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Tag: Featured

Rakesh Wahi addresses The National Defence Academy in Pune, Maharashtra, India

August 25, 2017December 23, 2019 sidLeave a comment

Watch on Youtube.com

 

Full Text:

Commandant of the NDA, Air Marshal JS Kler, AVSM, VM

Dty Commandant, Rear Admiral SK Grewal, VSM

Officers and Academic staff; and

Cadets of the National Defence Academy.

Good evening to all of you and thank you for your kind introduction.

It is indeed an honour and privilege for me to address you all this evening. I am filled with nostalgia as I joined this great institution 41 years ago in 1976 and graduated from here in June 1979. It may seem a long time ago, but I can still hear myself sing, the announcements at Kilo squadron; I hope that it is still the squadron tradition. I also remember the aroma of the Gole market bakery that sold doughnuts. I must confess, those were the best doughnuts that I have ever eaten.

When I received the invitation from the Deputy Commandant, I was no doubt thrilled to come back to talk to all of you. However, summarizing a life long journey into 45 minutes is not an easy task. There are some common threads through my journey – first as a soldier and then as an entrepreneur, and when I look back at my life, I can see that these threads were woven into my character by the National Defence Academy.

Admiral Grewal asked me to speak about “Leadership and Risk Taking”, but I have been given latitude to cross reference my experiences. The Chief Instructor, Brig Jacob had cautioned me that most of you are going to sleep; I had therefore requested him to provide some pillows and blankets. I believe these are available should any one need them.

Training at ATT
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Receiving the VSM medal
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During the course of my talk, I will map my journey, both through successes and failures, and also reflect on my recently published book, in which I have proudly acknowledged that I would not be the man I am today, without the strong foundation that the military gave me. You will also see some visuals appearing on the screen; these are pictures from the past and some highlights of my presentation.

I do have to tread on thin ice today, as I want to motivate you to rise to the top in the armed forces; and not leave and follow what I did. But it is important for you, to know the qualities the Army engrained in me, that allowed me to get to where I am today.

One consistent factor in this auditorium today, is recognition, that by being the 8th hardest institution globally, to be admitted into, we are a unique group of individuals. Individuals, who have been filtered through a fine mesh, that above all distils an alumnus of outstanding leaders.

To illustrate this point, my course boasts of 8 Lt Generals, of which three are Army Commanders. The Quarter Master General, General Ambre, who is present here this evening, three Vice Admirals including the Vice Chief of Naval staff, The Flag officer Commander In Chief of the Southern Naval Command and 4 Air Marshals, including one, who was the Commandant of this great institution a few years ago. The inference is, that no matter how you feel today, you are part of an elite group, that will lead the armed forces, in the not so distant future.

So what is this sieve that you are going to be put through for the next 30 to 40 years of your life? How do you prepare for it?  What is the code of conduct that you live by, what purpose and goals have you set for yourself, and how do you achieve them? More importantly, what is the legacy that you will leave behind when you finish your innings and head back to the pavilion? These words may sound complex and farfetched, but it is what you do, from the day you join this glorious institution, that will determine your destiny.

From the day that I joined the NDA until the day I left, there was an emphasis on two interconnected values; Leadership and Espirit De Corps. We all arrived here from different walks of life. The first step of the training, consciously or unconsciously, whether on the official parade ground or while front rolling in each other’s vomit after dinner, was to unify the cadets through cohesion.

There was initially a belief that if you were a fast runner, you could rest if you came first, after running rounds of the quadrangular. It is only a myth. Whether the exercise conducted was by your Squadron Commander or by a second termer, or during the various training camps, the outcome expected was the same; and the methods, as brutal as they seemed, achieved the goal of cohesion. It was not who came first, but that we all came together, and came on time.

I remember one of my course mates, after reaching the end of his tether, committed sacrilege by walking up to our Squadron Commander, then Lt Commander Zuthi, and telling him that he was beat, and exhausted, and could take no more of 7th heaven, or the post dinner commando training. We had done so many push ups that night, that none of us could even wear our berets at muster. Commander Zuthi got us all together and gave us the explicit difference between being a man and a sissy; nothing complimentary I might add. He looked at the Squadron Cadet Captain and said that he wasn’t doing his job.

I am sure that everyone in this auditorium would recognize the outcome of that mischievous insult. What resulted from that day on, until camp Greenhorn, was that despite the expected onslaught, we never looked back. When there is no recourse, you look up, regroup and then forge ahead. That is the attitude that is instilled into each of us. This is at the core of who we are; without being together, we are nothing.

My father, who distinguished himself both as an army officer and a corporate legend, defined leadership as, “an ability to influence and inspire people to work willingly and enthusiastically to achieve group goals.  At the end of his 65 year career, in his definition, he emphasized the word “willingly”. This word signifies cohesion, through a common mission or goal. Espirit de corps is defined as the spirit, that makes the members of a group want to succeed. So what is this spirit that needs to be instilled in each one of us, to willingly achieve an objective?

This Spirit, whether in the armed forces or in the corporate world, is nothing but the motivation that drives an individual. In the ultimate analysis, the art or science, of motivating people, to achieve a goal, is what leadership is all about.

I was commissioned straight into field, with 113 Engineers. The regiment was on a classified operational task. My first company commander, then Major Jagannathan, gave me my first lesson on leadership.

Jagannathan was a veteran of two wars, and prided himself on his achievements as a soldier on the battlefield. The troops simply loved him. Despite his foul language and rough exterior, they would do anything for him. My first question was: what is the genesis of this loyalty? Combat soldiers may have strong beliefs about patriotism, but when it comes to the crunch, they follow their leaders. They follow men and women, who have established credibility through consistent actions, and can therefore be trusted implicitly.

As I was to realize over the next three years, my company commander personified these ideals. He drilled one important lesson into my DNA: if there is a single soldier under your command, who is on duty, you have to be there with him. To be effective, you cannot lead from behind.

