Austin Okere: The Excellent Founder behind CWG Strategic Footprint in Africa

...celebrating decades of exporting home made products to the World

Austin okere, Founder, Computer Warehouse

By Oluwatosin Oladipo

So many companies started the same time with Computer Warehouse limited on September 26 1992 and their business obituary had been pasted long time ago due to diverse challenges. Amidst storms like economic meltdown, political brouhaha, unstable government policies, infrastructural deficit and dearth of manpower, computer warehouse scale through all hurdles to become a global brand that sustain its legacy of  exporting homemade IT solution  and product across Africa for over three decade and still counting.

A study shows that only 1 out of 25 businesses that started together in Nigeria survive after 10 years, while about 80% fail within the first 5 years. This is a freaking 96% and for aspiring entrepreneurs, they have every reason to feel nervous. 

Do you know that between 1994 and 2006 about 45 failed banks were closed, having had their licenses revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria? Do you also know that between 2013 and 2017, no fewer than 92 internet service providers (ISPs) have closed shop in Nigeria? The development is being linked to a number of reasons, including the unfriendly economy and business environment as well as unhealthy competition among Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). 

As of 2020, the average startup failure rate in Africa stood at 54 percent. However, the rate differed across countries. In Ethiopia and Rwanda, 75 percent of the startups ceased operations, while Kenyan startups had a failure rate of 24 percent in the same year.

Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) did not just survive the heat that  hands down other businesses by luck, but by integrating the eight integrities of business such as Mission, Leadership, team, product, legal, systems, communications and cash flow into the foundation of the organization. Those primary reasons are why most small businesses fail.

In a timeline of history, CWG commenced operations in Nigeria as a local IT business, catering for Computer hardware projects with a scope to make available computer system in each household. Few years later, as the vision was getting more clearer, a sister company known as DCC Networks was established as the Communication arm; to provide VSAT, Metropolitan, Wide Area and Local Area Networks to Corporate Organizations.

Most great entrepreneurs always look for opportunities instead of job, therefore, in 1999, Expert Edge Software was acquired to concentrate on the demands emerging in the area of Software systems, training and solutions. What a great move!

The leading IT service solution company stayed focus on their five core values such as Integrity, Quality, Efficiency, Customer Obsession and Transformative Innovation to always create products, platforms that will endure the test of time and build high quality systems that clients are proud of deploying and promoting. 

CWG FOOTPRINTS

Today, CWG is now a Pan-African systems solution company which specializes in a wide array of IT services ranging from communications, integration, infrastructure, cloud, managed and support services, and software.

As a leading provider of IT services across Africa, CWG operates a firmly established partnership network which connects businesses, enterprises, governments, customers, and consumers, utilizing value-added services to help them efficiently drive processes, and improve across their respective activities.

Their footprint spans across West, East, and Central Africa Regions providing resources for level 1-4 management across all countries, and partners with IT service organizations to deliver level 1& 2 resources in other African countries.

As the company continues to expand, CWG Plc through it visionary leader, who understands the value of collaboration with competitor for sustainability, in 2016, synergize with Deloitte to build an ecosystem of Service Providers in Sub-Saharan Africa under its Pan Africa Initiative to help its numerous clients in addressing the challenges in the new converged arena and to help service providers to provide the best of the breed services for their subscribers. 

In 2018 CWG reorganized its services business under the CWG Support hub to consolidate various support services and strengthen its Pan Africa support. 

With about three decades of immense contribution to the Information Communication and Technology Sector, CWG has continuously remain a benchmark for excellence in Africa. The managements believe in, pursue an excellent service culture, and deliver operations through global best practices using its ISO9001 certification process across the entire group.

Over time, the company have received numerous accolades from their partners, clients, customers, media and professional bodies due to their excellence service and increased performance. Most recently, The World Economic Forum (WEF) recognized CWG as a Global Growth Company. Their records span through different Sectors of the economy such as:

Financial Service Institutions

Globally, Financial Services Institutions are constantly undergoing technological upgrades. CWG supports this drive in Financial Technology platforms and provides cloud services and software solutions to about 60% of all financial institutions in Nigeria and has successfully implemented and supported Finacle which is the foremost core banking application in Nigerian banking system. 

To date, CWG has installed over 4,000 ATMs, currently provides support services and manages over 2,500 of these ATMs on behalf of the banks; whilst taking its commitment to excellence further through her ATM as a Service Initiative.

