Nola Mutogo, Founder, Havilah Virtual And Marketing

“My first memory of money was when my 8-year-old self decided to take control of her money situation. I got into a squabble with my father over pocket money. Everybody else in my class was getting a lot more pocket money from their parents and I was tired of getting the same amount of pocket money week after week. My father wasn’t particularly amused when I brought that up in our conversation. I probably should have let it go but I decided to make a statement. I ripped the crisp $2/$5 dollar note that was in my hand and that didn’t go as well as I thought it would. Long story short, I went to school drenched in tears with that two-dollar note in my pocket. I had to tape it together to make it work.

My parents instilled a lot of money principles in us and one of the biggest was the power of generating your own income. My parents built a business and I watched how that impacted our family’s finances and empowered them to pursue new opportunities.

When I was in my teens, I realised that the only way I was going to get enough money to do what I wanted was to come up with ways to make money grow. So, I did. I started saving my pocket money. It gave me a sense of freedom because I didn’t have to continually ask my parents for money to buy things that I needed. I would save to buy what I wanted without having to answer too many questions.

It was that sense of freedom that got me into business. During my final year in Uni, I started buying and selling accessories to a few of my sisters friends. It wasn’t big but I made a good profit and after that I was hooked. It inspired me to dream up opportunities that would empower me to pursue what I wanted the most and now I empower other women to do the same.

For me, true wealth is creating freedom and generational wealth. It’s creating financial success that can support generations after me for years to come.”