Over the next few years, I understood that he had no agenda other than excellence. As we toiled in the Rajasthan desert, Col Jagannathan relentlessly emphasised some basic qualities of leadership:  tireless persistence for perfection; leading from the front; humility; conviction; the ability to always stand up for what was right, and giving due credit to the people that you lead.  

I have dwelt on this, as this early experience formed my character, and to this day, I have lived my life following the value system that the NDA instilled in me. Our foundations have been laid in this great institution and these are qualities that each of you have, which will be essential, as you take your positions as junior leaders of our armed forces.

After my tenure with 113 Engineers, I finished my degree course at CME in 1986, during which time I got married. In January, the same year, I was awarded the VSM at our Army day parade. BTW, I can assure you that the VSM wasn’t for getting married. I then moved to 114 Armoured Engineers in Patiala. It was an opportune time to have been with the 1st Armoured Division, as we played an important role in Operation Brasstacks.

Then came the turning point in my life. It had always been my dream to go to the Antarctic, and I was selected to join the 7th Indian Scientific Expedition.

The experience at the Antarctic in 1987 was like no other; it was like living in a refrigerator. Our mission was to build the foundation of India’s second base at Maitri, which is on an oasis, 110 KM into the continent. We acclimatized first at the High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg and later at our first base camp in Dakshin Gangotri; we then moved to Maitri which was close to the Russian base Novorossiysk, which is on a glacier.

The experience was enriching as it was my first exposure on inter-service cooperation or jointness of the three services. The armed forces contingent had pilots and technical members from the Airforce and the Navy; they were responsible to ferry, man and material, on Chetak and Mi-8 helicopters, from the continental shelf, to the two base stations.

The weather conditions in Maitri were hostile, and although we had daylight for 20 hours, there were a number of days when the white-outs or blizzards would not allow us to go out, or for the helicopters to fly. The Naval and Airforce pilots, most of them Ex NDA, were our lifeline, and were always on standby to make extra sorties on clear days. It was hard work, and in 3 months, we succeeded in our mission of moving over 300 tons of steel and equipment, over a distance of 110 kilometres and building the foundation of the station.

We would not have succeeded without the team work among the three services, and the great leadership from our Expedition Commander, Col Ganeshan.  This spirit of inter-service cooperation is born right here at the NDA and will be an integral part of your careers, particularly as you start to gain seniority in the armed forces.

Other than the experience of building our station, there were a few other important lessons.  The most important of which was to respect Mother Nature. I remember one morning when we got up in a blizzard and it took us 4 hours to cover the 200 metres from the outside shelter to the main base station at Dakshin Gangotri. On another night, our porta cabin caught fire and Captain Kurup, Captain Patole and I escaped with our lives, bare foot on razor sharp blue ice.  It was during this visit that I saw first-hand, how ice bergs were breaking off because of global warming, which was becoming the cause of changing weather patterns.

During my 4 months on the frozen continent, I began to reflect on what I wanted. It was during days of blizzards, that I dared to start dreaming of the outside world. A world I had no idea about, but a seed had been sown.

On my return from the Antarctic, I spoke to my father, who was livid at the idea of my wanting to leave the Army. My son was to be born any day, and he thought I had lost my mind in the cold. Standing up before a legendary father’s logical statements, and understandable temper, was not easy. You are an outstanding and decorated soldier, he reasoned. Why do you want to leave this wonderful and honourable life? What will you do he asked me again and again; I had no answer. I was stubbornly adamant but did not have a plan. I was scared to tell him, that he had done the same, and had turned out absolutely fine.

What gave me hope were a few things. First, at a personal level, a loving mother; who as most mothers do, felt that my father was being unreasonable! And a loving wife, who at 23 years of age, wisely said, it does not matter what you do, I will always be by your side. At a professional level, I had two degrees, 13 years of tempered discipline, ethics and an exemplary code of conduct; surely these things would count for something.

My father didn’t give up and as a final measure, he asked me to meet one of his retired Army friends. At the end of the lunch, General Dayal, who a few months later went on to become our Lt Governor in Pondicherry, said something reassuring. He said, “Son go out and follow your dreams”. These were important words and while my father was disappointed in both of us, he finally gave me his consent.

I eventually resigned from the Army in April 1988, which was accepted 5 months later. When I left the army, I had Rs. 17,000 in my bank account, a young wife and a 5 month old son. This was perhaps the greatest risk that I have ever taken.

At my home coming party on the 29th of September, one of my uncles who owned a construction company asked me to work for him. He had won a contract for building army accommodation in Patiala, and asked that I move there to look after the project, as Project Director. What followed for the next 3 months was the worst professional nightmare that I ever had. I watched in shock the utter disregard for quality standards and blatant corruption; I had not anticipated the violation of ideals that had been instilled in me. I raised the issue with my uncle, who took pains to explain the way things happened in the construction industry. I wasn’t convinced.

One thing I had to get used to was interpreting what people actually meant with their words. In the army when you said something, you stood by it; it was your honour code. I found people in the real world, say one thing, mean something else and then do something completely different. The institution of implicit trust was destroyed.

As a young officer in the army, you are shielded from the harsh realities of life, but this was being thrown into the deep end. I was disillusioned. The greatest fight was an internal one with my conscience. The bottom line was that I had not given up an honourable life to start a dishonourable one. In 3 months, I resigned from a comfortable and well paid job, and found myself at a cross road again. I swore that I would never go back to the construction business.

As a Sapper officer, my bio had some interesting experiences highlighted; demolitions, mine-field laying & breaching, anti-tank warfare, bridging, laying booby traps; just to mention a few. These are not skills that read well on a CV; since no one was looking for mercenaries in 1988, the responses I got from potential employers were not earth shattering.

I then went back to my father asking for his advice. He was at that time the Chairman of ONGC and also the Chairman of the Standing Committee of public enterprises. I was sure that he would have some ideas on what I could do. My father’s words to me that day were perhaps the most difficult ones to digest. He said, and I quote “I do not know what you plan to do, but this is what you will never do. You will never discuss my business or come to me with any proposals from anyone relating to what I do. People will use you to reach me and this will not happen. You must build your own worth, son, and people must meet you for who you are and not who I am”.