Telecommunications

CWG provides managed services, IT infrastructure support and integration to major telecommunication giants such as MTN and Etisalat. Also, Cloud services such as the SMERP are being introduced into this sector. 50% of mobile calls are routed through enterprise servers and storage and are managed and supported by CWG. CWG also provides 40% of telecommunications managed services.

Public Sector

CWG is responsible for Technology Solutions deployment to assist and support different tiers of Government in their bid to improve the lives of her citizenry. It also identifies areas within Government operations that can be improved with the integration of Technology to ensure overall efficiencies and operational excellence. The company partnership with various levels of Government improves service delivery to citizens and increases contribution to the GDP of the economy. Some of these CWG E-Government solutions which are adaptable in either the Executive, Legislature or Judiciary arms of the Government creates avenues for revenue collection, accountability and transparency, whilst ensuring excellence in operations. 

Emergent

The Emergent Business Sector is positioned and poised to provide ICT solutions for a wider range of emerging markets. These could spring up in varying sectors spanning through the Healthcare Industry, Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Mining, Education, SMEs, Agriculture, Transportation, Retail Businesses, NGOs, Real Estate, Logistics & Distribution, Professional bodies and much more.

The business landscape is constantly evolving as the needs of the populace of any developing economy; hence CWGs Emergent Business Sector is constantly seeking ground breaking solutions for tackling would-be or existing challenges that would invariably lead to economic growth. Technology is the life stream of every economy and the emerging market sector is always live with the need for many technology platforms the business can deploy, establish or integrate to ensure economic stability

In order to effectively drive value services to customers, CWG engaged Gartner consulting services in 2019 to equip the company with insights delivered directly by experienced advisors and informed by an unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner sourced, and data-driven research.

In order to fulfill the Africa growth organization award by the World Economic Forum, CWG engaged PWC  as its internal auditor and consultants on people, process optimization and innovation advisory.

What distinguished CWG amidst Equal in AFRICA

CWG plays a prominent role in the creation of products and services that address real challenges, and solve everyday problems in African businesses, contributing to the growth and development of the African continent via:

Positioning Africa to Maximize the Future: CWG identifies problems across sub-saharan Africa, and serves as a bridge that uses technology to close these gaps - thereby, leading development in Africa, and bridging the gap between today and the future. CWG is championing “New Africa” .

Enabling - Future Shapers: CWG is a leading foundation for people in government, SME’s, Grassroot level that will shape the future of Africa. It uses technology as the catalyst to help these people to grow and thrive in their various industries. Ultimately positioning Africa to maximize the future. 

Supporting tipping point innovation: When it comes to innovation that transforms people and industries, CWG is at the heart of these innovations either as a stakeholder, or a facilitator. CWG is also building structures and partnerships that support tipping point innovation.

As others are 'japaing' CWG keeps working on their Manifesto that state "We believe that the future of Africa is vibrant, made up of individuals and businesses that convert ideas and raw material into a robust thriving economy. We believe that Africa has the potential to lead development, bridging the gap between today and the future. We believe that true innovation that drives development, requires a fusion of knowledge, technology, passion, and people."

CWG PRODUCT AND SERVICES

As a company with hindsight, CWG embrace the market segmentation principle of marketing by simplifying the products and solutions to build foundation for growth and progress in commerce and society. The major products and services positioning the company amidst equal are BillsNPay, SMERP, UCP, Finedge and Finacle.

BillsNPay is a state-of-the-art unified bill presentation and payment platform which allows B2C and B2B billers to present a safe, secure and easy-to-use hub for customers to view and pay their bills. The Platform is designed to serve both billers and bill recipients. Billsnpay is designed for ease and convenience, bills that are due from customers can easily be accessed and paid through a single platform.

It takes the hassle of setting up a hosted and branded site off billers. Billsnpay gives the billers and customers a lot of exciting features which makes it easy to manage and pay their bills, check payments and also consolidate bills from various billers all in one click!

SMERP: This is an Enterprise Resource Planning platform built to enable Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) manage their business operations efficiently. It is an online business solution, setup to enable growth of SME businesses. It is easy to use, affordable and user-friendly. 

