East Africa Regional Director of Finance & Administration
Jesse Ndambala is an experienced finance and management professional with 12+ years of progressive experience in Finance & Accounting, Strategy & Transaction Advisory, Business Management, Government Engagement, Corporate Law, and Corporate Governance. His expertise extends to industries such as banking and finance, international development, agriculture, healthcare, government, and stakeholder engagements (policy facilitation), construction and infrastructure, tourism, and hospitality. Currently, Jesse is a Doctoral Candidate in Business Administration at The Universidad Católica De Murcia in Spain. He earned his Master of Science in Accounting and Finance from The University of Salford in Manchester, U.K.
Mr. Jesse Ndambala is the East Africa Regional Director of Finance & Administration at Bizzell. Jesse has been an integral component to the Bizzell Global Programs practice, leveraging his background finance & corporate governance to help guide Bizzell as it expands its presence throughout sub-Saharan Africa. “We are elated to have Jesse join the Bizzell team as the inaugural East Africa Regional Director of Finance and Administration. He will be a vital part of the senior leadership, ensuring that our international relations and Bizzell’s operational priorities are implemented and executed,” said Dr. Chad Brown, Chief Administrative Officer at Bizzell. We took some time to sit down with Jesse, and ask him what is happening in his life, both professional and personal.
Q & A:
As Bizzell Global Programs expands its presence in Africa, what excites you most about the direction of the company on the continent? What role do you see yourself playing in this capacity?
Africa is a very promising emerging market in need of so much technical skills empowerment for her people. It’s exciting knowing the impact that Bizzell Global programs will bring to thousands if not millions of African youths through affordable vocational training. I am looking forward to seeing this positive impact, firsthand.
I see myself at the helm of operations as the local team lead in navigating the motherland terrain to ensure the envisaged impact is delivered and sustained through key implementing partners both private and public.
Over the next decade, where will we see the biggest opportunities for Africa and its people?
Without a doubt the biggest opportunities are and will be in Eastern Africa. Southern, Northern and Western Africa have enjoyed good reigns and are becoming saturated. With the population of East Africa among the largest on the continent and projected to grow at a rate higher than 4% annually, clearly more opportunities will be brought by this tremendous population growth.
How is the work you are doing advancing Bizzell in the field?
We work with various implementing partners across Africa. I build and manage these relationships and lead ground coordination to ensure smooth execution of strategy and promote the good work we do.
What have you enjoyed most about working at Bizzell, and why?
Working with Bizzell has been satisfying. The leadership of the group President & CEO provides so much room for creativity and enables me to build ownership of the operations we do. Support from other corporate leadership members is amazing. Our exco meetings are never short of laughter as we craft the organization’s strategy.
If you were going to be stranded on a deserted island, what book & album would you take with you?
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and Usher’s Raymond v. Raymond. The book is obviously for the strategy lessons it contains. To succeed you must first overcome defeat mentally. I have always been an Usher fan since childhood, but the title of the album reminds me that my greatest opponent in this fight called life, has always, is and always shall be me.
If you could visit somewhere, you have never been, where would it be?
I would visit Machu Picchu. It combines hiking, camping, and the great outdoors. Some of my favorite personal time activities. I have been hiking and camping since childhood.