These were the harshest words that anyone had ever spoken to me; but he knew what he was doing. I am sure as a father it must have broken his heart to have said this to me. He was right, and in retrospect, as much as it was difficult for me to understand at that time, my complete success was because my father did not give me a crutch to handicap my life.

Proverbially, when one door closes another one opens. My older sister and her husband were visiting India and on seeing my plight, she asked me to come to Dubai, to work with her publishing company, and try something different. As I took the flight to Dubai in April 1989, I kissed good bye to everything that I left behind in India and never looked back. I undertook another risk to join an industry I was not educated to get into, and detach from a well-recognized family name and legacy, entering into a world of the unknown.

All I carried with me was what I had learnt from my army days; a very strong code of conduct. I swore to uphold these values at any cost, just as my father had, in showing me the door. In the last 28 years, I have never touched a single industry that my father was involved in, nor did any business in India, both by design and by the opportunities that followed.

The stint with my sister’s publishing company gave me a start that I needed in Dubai. This was the start of my second innings, and Dubai has for the last 28 years, been our home away from home.

In 1991 the Russian market started opening up, and with the help of some friends I began to look at opportunities in Russia. It was an opportune time to be there. For one thing, people were as ignorant about business as I was. There was no internet or mobile phones. Communications were by telex or by booking trunk calls to your business partners. There was no commercial or private banking, and people did not even know what personal cheque books were. Yes, it appeared that we were in the dark ages.

Since people were scared to travel to Russia because of the emergence of the so-called mafia, I built a trading business on the principles of information arbitrage. This simply means profiting from peoples lack of information and access.

To my mind, this was a traditional world of carpet baggers. Profiteering from chaos! Everyone had their hand in the cookie jar; this was indeed a period of economic boom. It was also my training ground, for learning about taking risks and getting high returns.

While the opportunities were abundant, one had to travel far and wide, often in under developed areas, with little or no comforts. The problem was personal security, mainly because of crime and lawlessness. Once again, I was blessed to have my army training of making do with little and being very aware of my surroundings. There were a lot of Russians, who would show up at meetings with armed body guards, and on occasion, revealed weapons during negotiations. I followed some basic rules of engagement: Remain respectful of local laws and culture, honour your contractual commitments, be calm and fair in crisis but stand your ground on your rights.

By 1994, the whole world had an interest in Russia and competition became fierce. Hundreds were doing what I was doing; and I clearly lacked any points of differentiation. Additionally, I did not have an organizational structure or personal credibility. It dawned on me that to build a sustainable business, I needed to build an organization. To do this, I had to go back to the drawing board, as I was not prepared to take on the challenges that I faced.

I am a great believer that people play a very important role in your life, and that they come into your life, for a reason. Through interdependence, they become entwined in your destiny. No relationship in life can flourish without mutual interdependence. We rely on each other for our strengths and complementary skills. This is the basis of any team, whether on the sports fields, battle field or in business.

I coined a phrase that I use in my mentorship lessons: “Every now and again in your life, there will come another human being, who will touch your heart, soul and destiny. He or she will be the messenger of an opportunity and, consequently, your destiny”. Keep your eyes open for such people, and do not fail to build interdependence with them.

All the people in this auditorium today are part of a time and space chart that we cannot explain, but there is a greater power that brings about these interactions. You will see as you grow over the years, that your circle of influence will be formed here and will continue to grow from these very relationships that are built at this institution. Do not ever forget to nurture and build on these positively, as you cannot grow in a vacuum.

As I travelled the world, I was introduced to a great American entrepreneur, Rick Michaels. Rick introduced me to investment banking, asset management and the world of Information technology, Media and Telecommunications (ICT as we know it). These were unfamiliar areas, but I spent the next 8 years of my life, from 1994 to 2002, in navigating a path that I knew nothing about.

The army instils in you the habit of personal development and continuous education. You will all recognize the phrase: “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war”. There is more truth in these words than what you will ever realize. I went back to educating myself, and since I did not have the luxury of going for a full time university program, I began to get up at 4 AM every day to study finance and read about the ICT sectors. I attended workshops and conferences and took every opportunity to learn. You cannot lead from ignorance, and if I had to lead people educated at Harvard and Stanford, I needed to know what they knew, and more.

This is another important lesson for all my young friends in the room this evening; just being a soldier will not get you to your goals. You need to constantly educate yourself, to keep yourself current with technology, and the latest trends in your respective fields, or you have the risk of becoming a dinosaur.  The future belongs to the era of “scholar warriors”.

Studies and hard work paid off; it wasn’t long before I became an authority on my subjects, and a speaker at conferences around the world. I became a pioneer in Islamic private equity, and set up the first team to establish a 50 million dollar private equity fund, focussed on the ICT sector. This period was magical, and was perhaps the greatest learning curve in shaping my life.

As if stability was not to be a consistent factor, the dot com bubble burst. Internet companies that had mushroomed, and gained incredible value, had started to crash. Luckily for us, we had kept clear, by strategy and design, of any investments in Internet companies. However, with the collapse of Dot.com companies, the financial markets crashed, and in 2002, I was faced with yet another crisis, where everything that I had learnt and built for over 8 years, was under threat.

Once again it was time to go back to the drawing board. The only difference was that this time, I was better prepared. I had not only built a better balance sheet for myself, but had significant emerging markets experience, and specialized in the most rapidly growing sector in the world. The ICT sector was not only growing exponentially but, through innovation, was disrupting every other sector. The choices before me were to either continue with asset management, and investing into others businesses within the ICT sectors, or to start building my own businesses.

I took a decision to start building businesses bottom up. The main reason was because the maximum value and wealth creation, takes place when you start a business from scratch. Based on experience between 1994 and 2002, I decided to take well established global brands to emerging markets. The strategy was to become number 1, in every chosen industry, in the countries that we entered.

Over the last 15 years, along with my partners, I have invested into three sectors; IT, media and education. We have partnered some of the best known brands from across the world. We now have a presence in over 22 countries, where we employ a little over 1500 people from over 40 countries.

