Some say that loves born in the golden days of school last for ever. We do not know whether this urban saying is myth or truth, but we firmly believe that the feeling that led Nâusica Omar Taia to head for Luanda was decisive in shaping the professional she is, and above all the person she has become. We crossed the continent to find out.
A decade away from our country is a long time. For Nâusica Omar Taia, emigrating to the Angolan capital meant making real many of the ideas she had about the land of semba. Only better. “I was already familiar with the country before I moved [to Luanda]. I had been coming for some years for regular personal visits and, after joining an Angolan telecommunications company, being a company based in Angola, I also came for professional visits. Although I had no preconceived ideas that were not somehow in line with reality, there was a great deal I learnt about Angola by being here,” Nâusica tells us.
Mozambique is a very innovative country, and quite advanced in several respects, which creates fertile ground for implementing new ideas
A graduate of the University of Roehampton in London, and currently studying for an EMBA (Executive Master of Business Administration) at the Quantic School of Business and Technology, our manager began her studies in South Africa, where she met her husband. Today, after 10 years of marriage (and 22 at her husband’s side) and of life in Luanda, Nâusica says that “contributing to the growth of a brand that is already a giant outside Angola, and bringing that same greatness to the Angolan context, is a great challenge”. Her aim is to make the brand she works for earn the same respect it enjoys in other parts of Africa. “In Angola, as one of the most recent banks in the country, it is indeed a great challenge, but one that, without a doubt, we are overcoming,” says Nâusica, in her role as Senior Business Manager for Standard Bank in Angola.
“I feel that during my time away from Mozambique I matured a great deal professionally, because I had the opportunity to work in several sectors (telecommunications, FMCG, finance), and the experience gained in a totally different market also gives me a perspective that allows me to bring something different. Mozambique is a very innovative country, and quite advanced in several respects, which creates fertile ground for implementing new ideas,” the manager shares.
Her regular visits to Mozambique have sparked ideas in Nâusica every time she lands in Maputo: “I have many projects on paper that I would like to carry out in Mozambique, some more complex, others less so. The idea of creating a space for commercial and cultural exchange between the two countries has always appealed to me, and today it is increasingly possible, because digital platforms have made this easier.”
Curious by nature, Nâusica does not say outright that it was her constant desire to learn that took her to where she is today, but we pick it up between the lines. “The business world is increasingly dynamic and it is very easy to become irrelevant; experience is a great ally of professional growth, but it can equally be a great obstacle, so we have to strike a balance between the continuous pursuit of learning and the support we draw from our experience. I am constantly looking for ways to develop, not only academically but also personally and socially, because there is a growing need for more human leadership, and this is also achieved through social interaction and each person’s spiritual growth. In short, the balance of these four aspects gives us a great head start in terms of personal growth and development.” For our part, all we can add by way of conclusion is that Luanda is just around the corner.
