Interview: Wilbert Mutoko – A Business Leader And Personal Financial Expert who is Touching Nations

Today at It’s My Footprint (IMFP) we speak to Mr Wilbert R. Mutoko (WM), the ‘Financial Doctor’, a best-selling author. He is a renowned Personal Finance & Leadership Expert, and university lecturer for Entrepreneurship & Business Leadership.  

Mr Mutoko is a member of Association of Botswana Financial Advisers (ABFA). He is accredited as a trainer by Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) and South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).  

Wilbert is a final year PhD scholar in Business Management from North West University, South Africa. Among other qualifications, Mutoko possesses an MBA from MANCOSA, South Africa; an International Certificate in Wealth Management from CISI, UK; an Award in Financial Planning from CII, UK; ICSAZ Part C; and a Diploma in Education from University of Zimbabwe.

(IMFP) Mr Mutoko, welcome and thank you for spending time with us at It’s My Footprint.

(WM) Thank you for having me. I count it a great privilege.

(IMFP) Can you start by giving our followers a brief background of yourself, your experience, education and current career status?

(WM) I’m a Zimbabwean native born in 1975. I did my primary education at Mutoko Primary School 1982 to 1988. My secondary education was at Dewedzo Secondary School from 1989 to 1992. 1993 I attended Form 5 at Nyatsime College in Chitungwiza. But due to lack of school fees, I had to move to Marondera to do Form 6 at Nyameni High School in 1994. That was an evening school where I learnt with working class people. I was always a hard worker and believed in being top of the class. I got this excellence attitude from my father.

Unfortunately, I was ill between March and October 1994 and I had to stop going to school. On 17 October 1994, pastors at Miracle Centre, Mutare helped me to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and they prayed for me to be healed. I was healed instantly and I went back to school to write A-Level examinations starting from 21 October 1994. As you would expect, my results were affected by the period I was away from school. I got 9 points and could not qualify to go into University of Zimbabwe (UZ), unless I had chosen to do Political Administration (PolAd). I was not interested in PolAd, so I refused the UZ offer.

In 1995 I became a temporary secondary school teacher at Mazarura Secondary School in Nyanga. That was between May and August 1995. Between September and December 1995 I became a temporary secondary school teacher at Crossdale Secondary School in Nyanga. Then I enrolled at Mutare Teachers’ College under University of Zimbabwe, specializing in Accounts/Geography 1996 to 1998.

Between January 1999 and June 2002 I was a high school teacher in Zimbabwe. In 2002 June I got a job in Botswana as a high school teacher until January 2008 when I quit teaching to go fulltime into a business that I had started in 2003. I studied for Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators between 2000 and 2005 and ended on Part C, which helped me to enrol for MBA in 2007. I graduated in 2010 with MBA. In Botswana from 2003 up to date I have run consultancy, training, pest control, car sales businesses. I love lecturing and raising entrepreneurs that is why since 2013, I took up a job as a university lecturer.

As a seasoned Motivational, Business and Financial Speaker, I has transformed lives of thousands in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. I have consulted and spoken for organizations, such as British Council, Barclays Bank, Mapleton Finance, Lifeline, Office of the Ombudsman, Government Departments and churches. The churches include Winners Chapel International, Assemblies of God, Forward in Faith Ministries International, Anglican Church, United Methodist, Bread of Life, Revealed Word Ministries and Christ Citadel Church.

In the past I served as a business subjects’ teacher for eight years. I then became an Independent Financial Planner at Southern Cross International Finance. After that I served as Managing Director for The ProFin Group (Botswana). Currently I serve as a senior lecturer for entrepreneurship and business leadership at a university in Gaborone, Botswana.

I am passionate about raising leaders that will wipe away ignorance. Ignorance causes the shame of Africa (poverty, diseases, ignorance, and misuse of funds, lack of accountability, greed and corruption). My aim is to reduce Africa’s ignorance through mind-shift activities such as lecturing, training people in workshops, conferences and seminars; writing helpful books and articles; and motivational speaking on radio and television.

I also write for various magazines and newspapers. I have written over 100 articles on personal finance, personal development, leadership and entrepreneurship. The articles are published in various media, including, internet, Wealth Magazine, the Economic Insight Magazine; Botswana Schools Guide Magazine, The Mining Insight Magazine, Mmegi Newspaper, Voice Newspaper and Echo Newspaper.

I have addressed the nation of Botswana several times on financial issues and personal development through Yarona FM, Gabs FM, RB2 FM, Duma FM and E-Botswana TV.

(IMFP) WOW! Financial Doctor, this is amazing. Now, to get where you are there is a story, how did it all start?

(WM) I grew up in rural Rusape in a village called Mutoko under chief Nedewedzo, Makoni West District, and Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe. I am a rural boy. I grew up helping my parents with household chores such as cooking, fetching water, fetching firewood, gardening and subsistence farming. I attended Mutoko Primary School from 1982 to 1988 where I emerged the best student at Grade 7. All credit goes to my mother, Irene Mutoko and my late father, Mark T. Mutoko who always emphasized the importance of education even though they themselves only had a primary school education. While other parents would cause their children to miss school so that they do farming and other household chores, my parents never wanted me to miss school for any reason.

My father consistently demanded more and more excellence from me and the whole family. Honestly it was heavy on me and the rest of my siblings, but that set a foundation for all of us to desire and seek excellence in everything that we do – a habit that is in me to this day. Whatever I do, I go an extra mile.

As mentioned earlier, in 1989 I joined Dewedzo Secondary School which is approximately 8 km away from home. I was a day scholar (no boarding), which meant that I had to walk a total of about 16 km per day to and fro school. To make matters worse my village, Mutoko, is on top of a plateau with a cool climate and it rains a lot. Life was really tough. Waking up time was a hustle. If I wanted to reach school in time, I had to wake up as early as 3am or 4am to prepare and finish up homework.