As we progressed, we did not forget our social responsibilities. As a family we established a foundation to give back. With my wife as its patron, we decided to focus our attention on three areas; orphan children, destitute women and tertiary education for children from disadvantaged families. At this stage of my life, giving back to people, less fortunate than us, has been the most satisfying part of what we have achieved.

I have so far mapped my journey. I would briefly like to highlight a few lessons.

The first is to take failure as a path to success. If you take risks and try to make a difference, you will fail from time to time. Greatness lies, not in never falling, but in rising after every fall. When you fall, dust yourself and start again.

The second is to recognize that change is an inevitable path to growth. Don’t get into a comfort zone of mediocrity or accept the status quo. If you stop growing, it is time for a change. As you make changes, remember to ensure that you educate yourself in line with your new environment.

Thirdly, risk taking is an inherent quality of being an entrepreneur. Lots of people have a notion that when you own your business, it comes with a lot of freedom. On the contrary, being an entrepreneur takes away all the freedom you enjoy in a structured environment. From being responsible just for your own family, you are now responsible for the lives of hundreds of people who rely on your leadership and vision, to make sure that they have stable jobs and a secure future.

The fourth lesson is that, the biggest challenge, when you set up multinational corporations, is in building teams and bringing a common culture across the organization. Finding good people, aligning their goals with those of the organization, working synergistically with other team members, and motivating them to deliver your vision, requires patience and a belief, that people all over the world are inherently good.

The one thing that has not changed over the last 28 years, since leaving the army, has been my belief in people. This is fundamentally at the core of what I learnt in the army. No battle can be won without the involvement, loyalty and the commitment of the very people that we are called upon to lead. Since people are your greatest assets, I personally oversee the human resources department in my business, and make sure that there is a clear management of expectations between the organization and its people.

There are some basic qualities that I have looked for in people over the years. I coined a term LIACC.

Loyalty, Integrity, Attitude, Competence, Commitment

In my view if people don’t have high marks in these 5 qualities, they are unlikely to make it into my senior team. Warren Buffet said: “In hiring people look for three qualities: Integrity, Intelligence and Energy. If they don’t have the Integrity, don’t bother with the rest”.

Other than integrity, the most important quality in my dictionary is “Attitude”. A good leader is not only someone who is positive at all times, but is able to surround himself with positive people, who can find solutions and not become part of a problem. You will see on the screen an empirical illustration about the truth to life.

The fifth lesson is to recognize the involvement of youth in our organizations. Youth are our future and we can only ignore them at our peril.  As I was building my organization, I focussed a lot on the development of the middle management. This is generally people in the age group of 28 to 35. Other than starting the Young Leaders Program, which was a mini MBA related to our business, I encouraged team building exercises that are no different from the camps that you are all familiar with.

In 2013, I took a team from CNBC Africa and Murdoch University, to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. At about 6000 meters, Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest free standing mountain in the world; only 41percent of the people who have attempted to climb it, have made it to the top. More people have died trying to climb Kilimanjaro than Mt Everest. From an age perspective, at 54, I was the oldest member of the team and my son, Sid, at 25, was the youngest.

Understanding the enormity of the task, I started training with my team about 6 months before the climb. Other than the basic fitness requirements, I brought the discipline of buddy pairs, and taking regular breaks after every 40 minutes, to breathe, stretch and eat high energy food. Some team members thought I was old and unfit, when I made them walk slowly and stay together. When we started the hike up Killimanjaro, I ensured that the team continued with the same discipline. Since the first four days were relatively simple, the team was anxious to move faster, and also break up into smaller groups based on individual strengths.

It was easy to see the logic of what they were trying to do; in its most simple form, it was to separate the strong from the weak. For me, it would have defeated the very purpose of the trip. I intervened, and made sure that on summit night we stayed together. The goal was clear. We would stay together, and 100 percent of the team had to reach the top.

I would now like to play a brief video to illustrate what happened during our hike up Kilimanjaro.

As seen in the video, I faced a personal crisis at 300 metres from the summit. I had seen my son struggle right through the climb, but seeing him turn blue in the face, was heart wrenching. Sid developed acute mountain sickness and his lips turned purple. The guide advised that he move down to a lower altitude quickly. I was faced with a dilemma, whether to go down with my son, whose life was in imminent danger, or to go up with the team, and send him down with a guide. This was not an easy choice. However, I finally chose to entrust his care, in the hands of a qualified and experienced mountain guide. In the condition I was in at that altitude, there was nothing I could have done for my son.  

You can play board games and go to bowling alleys or parks for getting to know each other, but if you want to test character, take people out on a tough, real life expedition. You get to see how people behave when the chips are down and when their existence is being threatened. I was proud of each and every one in the team, but most of all, of my son. I knew what he went through that day to turn back and make sure that he did not let me or his team down. This is what true leaders are made of. When he gave his debriefing address in Johannesburg, he stated proudly that it was on top of the mountain that he learnt the true meaning of the word “humility”.

I pray for God’s mercy as I know that He tested us all that night, and each one of us overcame our personal limitations to achieve our goal that day. The trip helped me build one of the most formidable teams in our organization.

As you all progress in your own journeys, whether personal or professional, you will be called to make difficult choices. Despite the stress and physical hardship, you will have to think calmly and after taking council from your closest advisors, you will need to make the right decision. At all times remember that as a leader, the goal and the mission is all that you need to focus on. Everything else is secondary.

In November 2016, I published my memoirs titled “Be a Lion – Dare to Dream and Live Fearlessly”.

People have admiration for different animals; I have since my childhood been fascinated by Lions. If you have seen how a pride of lions lives, you will have seen their implicit respect for hierarchy, yet there is respect for every member in the pride. When they hunt, and depending on the prey, it could be the fastest, that leads, or the stealthiest, or the most experienced, or the strongest. This is what makes a pride of lions the most feared predators in the world. It’s all about teamwork.