UCP: Unified Cooperative Platform is a core cooperative operations software, developed by CWG Plc, in partnership with CFAN, to meet the rising and dynamic needs of Cooperative Societies across Africa. UCP requires little or no capital investment, it is tailored to meet the peculiar needs and budget of Individual Cooperative Societies.

Finedge: CWG Plc is advancing the course of Microfinance Industry in Nigeria through cutting edge technology. Mobile Money Operators, Microfinance Banks, Cooperative Societies, Banks and other financial institutions can now automate their processes on a single platform using FinEdge Core Banking Application.

This Micro Banking Software is a service platform that enables efficient Micro banking operations and financial intermediary collaboration without the cost and complexity of ownership.

Finacle: is the industry-leading digital banking solution suite from EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly owned product subsidiary of Infosys, a global technology leader with over USD 15 billion in annual revenues. The solutions address the core banking, lending, digital engagement, payments, cash management, wealth management, treasury, analytics, AI and blockchain requirements of financial institutions.

It helps traditional and emerging financial institutions drive truly digital transformation to achieve frictionless customer experiences, larger ecosystem play, insights driven interactions and ubiquitous automation. The cloud-native solution suite and SaaS services help banks to engage, innovate, operate, and transform better.

Today, banks in over 100 countries rely on Finacle to service more than a billion consumers and 1.3 billion accounts.

Research by Independent client value assessment, 2020 and Assessment of the top 1000 banks in the world by The Banker, 2020 revealed that institutions powered by Finacle enjoy 33 % higher returns on assets than others, with average returns on assets at 1.2% and top-performing client at 4.7%. 19 % higher returns on capital than others, with average returns on capital at 15.6% and top-performing client at 33%. 3.9 % points lesser cost-to-income ratio than others, with the average ratio at 47.2% and top-performing client at 16%.

CWG ACADEMY

Every successful business that does not toll the part of impacting the next generation for sustainability of legacies will go down the line of history. The only way is to educate the future generation. CWG, the giant of ICT solution enterprise in Africa residing in Nigeria with several lines of success stories is driven by a futuristic vision to be the most preferred technology solutions company out of Africa. And on a Mission to power impactful solutions, in order to position Africa to maximize the future, by enabling future shapers and supporting tipping point innovation.

The CWG academy was built on the understanding that education and training lies at the heart of development efforts, and without human capacity development, most development interventions will be ineffective. The  programs are designed to transform graduates into world class IT professionals, or entrepreneurs, preparing them to be part of the innovation world, and teaching them structure, and ethics.

Some of the courses offer at the academy includes:

Advanced Service Platforms Management: E-Commerce Platform, E-Billing and Payment Platform, 3PI, CWG SMERP, Customer Service Management Suite, Sales Overview/Strategy and Processes, Project Management, ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) and Enterprise Risk Management

IT Infrastructure & Cloud Platform: Dell/EMC Enterprise Solutions, Sun Oracle Systems, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) System, HP Systems, IBM, Virtualization Administration, End User Support, Cloud Computing, Point of Sales (POS Systems).

Data Centre Infrastructure Management: Data Centre Management, Administration Platform, IAAS/SAAS/PAAS, Network Managed Services, Microwave Radio Solution, Power Solutions (UPS and Inverters), Routing and Switching.

Software Training: Oracle SQL Overview, JAVA Programming Overview, V.B Net Systems

Introduction to Microfinance Banking Application: Finacle Core Application, Finacle Treasury Overview and Finacle E-Banking Overview

Who is the Brain behind this Brand Called Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) and his dream team?

An investor once said 'If you are contented with where you are and what you have, you can never break new ground.' Mr Austin Kwesi Okere received the revelation to make significant difference, by refusing to remain at the ordinary Income level, with a passion to journey through an unrealistic dream of becoming a passive income earner which has come to reality.

Who is Austin Okere? 

Austin Okere is the Founder of CWG Plc and the Ausso Leadership Academy, which mentor Businesses and Entrepreneurs for Geometric Growth. Austin has an MBA from IESE Business School and is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Columbia Business School, New York. He was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Global Business School Network in Washington DC in recognition of his major contribution to the development of business education and knowledge transfer in Africa. Austin is a Consultant to the Sustainable Development Goals – Africa Centre (SDGAC) in Kigali.

Honours

Austin has been recognized with a Lifetime Entrepreneurship Achievement Award by the American University of Nigeria in 2017 for his dedicated service and outstanding entrepreneurial accomplishments.

