that I have found the purpose that was lacking when I first left banking,” she explains.
Unexpected pushback
For I&M Bank Rwanda’s Dederi Wimana, the experience of raising her children was a moment of reckoning. Motherhood changed her view of what leadership required. As a young woman, she used to be tough and rigid, but her Gen Z children challenged her in ways she never expected.
“The first born, when she finished university, we started to fight. When I planned something, she would say she was busy and I hadn’t informed her on time, and I could not understand. The second one, when she came back from university, I could have visitors and she would say those were my visitors, and she didn’t have to help. The third, my son who was very close to me, also began to challenge me – and that is when I said to myself, I must be the problem,” she says.
Soon, Dederi began to ask their opinions instead of dictating plans. With her team at the bank, she applied the same method, encouraging participation and collaboration instead of top-down instructions. The change helped her realise leadership required empathy. She learnt that listening carefully and giving space often brought better results than pressure.
“I looked at myself and said I have to change. That helped me even with the team I have now, because Gen Z needs to feel participative. You have to involve them in everything, not just come and say I want this and this. So I began to ask them, ‘What do you think?’ This is the approach I have started, how can we do this better and now we are aligned,” she says.
A heart for people
PASS Trust FD Doreen Mangesho’s turning point came during her MBA studies abroad. With tuition to pay, her husband out of work and relatives depending on her, she found herself in a financial crisis. Some months, she had to choose between her own needs and her family’s.
“I had to make choices I never thought I would face, sometimes between paying fees or sending money home. That crisis nearly broke me, but it also opened my eyes. I realised how easy it is for anyone to slip into difficulty, no matter how capable or ambitious. It gave me a heart for people in a way I had not had before,” she reveals.
The bubbly executive now sees budgets and cost cuts as decisions that affect real lives. The perspective she gained in those years guides how she approaches her work.
“So during that time, I learnt not to rush into decision-making but sometimes to carefully consider the impact on those people who are behind you or rely on me. It taught me the importance of having empathy in leadership. And sometimes numbers don’t matter because behind every decision, I need to put people first,” she says.