For me the Lion symbolizes power, and metaphorically, is someone at the top of his game. To be a Lion is to be fearless, to protect what we are entrusted with; to build something that will endure; to ensure a succession of strong, resilient leaders who will give their lives to protect the honour and legacy of what we have set out to establish. From one Simha to another, pass the mantle of succession and, a legacy of immortality.

I was in Prague in December 2015, completing the legacy chapter of my book. It was an opportune time for me to visit Charles University that was established 7 centuries ago. After 700 years, Charles the 4th is not remembered for anything other than this grand university that is churning out thousands of students in various disciplines, and who carry a certificate bearing his name. It made me reflect on what a legacy truly is. People seldom remember you for the wealth that you accumulate. They will remember you, for your deeds, and for the impact that you make on the lives of others.

Cadets of the National Defence Academy, and the young officers present in the auditorium; take these words from an old horse:

Life is not going to be a bed of roses; each day will come with new opportunities and challenges. Face the challenges like men and overcome them. Take opportunities fairly, and carry with you the people that you lead. There will be times when you fall. Failure is a path to success. Lift yourself when you fall and come back stronger. Learn from your mistakes. Do not put limitations to your potential and overcome all barriers that hold you back. Go out there and conquer the world; serve your country with honour and dignity; make each day count and achieve perfection in all that you do.

What I would like to leave you with is a couplet, written by Dr Iqbal, that my father shared with his children until his last day:

Khudh hi Ko Kar Buland Itna, Ke Har Taqdeer Se Pehle, Khuda Bande Se Khud Puche, Bata Teri Raza Kya Hai.

Develop yourself so well that before every decree, God will himself ask you: “What is it that you wish for?”

Thank you very much.

Introduction to Rakesh Wahi’s autobiography – Be A Lion

November 11, 2016 sidLeave a comment

Dare to dream and live fearlessly 

Website: http://bit.ly/2eKarVy
Apple iBooks: http://apple.co/2e3gbbR
Kindle: http://amzn.to/2eZNykA
#BeALion

Johannesburg, 10 November 2016: Entrepreneur Rakesh Wahi; Chairman of CMA Investment Holdings, founder of CNBC Africa and Forbes Africa, Murdoch University Dubai and Lancaster University Ghana this month released his autobiography titled “Be a lion: Dare to dream and live fearlessly”.

Today Wahi led a panel discussion featuring the current CEO of African Rainbow Energy & Power Brian Dames and leading female entrepreneur Phuti Mahanyele, exploring the impact leadership has on markets.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDENMGyk798&w=656&h=369]

Wahi said; “Leadership remains a very complex and understudied subject. As a leader you need to know where you are going, then devise a plan and surround yourself with the right people and skills. What follows is trust based on interdependency between people and effective communication.”

Continue reading “Introduction to Rakesh Wahi’s autobiography – Be A Lion” →

Africa’s Moment: The emergence of a new digital culture

November 12, 2015 sidLeave a comment
This was presented at the annual African Media Leaders Forum in South Africa on the 12th of November 2015.  Scroll down for the complete presentation.

It is estimated that internet penetration is close to 300 million or 26% of Africa’s 1.1 billion strong populous. Additionally, bulk of those connections are concentrated in markets like South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya. This represents the massive digital divide, both internally as well as in the global context. The cost and availability of inland broadband is prohibitively expensive due to monopolistic tendencies in certain markets in Southern Africa, while a demand supply mismatch in Nigeria and Kenya are to blame for pricing irregularities.

Slide7

…’we Africans are significantly behind in digital divide’ @sid_wahi on ‘Africa’s moment’ @AMLForum #AMLF2015 pic.twitter.com/V5oKS4NY9v

— Dianne Regisford (@D_Regisford) November 12, 2015

On a more positive note, 89% of the mobile devices shipped to Africa in Q1 2015 ran the Android operating system, while close to 45% of those devices were prices under US $100. Service providers like Safaricom have partnered with device manufactures to take advantage of this mobile boom and roll out a number of devices that are affordable and feature-rich, for example, the Huawei Ideos, the Microsoft 4Afrika smartphone or Yolo by Intel. The graph below represents a shift from the consumption of feature phones to smart devices. Growth of mobile and mobile internet will be driven by the affordability of data, smartphones and the proliferation of local apps and content.

Slide10

Mobile penetration in the continent surpasses that of the developed markets at close to 80% and over 110% in certain countries in East Africa. Africa’s current contribution to its iGDP or the contribution of the internet to a country’s gain, we see that it represents just 1% of the continents GDP. In comparison to the developed world at 4% of total GDP, the absolute value of the Internet’s contribution to GDP in Africa is estimated to be US $18 billion. If you assume that the growth of the internet will follow a similar progression to that of mobile telephone services, where Africa surpasses the developed world in terms of contribution to GDP, a McKinsey Global Study (Lions Go Digital) forecasts a similar leapfrog effect where the contribution of the internet to GDP in Africa could be as high as 11% by 2020.

Slide11

Looking at sectors such as banking, healthcare and education, Africa significantly lags behind the rest of the word. Financial inclusion is exceptionally low with 76% of the population being excluded from the formal banking sector.

Slide14

Education in Africa isn’t much better. When looking at metrics like student enrollment rates across primary, secondary and tertiary, Africa lags behind the rest of the world in nearly each segment. The quality of education is also sub par, where one teacher is responsible for, on average, 42 students.

Slide15

With respect to healthcare, as the slide below depicts, Africa is behind the rest of the world when indicators such as infant mortality, life expectancy and the prevalence of AIDS are considered.

Slide17

"Africa lags behind other regions on financial inclusion, education, health" – thought-provoking presentation @sid_wahi @AMLForum

— Birgit Schwarz (@BirgitMSchwarz) November 12, 2015

“Africa lags behind other regions on financial inclusion, education, health” – thought-provoking presentation @sid_wahi @AMLForum

— Birgit Schwarz (@BirgitMSchwarz) November 12, 2015

The point behind depicting these stats is to present the massive opportunity out there in overcoming these challenges. ICT, if used correctly, can be used to fill gaps in each of these sectors through innovative products and services. In the financial services sector, MPesa has helped over 20 million Kenyans without bank accounts facilitate payments, take out microloans or purchase airtime.