He received the Nigerian Computer Society Special Presidential Award in 2016, and was named ICT Personality of the year by the Society in 2014.

He was also named ICT Man of the Decade by ICT Watch – Africa Digital Network in 2012 and was listed on the United Kingdom's C. Hub Magazine 100 Most Influential Creatives in 2016. Austin was named among 100 Leading Telecoms & ICT Personalities in Nigeria by the Association of Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ATCON) in July 2018.

Austin is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria. His company, CWG Plc has been recognized as a ‘Global Growth Company’ by the World Economic Forum and is the largest security listed in the Technology Sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Mr Austin shared the genesis of CWG and how he risked everything for the establishment excerpt:

According to Maria Robinson 'Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.'

"Perhaps the most difficult transition I had to make in my life was leaving the comfort of my job to start the Computer Warehouse Group. I was perceived as one of the upwardly mobile executives in my former company. The company was doing very well and was regarded as one of the most outstanding IT firms then. I was well paid and had ample commission from sales, my life was on a roll!

You can imagine how aghast my spouse was when I told her one evening that I would be quitting my job within the week. My parents were beside themselves. They could not comprehend what else I was looking for. Why can't he be contented with what others are dying for? They wondered.

Yet I knew that I had not wholly tapped into my full potential. Yes, it was as good as it was, but was it the best that it could be?

My aspiration had shifted from what many of us desire when we newly finish school and start on a job; just being comfortable and assuring myself and possibly my family of some sort of financial comfort." He declared.

His Desire

I wanted to make an impact beyond my immediate family, and beyond my immediate environment. I wanted to do something significant. I wanted to leave my footprints in the sands of time. Part of this inspiration was as a result of my early reading of thought writers such as Tom Peters, John Maxwell and Brian Tracey, whom I adopted as mentors and borrowed heavily from.

I reasoned that founding a company that could be built over time to hold her own among any of the global bests was one of the most viable ways to achieve my goal. I wanted to one day to list our shares on the NASDAQ, not minding that my friends sniggered when I shared the dream.

I knew I could not achieve any of these if I did not make the sacrifice of leaving my comfort zone and the security it seemed to offer. I understood that to achieve the growth I desired as a leader, I would have to make a change. I needed a vehicle that I could be in reasonable control of. That is how Computer Warehouse Group was born. The rest they say is history. That is the power of determination to make a significant difference.

I must add here that it wasn't at all as smooth as I had pictured it in my mind's eye. The path we have followed these past 30years have been filled with serious trials (as you would expect of a company operating in our harsh environment), and littered with broken bodies from the tough battles to get ahead despite all odds (my premature grey sprout is a key testimony to this). The Bible confirmed it that 'The kingdom of God suffereth violent and the powerful takes it by force. It is a journey of survival of the fittest with grace." He shared

As John Maxwell says, life is a series of tradeoffs. If we're going to grow as influencers, then at different junctures of life, we're going to have to let go of what we have, to take hold of something better. In other words, we must give up to go up!

When we're just starting out in life, the tradeoffs are relatively painless. Having barely established ourselves, it's easy to part with our present situation so that we can pursue opportunities to expand our influence.

However, the higher we go, the tougher the tradeoffs become. We get attached to what we've built, and become invested in our success. The more we have, the more averse we are to change. Ask any Executive Director of a sinking bank why he is still there.

In order to reach your potential as a leader, you have to discover your passion and fully key into it. This may involve taking some risks and making some bold changes.

It is amazing how we blossom once we discover and key into our passion. Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi, Barrack Obama, Kwame Nkrumah, Bill Clinton, Raji Fashola, John Maxwell, Usain Bolt and many people you may have heard of, all achieved significance when they discovered their passion, left their comfort zones, and made the necessary tradeoffs.

I will share with you the three major tradeoffs I have had to make in trading up:

Exchanging Affirmation for Accomplishment: I stopped being a people-pleaser. If you always say yes when you would rather say no, then you will find yourself unhappily going through the motions of living, giving control of your time, energy, and spirit to anyone who asks for it. Fundamentally, leadership involves serving others and adding value to them. However, the best way to do that is by proactively and strategically contributing your strengths, not by passively allowing others to dictate how you spend your time. Jose Mourinho, Luis Enrique and Jurgen Klopp for instance may not be very popular coaches, but they have reputations for delivering.

