Working her way up

Ruusa Kalambi was born in Walvis Bay but spent the majority of her childhood at her parents' homestead in Omandongo, Onayena village. She started primary school at Onayena Combined School when she was four years old.

After her mother died in 1996, her father decided it was best for her to start school in Windhoek, where she completed her primary education at People's Primary School.

Kalambi attended boarding school because her parents did not own a home in Windhoek.

On weekends, she would visit her aunt and uncle in Khomasdal. After finishing primary school, she was accepted at Augustineum High School, where she completed grades eight through 12. After graduating from high school, she continued her education at the University of Namibia (Unam), where she earned an honours degree in accounting.

Dedicated to education

Kalambi chose to put her education on hold and search for employment in 2010 - she applied for a job at Mobipay and was hired on the spot.

She has been there ever since.

In 2015, she opted to return to Unam to finish her final year, graduating successfully. She continued her post-graduate studies in 2018 by completing a diploma in business administration at the Namibia Business School (NBS). Kalambi then pursued her master's degree in management strategy, which she recently completed and graduated from.

MobiPay entered the Namibian market in 2010 with the intention of providing modern, robust, and flexible payment technology. Kalambi is a financial accountant at Mobipay, primarily responsible for all creditor payments. It is her responsibility to guarantee that creditors are paid on time and that all functions relating to them run smoothly and properly.

Get inspired

Kalambi believes that maintaining a decent work-school balance was one of the toughest challenges.

Her greatest achievement was completing her master's degree despite all of the obstacles she faced.

"I usually start my morning by listening to the Breakfast Show on Clubhouse and having a cup of coffee before I dive into my work," said Kalambi.

She said she is inspired by a number of things. "Anytime I see someone overcome adversity or beat the odds, it inspires me to also try to give my best shot to life," said Kalambi.

She added that, luckily enough, there are many inspirational people and stories if one looks for them.

Kalambi emphasised the importance of inspiration; she hopes to continue finding it in the experiences of others and hopes that one day her own story can be an inspiration to someone else.

Self-motivated

"Change is inevitable and can be either positive or negative," she said.

A strong desire, on the other hand, might also bring about change. She explained this has played a significant role in her life, and she was able to break the pattern and prosper through transformation.

Her future intentions are to use her qualifications to gain the required skills and experience that will allow her to advance up the ladder and become the CFO, if not the CEO, of Mobipay.

She adds that in life, everybody can do something great and important. It's a matter of discovering what your strengths and weaknesses are so as to change the status quo for the better.