Slide24

Jason Njuku’s iRoko TV has helped Nigerian cinema or Nollywood create alternate revenue streams in an environment where structured distribution for over 3000 films produced annually does not really exist.

Slide22

iCow is an innovative startup that allows farmers in Kenya with a regular mobile telephone track the efficiency and productivity of their dairy farms using the power of big data and cloud computing, accessed through simple text messaging.

Slide23

Bright Simmons created mPedigree to prevent fake  and counterfeit medication from  being consumed in Africa, effectively saving millions of lives.

Slide26

I would be remiss not to mention how this digital evolution impacts the media business. Media consumption is shifting from traditional platforms to digital. Digital has some clear advantages over it’s predecessors when it comes to things like measurability, interactivity, context & relevance of advertising and continuity of discussion across platforms.

Slide28

This evolution has changed not only the way we consume content, but also how it is produced. Social media has enabled content consumers to track and report on news stories. Sohaib Athar live tweeted on Operation Neptune Spear, without knowing it, and brought the world real-time updates on the capture of Osama bin Laden. In Egypt as well, activists mobilized groups of people using Twitter and Facebook.

You can view and download the entire presentation here: 

Africa's Moment: The emergence of a new digital culture from Sid Wahi

Re-purposing traditional content for a digital environment

August 30, 2015 sidLeave a comment

Content Management

On Tuesday the 24th of August 2015, I spoke at the “Content Management of Digital Media – East Africa” Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Organised by BSP Media, the conference brought together regulators, state broadcasters, content producers and media owners – all with purpose of dissecting the impact of digital media on traditional media.

Repurposing traditional content for a digital environment from Sid Wahi

Key concepts discussed: 

  • Trends in media consumption – second screen, cord cutters, availability of broadband
  • Reduced barriers to entry & changing content production models – use of social media and crowd sourcing
  • Changing business models
  • A review of tools and processes used
  • A review of the integrated newsroom
  • Case studies: NYTimes.com, Youtube.com, Buzzfeed.com

Forbes Asia Forum: The Next Tycoons

July 1, 2015 sidLeave a comment

THE GENERATION EMERGES
THE GENERATION EMERGES

Held at the Island Shangri-La hotel in Hong Kong on the 29th of June, the forum explored the challenges and rewards of working in family driven enterprises. This invitation only event was attended by the best and brightest second generation business leaders, predominantly from prominent family businesses in Asia.

While most attendees had diverse backgrounds and unique perspectives on their businesses some common themes began to emerge as the day progressed. Three perspectives that

Tomorrows leaders
From left to right: Tan Mei Sian, Sanveer Gill, Sirisha Jasti, Sid Wahi, Parethad Petampai

  1. Make your mistakes elsewhere: Almost every panelist had worked as an investment banker or management consultant prior to joining their family business. While a panelist jokingly referred to himself as an excel monkey, training at a financial institution, particularly with an investment bank grooms you to think strategically about the business as a whole. Getting work experience elsewhere also allows you to explore other opportunities – once you join a family business it is near impossible to leave.
  2. Challenges faced are not unique: Working with family is hard, the lines between personal and professional often get blurred. While no concrete solution was presented, the consensus was to simply roll with the punches.
  3. Succession planning & Importance of professional managers: Your last name may give you the keys to the door, but it won’t get yo u a seat at the table. Managers are hired on the basis of their skills, expertise and experience, not through nepotism. The second generation, in many cases report into existing structures and complete business rotations prior to taking on managerial roles, especially in businesses where the founders are still active.

All in all, it was an excellent meeting of minds where idea’s were openly shared and lifelong relationships were forged.

https://twitter.com/sid_wahi/status/615408877861908480

From the conference website:

“Family-driven enterprises are the essence of Asian business. Grooming successful leaders of the next generation is paramount to ensuring the continuity of family values and future prosperity. The stars of the next generation in Asia are among the world’s best and brightest leaders. Their horizons are wide, and even more global than the most ambitious visions of founders from a previous era. How are Asia’s next tycoons calling the shots as chief executives of family companies, innovating as entrepreneurs, creating value as investors, and making the world a better place as agents of change? How do they think differently and what are the issues that matter most to them? What is their vision for the future? This year’s Forbes Asia Forum: The Next Tycoons will gather some of Asia’s most outstanding leaders of the next generation, and generate insights on how their ideas, aspirations, practices and passions are reshaping Asian business and redefining leadership.”

Lagos Business School – Africa Business conference 2015 Keynote Address

June 26, 2015 sidLeave a comment

2015 Conference Theme: Innovative Strategies For Sustainable Growth In An Evolving Market

By Rakesh Wahi

https://twitter.com/sid_wahi/status/614344526535200768

 Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen

It is indeed an honor for me to be back here at the Lagos Business School; my third talk in 16 months.  In fact it is more times than I have been asked to speak at my own universities. It’s a matter of pride and joy for me to come and share my experiences with all of you. Most of these experiences are not unique. Most entrepreneurs face these at some stage or the other. Perhaps it will give you a different perspective; particularly if you see it from the eyes of a foreigner who came into Africa 10 years ago.

To put some context I think it’s perhaps important to give you a quick overview of our business. Our family investments are into three industry verticals. The first is IT; we are the Microsoft partner in about 7 countries in South and SE Asia to include Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Brunei and the Philippines. We are now entering Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Sid Wahi deliver's his father's speech ( Rakeshi Wahi) at ABC 2015 #lbsabc2015 pic.twitter.com/SAaGkd4z8z

— LBS ABC (@LBS_ABC) June 26, 2015

The second is Education. We own two universities. The first is in Dubai in academic collaboration with Murdoch University from Perth and the second is in Ghana, in academic collaboration with Lancaster University from the UK. In the medium term we plan to establish 10 universities in Africa.

The third vertical and perhaps the most interesting is media. We own CNBC Africa and Forbes Africa and have a presence in 12 countries and 15 cities in Sub Sahara Africa.