Coming back from school was another hustle. After a whole day of learning and general work (manual work) I was faced with climbing the plateau back home. We had to do manual work because our school did not have grounds men and cleaners. Furthermore, oftentimes, after manual work; we had to do further manual work as punishment for late-coming in the morning. That meant arriving home around 8pm to 9pm from school with home works to be done and household chores; still expecting to rise early the following morning if it was a school day. If the following day was not a school day, I would have to wake up at 1am or 2am to work for the family. Depending on the season, we either went to the fields that early or we went to repair the garden or something. Also because we ran a lot going down the rocks and stones, it meant that shoes were always getting torn faster. So I learnt to go to school without shoes in some cases. It was never easy.

I remember, during 1992 when I was doing O-Level, my mid-year examination results were 7 ‘As’ and 1 ‘U’. The ‘U’ was for Mathematics. My father was so angry with me. So in August of 1992 when schools were closed for holiday I found a tutor to help me. Thanks to the Mathematics tutor, when I sat for Mathematics 3 months later I turned my ‘U’ into a ‘C’. Amazing how hunger for knowledge and success can propel one to do things they never thought they could do. This gave me confidence to go ahead and do Accounting at A-Level which is a number’s game; yet I had always feared numbers.

My parents were tough such that other children felt pity for us. But it helped us because among my siblings and me, no one ever took cigarettes, beer or drugs. Where would you do that? Even the day my dad gave me examination fees (1992) – he woke everybody up that night, including my young brother who by then was 4 years old. My dad told me in front of the whole family, “You have to pass your O-Levels. I have toiled to get this money with my humble job. I actually had to borrow money to augment my meagre wages to pay for your examination fees…..” The message was loud and clear. As you would anticipate, even though I was faced with many challenges, I was one of the best students at O-Level at Dewedzo Secondary School in 1992. I was tie with two other class mates. I had to pass; no choice. Whatever you set your mind to do, you can do it.

While I was doing O-Level my dad made it clear that he would not be able to take me to A-Level and further because his limited income could only pay for fees for my siblings. Then a certain prominent man came to Dewedzo Secondary School and promised to sponsor the best 3 or 5 students to A-Level. Automatically I qualified as I was one of the best. But did he sponsor me and the others? Oh! Untold suffering! I got a place for A-Level first year at Nyatsime College in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. The prominent man who promised to fund my education never funded my fees. I was chased from school several times. By end of 1993 I left for another town where my father yet again sacrificed to pay for my fees but part time at an evening school. I passed my A-Levels averagely because I had fallen ill and stopped going to school for over 6 months. That was 1994.

(IMFP) After so much sacrifice did your average ‘A’ level results discourage you? How did you proceed to professional qualifications?

(WM) Of course I was discouraged because I had always desired to study at University of Zimbabwe (UZ). Unfortunately, I could not go to university. I only qualified to go to a secondary school teacher training college. After completion I started studying for Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. By then I was teaching in a remote school. My colleagues laughed at me as to why I had to continue with school, but I knew that I wanted to be great in life. Between 2002 and 2006 I fought with ICSA studies, failing some modules and re-writing. It was tough, but with stage C of ICSA that was deemed equivalent to a first degree in accounting or business studies. By the end of 2006, I applied for MANCOSA MBA using stage C of ICSA and my business experience.

MANCOSA accepted my application to study MBA and in 2007 I started first year. It was a real sacrifice. My monthly salary by then was about R5 000 per month and my MBA fees were about R2 500 per month. Monthly house rental was about R1 875. Think of other expenses! My wife and I had to augment income with small businesses to survive. In April 2010, I graduated with MBA. I did not stop there, but kept studying until I got to PhD in Business Management in 2015. It was a long journey, but worth it. When I increased education from ICSA to MBA, my income became seven-fold. Guess how my income increases with PhD.

Apart from formal schooling, I also do personal study in my balanced personal library. Personal development is one of the best education programs you can ever engage in. I try to read a minimum of four books per month to develop myself in health, spiritual life, mind, business, career and finances.

(IMFP) One may want to know how you acquired the nick name ‘The Financial Doctor’

(WM) Well I have always been passionate about empowering people with financial knowledge. This is because many people, no matter how educated they can be; they lack financial literacy which results in misuse of money. But my nick name came in 2010 when I was practising as an Independent Financial Adviser.  My clients, radio fans and TV fans felt that although I did motivation and leadership speeches; my main area of exploits was financial planning. So they gave me the nickname ‘The Financial Doctor.’ When I published my first book – 15 Secrets for Personal Financial Success in 2012; the book made so much impact in and around Botswana as well as South Africa and other countries until the book became a best seller since May 2015.

The book has cemented my nickname. When organisations think of inviting a financial speaker, they think of me first. When Botswana radio stations want someone to give financial advice to the nation, they usually want to invite me. Now the trend has spread to South Africa and I hope to the rest of Africa. Although it can be overwhelming sometimes to be invited everywhere to speak on finance; these days it is better because my wife Coach Princess is also a financial expert. So wherever I cannot go; I send her and she has been doing a phenomenal job – speaking to major organizations and speaking on radio. So the nick name came due to my passion to write and speak so I transform people’s thinking about money.

(IMFP) Financial Doctor, did you have any life-changing experiences that put you on the path that led you to, what you’re doing today?

(WM) My turning point was the day I got born again and healed of a bunch of life threatening illnesses. I have become so positive about life, and almost everything I do is influenced by my understanding and appreciation of the love of Christ. I love my audience. I love my readers. I love my clients. I love my family. I love people. That is why I am into talent development and grooming of leaders. I believe that we can leave Africa better than we found it.

(This interview will continue in Part Two)

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