Exchanging Security for Significance: I changed my attitude toward uncertainty. Security can be tough to pass up. We like the certainty that comes with being in a stable job, making a steady income. Yet, significance usually calls for risk. It involves stepping away from familiar territory in order to explore new lands and expanding your influence, especially in today’s world where the internet, broadband and smartphone ubiquity have made erstwhile impossible business models, possible; think UBER, AirBnB and Alibaba.

Trading Immediate Victory for Long Term Sustainability : I stopped measuring my performance solely in terms of immediate results. To excel as a leader, you have to change the timeframe in which you view success. If you measure your performance solely in terms of immediate results, then you run the risk of giving up when times are tough, as they are now in our country. Also, when you only concern yourself with present professional achievement, you tend to lose sight of the long term goal. Quoting from William Shakespeare, there is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures. I believe that the challenges in Nigeria today also offer ample opportunity to get ahead with creativity and innovation.

In my personal experience the things we fear most in life are not necessarily our adversities but the fear of our anxieties and about what others might think. The secret formula for me were the 3 Ws that sustained me; Way Power (aptitude), Will Power (attitude) and Wait Power (patience).

After reading the magic of thinking big a bestseller by Brian Tracy, I created and lived by the following mantra “If dreams are free, why sell yourself short? Dream big and with perseverance, reach for the stars”

His rough, tumble road and bumpy ride ahead

To have Footprints in the sands of time, attracts sacrifice to travelled   through rough road and focusing on the bumpy ride ahead.  Austin also shared his tough experience during business development excursion before it becomes a global brand. He shared how many accident became his fortune

"Success is more of a journey than a destination. A journey characterised by a constant struggle between challenges and the triumph of will power; we should be left under no illusion that there is a smooth path or a short cut to success; that is the myth." Austin declared.

The reality is that, life does throw us lemons. It is what we do with them that really matters.

"

The first major disappointment I remember, perhaps after my doomed childhood crush on my English teacher, was receiving a Regrets Letter from Arthur Andersen, the leading Audit and Consultancy firm, after several levels of tests and interviews.

This was really gut wrenching for me, considering that I longed very much to work in that well-respected firm and strongly felt that I merited it. However, that was not to be. A couple of decades later, and having grown in stature and confidence, I confronted the Partner of the firm with whom I had my final interview, and enquired why he did not select me. He retorted, albeit jokingly 'Austin, if I had employed you, would you be where you are today?'

There have been many varying disappointments in the course of my personal and professional life, but none more profound as that first cut and the effect it had on me. This early experience taught me that those called to greatness in life are first subjected to the crucible of preparation. Through seeming disappointments, they chart a new course for others to follow. The lane of the trodden path gives way to the zone of passion, from where they blossom into their calling.

Many people tend to prematurely give up and throw up their hands in exasperation when life throws them lemons, forgetting that they can rather make lemonade. I believe that challenges and opportunities are two sides of the same coin. There is a reason why the Chinese use the same word to describe both. It is my hope that sharing some of my experiences of the lemonades I made with my lemons, will encourage the weary who are struggling with a higher calling, to endure the crucible of preparation and strive to reach their aspiration. As the saying goes, iron sharpens iron and pure gold is a product of a fiery fire." He encouraged

 My accidental course of study

I finished my secondary school education at the St. Augustine's College in Cape Coast, Ghana, with flying colours in my GCE O levels exams. I went on to do the further GCE A levels in the same Institution in anticipation of a good University placement. Unfortunately, I did very poorly due to a lack of focus and misplaced overconfidence. The result of this misadventure was my not gaining a place to read any of my choice of courses at the University. Instead of the widely popular Engineering and Science choices, I ended up in a relatively new course of study called 'Computer Sciences' at the University of Ghana. I found myself in the same class with students who were two years my Junior, because they did not have to go through the additional two years of A levels to gain admission into this particular course.

This was quite understandable, because in 1982 nobody in Ghana, my birth country, knew very much about Computer Sciences, nor cared much for it. The choices for me then were quite grim, it was either this course, or one more year at home to try again for a better course of study. I swallowed my pride and poured my energies into this new endeavour. Fortunately, I took to it like fish to water. It was a Eureka moment for me. I had discovered my passion! With this lemon of disappointment I went on to make a lemonade of a career in this new field that culminated in the founding of CWG Plc 10 years later.