The group is in 22 countries all of which are emerging economies and we employ over 1000 people. This wide portfolio has given us some valuable insights of operating and navigating businesses in emerging economies.

Before I get into our journey into Africa, I would like to share a few overriding changes that have taken place over the last decade. I have been a great believer in the science of evolution and therefore, have a fundamental belief that everything that is once on top, whether a corporate or a country will never be there in perpetuity. Market dynamics will through a process of attrition cause a realignment of economic positioning. This has seen the emergence of China and India as two global superpowers and in the context of Africa, Nigeria replaced South Africa as the largest economy. This realignment will continue over the next few decades and unless developed countries make radical changes towards their engagement with emerging markets, they will face consequences that they are currently unprepared for.

Sid Wahi Keynote Adress representing @rickiwahi @LBSNigeria Africa Business Conference @roberta_naidoo @Saloniwahi pic.twitter.com/eUlPQFdKci

— [email protected] Nigeria (@fvandevyver) June 26, 2015

The second major marco indicator is demographics. The global population is expected to reach 8 billion over the next 30 years. It is expected that 50% of the population growth in the world over this period will come from Africa. This means that one in every fourth person on the planet will be African. One each will originate from India and China and one from the other approximately 150 countries. What is significantly interesting from this statistic is that Africa will have the largest population of youth and therefore the largest work force and consumer market in the world. This illustrates a market that will be at a scale that we cannot comprehend and therefore are not factoring or even preparing for.

On a personal note, this year, I completed 10 years in Africa. There have been significant changes during this decade. These changes are all for the better. The most distinct change of all is how the outside word is now paying attention to what’s happening on our continent. It’s not that we lacked attention before. It is now for the right reasons.

The days are gone where people discussed the negative aspects of Africa or only focused on taking resources out from the continent. Today they are lining up to be a part of an unprecedented growth story. The models of development and participation are changing.

The first message that I have is that in light of these changes we must change our methodology of engagement. Our leaders must capitalize on this by realizing that the continent is still giving away a lot more than what it gets back in return. What Governments have to look at, is this coming wave of opportunities and take bold and sometimes unpopular decisions to put in place policies and structures, so that investments are made looking into the future and not in the past; and being made for the development of the larger population and not for just for a few. Governments, companies and leaders that are able to look ahead at what is coming will be able to take advantage of the future. As I said before, the historic positioning of countries is no indication of their indefinite success. Those that do not adapt will perish to their own detriment.

It is also true that Governments cannot invest in everything. They need to increasingly look at sharing developmental responsibilities with the private sector. Those that adapt new models of inclusive growth and make their countries investor friendly will pave their way to high growth and consequently lower unemployment.

The govt needs to privatize edu. to ensure schools stay relevant to development in society@LBS_ABC #LBSABC2015 pic.twitter.com/X0WsYPfx5E

— Lagos Business School (@LBSNigeria) June 26, 2015

To illustrate this point, let me draw your attention to a small country in the Arabian Peninsula; the United Arab Emirates, in particular Dubai. I am sure everyone in this room has passed through this glorious country that has also been home to my family for 25 years. For a city with no money or natural resources, Dubai has become the business capital of the Middle East. It’s a case study for leadership and consistent policies. For this reason, every major corporate in the world has a base there.

One thing that I am sure of is that this can be done in Africa. Just like Dubai overtook all its powerful neighbors in the GCC, it’s only a matter of time before one of the countries in Africa will outdo others. It is not a matter of size but having the vision and the conviction to see it through.

Just as governments need to make changes, the private sector and all of you in this room should take home an important message. The opportunities today are not in the developed world. As you step out to bring your dreams to fruition, remember that the developed markets are not going to give you the returns you seek. You may get the comforts of living in London or New York, but long term value creation will only come right here in Africa. Stay here and work here.

This journey in Africa is not going to be an easy one. Operating in emerging markets has challenges that range from political volatility, currency fluctuations, lack of infrastructure, lack of adequate financing for greenfield projects, lack of a skilled workforce and many other day to day issues. Of all these challenges, the one that is most critical for long term sustainability is the development of local talent. Bringing best practices is an important consideration but there must be a planned strategy on skills development.

Keynote panel session with @IbukunAwosika, Sid Wahi and Professor Adegoke Oke. #LBSABC2015 pic.twitter.com/Um7dna89Vv

— FirstBank Nigeria (@FirstBankngr) June 26, 2015

Within our family investment portfolio, we took a decision a long time back that we will focus on local skills development rather than bring expensive cross border expertise. As an example, while setting up CNBC Africa, there was no precedence in Africa of a server based TV station in 2007; technical and financial journalism skills were scarce. Rather than hire expatriates, we brought trainers and in some cases took our staff to Dubai and London and developed the skills we needed in the business. We established strong internship programs and continued relentlessly for 8 years to build capacity bottom up for our business. I am proud to say that almost 100% of our workforce in Africa today is Africans.

The second core value is indigenization. Importing technology and products in the long term will continue to drain resources in the continent. Once again, it critical to bring the best technology money can buy but there must be a strong emphasis on technology transfer and indigenization of production capacity as well as technical support. Let’s take for granted that Africa does not have R&D capability like many other emerging countries and will need to import technology in the foreseeable future. What we can however, ensure is that in phase one, all integration and support is provided by locally trained people and in phase 2 have a process for indigenization of manufacturing. These models have been used by countries like India and we need to follow these practices.

In my travels, people often ask me to share some of our experiences in Africa. I will share a few points that most of you are familiar with but are an important part of our journey in Africa.

The most important lesson of all is to be patient and take a look at investments and returns in the long term. It is important to do comprehensive assessments on matters relating to regulations, tax, transfer pricing and other matters that could impact business in the long term. People that are looking for quick returns or believe that legislation can be manipulated are in for a surprise. The Africa of today and of tomorrow is not for carpet baggers. Value and wealth creation will only come to those that are prepared to take the long road through building sustainable businesses. The journey in Africa is inundated with challenges but with these come great opportunities. You need to take the good and the bad. You cannot get the growth rates of emerging markets and the security or predictability of a developed market.