CWG became the largest security in the IT sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange when she listed her shares and went public in 2013. She was subsequently recognised as a Global Growth Company by the World Economic Forum in 2014, signalling an expectation of achieving the $1b turnover mark in the not too distant future.

A perfect plan goes horribly wrong

CWG had a series of rosy years between 2004 and 2007, when the company grew at an impressive rate of 75% year on year, with dominance in the Banking and Telecom sectors. We could do no wrong, and our bottom line seemed to defy gravity. Things suddenly came to a screeching halt in 2008, with the global financial crises resulting from the sale of subprime loans in America. While these lemons were not of our making, they surely took their toll. Things were not helped by the local macroeconomic environment, which was characterised by skyrocketing interest rates and exchange rate volatility. These two factors contributed in no small measure to the near insolvency of the company.

Our lower-interest dollar loans which we had managed to secure from offshore banks to finance our thriving Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) business had been recalled due to the turmoil in the global financial markets, and had to be refinanced by much higher-interest local loans at an excruciatingly high exchange rate. Not to mention that the Purchase Orders against which we brought in container loads of ATMs were suddenly cancelled on account of force majeure. The reason being that absurdly, the Central Bank had suddenly started forbidding banks from mounting ATMs in public places other than their branch premises.

The ATM business was then contributing $35m to our annual revenue with very good margins; this was suddenly wiped off. We found ourselves in a precarious situation, where we had a warehouse load of ATMs with no takers, and a huge stock of debt to service at a high interest rate. The company was facing a serious liquidity crises and was heading steadily towards bankruptcy.

Putting on our thinking caps, we came up with the lemonade of starting an ATM-as-a-Service business model. This was an instant hit, and a win-win strategy for both us and our customers; we had ATMs sitting idle in our warehouse, and they did not have headroom for additional capital expenditure. What we discovered was that this ‘accidental’ business model, guaranteed more predictable revenue and profitability over the long run than just selling the machines. It also attracted the interest of a Private Equity Firm, whose investment in our company in 2009 came in handy in retooling our company as a subscription based business on the back of cloud computing. It also helped in paying off our huge debt and eliminating the killing finance costs.

What to do about technology disruption

By 2010, we had built a huge business in our telecommunications subsidiary, providing Wide Area Network (WAN) infrastructure for our financial sector customers based on very small aperture terminals (VSATs), contributing a bottom-line margin of about $3m per annum. The party was good while it lasted, but the wheels were beginning to come off, as undersea fibre cables landed at our shores, bringing with them relatively much faster and cheaper fibre infrastructure and promoted by very deep-pocket GSM Operators. They quickly took out everybody in their sights and left us with a loss of about $1m in 2011, which doubled the next year.

As the inevitable stared us in the face, we took a quick decision to proactively cannibalise our WAN  business by selling our customers to the Operator. We then made lemonade with our lemons by repurposing our facility and infrastructure for digital TV broadcasting in partnership with SES Astra as Nigeria raced to meet the July, 2015 deadline for Digital Switch Over. Today we have a potential of rolling our digital signals to over 27million erstwhile analogue households.

A final word to young entrepreneurs and investors

Our world is punctuated with people who refuse to stay down when beaten down, but rather make lemonades with their lemons. A few examples include: Bill Gates, who when he dropped out of Harvard started a business with Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data, which flopped. Luckily, they tried their hand at business again and this time Microsoft was born. Albert Einstein who did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven. He was subsequently expelled from school and was not admitted to the Zurich Polytechnic School. Long story short, he came around. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He once said,  have missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I have missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

Perhaps the most compelling story is that of WhatsApp founder Brain Acton, who got rejected by Both Twitter and Facebook before the $19 Billion buyout of his company by Facebook. It is his reaction to disappointment that make him stand out. Here is his sad but optimistic tweet when he got rejected by Twitter in May 2009 “Got denied by Twitter HQ. That’s ok. Would have been a long commute”. And his tweet after being rejected by Facebook, Facebook turned me down. It was a great opportunity to connect with some fantastic people. Looking forward to lifes next adventure. What positive attitude to life!

In your journey of life, I do hope that these life stories will inspire you to go the extra mile whenever seeming disappointments threaten to throw you off course.

As you step boldly into an era of new possibilities, I wish to encourage you with a quote from Pauline Kezer; Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.