I took 30 months to establish CNBC Africa and 14 months to establish our university in Ghana. We hired the best consultants and advisors to get the basics right. You can either spend the resources upfront and get everything right or then make mistakes and fix them retroactively at a much higher cost.

The second most important aspect is in understanding the cultural nuances of the countries that you operate in. What are acceptable in South Africa are not the same in Nigeria and definitely not the same in Uganda. Learning to respect the local laws, traditions and practices is critical. This is not an era of colonialization and people must respect local rules if they want to be part of long term development.

The third issue is that any project you set up must have a strong commercial imperative. Business is for profit and nothing else; never forget that. The profit can be used for social good but you cannot turn the order the other way around. To the extent possible, do not ever establish businesses that rely on subsidy; these models are not sustainable and can create major problems as governments change.

The fourth point that I want to give my opinion on is the whole concept of risk. Economists and Analysts who are highly educated and well trained will give you a million reasons why not to do something. If you listen to everything they say, you are unlikely to be an entrepreneur. Business by definition has inherent risks. No one can predict changes in currency or in the macro economics of any country. So in principal you have to rely on your gut on the long term nature of your venture.

In my dictionary there are only two types of risks. Risks that are caused by human beings and then there is everything else. Risks that are caused by human beings can neither be mitigated nor avoided; they have to be managed! This is because humans by nature are fickle and therefore, change their minds, making decisions and policies unpredictable. These risks need a high level of engagement and therefore can at best be managed but cannot be mitigated. All other risks can largely be mitigated or avoided.

Risk however, also needs to be looked at in the context of luck. While this is not a scientific conversation, the element of luck has made or broken people. Some people cash their chips just before a calamity. The timing a lot of times was not of their choosing. They just made the call at what would later appear to be the right time. On a lighter note, if you are one of the kids in school that got called out every time you did something wrong, then try to surround yourself with people that have been luckier than you.

As a businessman I meet political leaders in most countries that I travel to. They often ask what we need to set up our business operations. I just have one answer. What we want from government are the two C’s of business: Continuity and Consistency. We are called businessmen because we know how to make money even in the toughest conditions. No one needs to teach us that. So give us a playing field that is predictable and with proper policy frameworks irrespective of which political party is in charge. This is perhaps what is the most critical point of differentiation between the developed world and emerging markets.

Before I end, I would like to say a few words on the theme of today’s conference. Innovation!

The word innovation has now become an integral part of business today. The concept however is not new. In the 80’s a lot of discussions were around the word Kaizen, or continuous improvement. The focus at that time was on systematic improvement of business processes to increase efficiency and productivity without increasing costs for implementing the measures. This was embraced by staff and management and many innovative methods came up to increase efficiencies.

What completely revolutionized businesses was the impact of technology and how we fundamentally started to relate to each other. The Internet was perhaps the greatest driver of this change. Since the 80’s the consumption patterns of consumers has started changing dramatically. This relates to every sector in business. The impact of disruption is so severe that the largest of corporations have started to become irrelevant because they did not change. My son, who leads our digital migration strategy often summarizes that Bankruptcy is a Kodak moment. They did not react fast enough to the onslaught and diversity of mobile devices and their businesses failed.

I was speaking with the Chief Executive of the largest advertising agency in Africa and asked him where he sees their business in 15 years. He had done a lot of introspection and said that agencies over time are going to become consulting companies like Mckinseys etc. mainly because all media related activities will be online and clients will no longer need buying or creative assistance. This radical change needs to be looked carefully because new entrants with younger talent will not carry the traditional overheads. They will be leaner and more efficient and will take out the larger players particularly that do not change their business models.

As a family, we are heavily invested in the education business and one of my greatest concerns is the way in which students are going to study in the future. Education is not about land, buildings and playgrounds anymore. It’s also going to take time before a complete online model is perfected. So the hybrid models are being investigated but universities, particularly the tier 2 and 3 universities are worried about their future. It is therefore imperative that new entrants in the business are investing in the future and not the past.

Another example not so far away from home has been the recently concluded elections in Nigeria. The element of accuracy and transparency coming with technology is absolutely refreshing. This is just the first step for increased transparency that will force governments to become more and more accountable for their decisions.

The most glaring example of all times is Microsoft. Microsoft became the default operating system and over the years a very serious sense of complacency hit the company. In the April 4th issue of Economist, there was an article that said that if anyone even remotely suggested a weakening position of Microsoft in the 80’s only earned the wrath of Bill Gates. This remained consistent through the reign of Steve Balmer. However, as soon as Satya Nadella took over last year he changed the complete strategy to build what people like. The company is now embracing open source software and last October Mr Nadella showed a slide that read “Microsoft Loves Linux”. Ballmer once called open source operating system a cancer.

This is not a case of just Microsoft but Google, Apple, Face Book and all others that are now worried about new technology platforms and are constantly acquiring other companies at significantly high valuations to protect their turf.

What’s important in this landscape is that the eco-system around these giants starts to change quickly to adapt more diverse and neutral offerings so that their businesses are not threatened in the future.

What we therefore have to recognize is that disruption now is a way of life and anyone who gets too complacent will perish to their own detriment.

While innovation, technology and resources will impact everything about business and commerce, the only thing that will remain as a global constant is the consumer and the requirement to serve his or her needs.

The advantage we have in Africa is that the market is still in a stage of infancy and young entrepreneurs must not look at traditional ways in which people are doing business or just copy existing models in the West or developed nations. You need to adapt new technologies to the local market and set up your own standards based on what the local consumers need and how they want to be served. That is what will provide you the cutting edge for the future.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have finished here and look forward to engaging with you over the duration of this conference. Thank you very much.

Photographs from the Standard Chartered – CNBC Africa Nightcap 2015

June 20, 2015 sidLeave a comment

Captains of Industry on CNBC Africa with Rakesh Wahi

June 20, 2015 sidLeave a comment

CNBC Africa’s Bronwyn Nielsen speaks to former investment banker about his move to the media industry Rakesh Wahi founder of African Business News.

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