A woman’s truth

Victoria Sabula does this thing when she is talking; she unconsciously holds up her right hand, palm out. It is like a proclamation, a conviction, or even a declaration. Whatever it is, it lends credit to her words.

Her work as the CEO of Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) is to provide funding and support to small businesses in agriculture and renewable energy in Africa. She says they have had a good run supporting 343 SMEs in 26 African countries.

For eight years, she was at Kenya Commercial Bank, leaving as the Company Secretary before taking over as General Counsel and Corporation Secretary at Alliance for Green Revolution Africa [Agra] where she was for five years until 2019 before joining AECF.

Poised, sturdy, and articulate, Victoria loves Jesus. You know this because He comes up several times in a conversation with JACKSON BIKO.

She also loves hiking, marriage, and leadership. On her desk is a book; ‘How The Mighty Fall’ by Jim Collins.

“Of course, I’m scared of falling, and falling is failing to give the world solid humans who can make a change. I’m not raising my children for myself, I’m raising them for the community,” she says.

And perhaps that’s where leadership starts.

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Tell me about your grandmother, is any of them still alive?

Unfortunately not. I didn’t meet my paternal grandmother. Whenever my husband and I are teaching in church about immaterial things to share with your partner, I talk about my grandmother who was Kisii. (Both of my parents are Kalenjin.)

My husband, getting to know whether I have Kisii blood was not important for him to decide if to marry me or not. I use this example because I’m passionate about the institution of marriage. We have been married for 13 years now.

How is that going for you and what have you learnt about marriage?

It’s going well, I must say. I don’t know whether he’ll say the same thing, I hope he will. [Chuckles] Lessons? That it’s never about you —it’s always about the other person.

My job can be a hard one but the one thing that is so helpful in my life is that I’m happy to go home. Somehow, we found a way around marriage.

It helps that both of us are born-again Christians, and we are very good friends. Our faith has been the centrepiece that has kept us grounded.

When did you ever feel very ungrounded?

I’m a statistic of teenage pregnancy. My son, who is 23 now, was born when I had turned 18, so I got pregnant at 17. Oh! You have never walked around with shame. I felt like it was the definition of disappointment to myself and my parents.

My dad died two weeks before I got the baby, and I remember when he died, one of my cousins said, ‘you know he died out of the stress of getting to know that his daughter is pregnant.’

My mother especially bore the brunt of my early pregnancy. So she went on an overdrive to push me to study hard. At university, I was a Christian Union student with a baby. It was ridiculous.

But I walked around college knowing that I had a baby and a mother that I needed to make up to. I remain grateful for the early pregnancy, even though I wouldn’t wish it on any girl. There is a lot of trauma that comes as a result of that. You are alienated.

What did you do with the trauma eventually?

I’m so sorry to keep going back to this —but giving my life to Christ meant that I dealt with it. There was no doubt in my mind that I was forgiven, that I could reshape my life, I had an opportunity for God to do a new thing, and it was going to be okay. So that helped me to rebuild my confidence and my identity.

Which parts of your relationship with Jesus need work?

[Giggles] Maybe my role and being a woman. I’m strong-willed and independent so sometimes I get onto something and go. Then I remember, ‘oh no, I need to consult, pray about it, stop relying on self, you’re doing it too much and it will backfire on you.’

When did you feel let down by God?

[Pause] When my mom was diagnosed with late-onset schizophrenia in 2013. You never want to see your loved one go through that. I felt like she’d loved God.

If anyone was deserving of a peaceful retirement, it was my mom. Then one day I’m told that she walked out of the house at 2 am saying she’s going back to her home and she walked for many kilometres. She’s hearing voices.

I broke down. Interesting though, my mom’s schizophrenia diagnosis is the one thing that has pointed me back to God being faithful.

As a staunch Christian couple, what do you guys fight about mostly?

Everything. [Laughs] We fight about finances, investment decisions, our extended family... It helps that we went through premarital classes. They help. My hubby is the calmest person in the world. Like sometimes I wonder how did God favour me in this way?

So you’re the villain in the marriage?

I am. (Laughs) He’s so together, very centred.

What identity do you find defining yourself the most now?

I’m a mom, wife, sister, a friend. I’m aware that the reason why I walk in here and I’m served tea and treated the way I am is because I’m CEO, not because I’m Vicky. So for me, I care about the things that define me if I did not have the role that I have today.

Yes, it’s a privilege to be in a place of influence because I’m a firm believer in the place of leaders and leadership in influencing for good. I’m grateful for it because I know that there are things I can push or do. But I like that I’m just a wife and mommy.

What would you say is your biggest flaw as a human being?

Impatience. It’s the one thing that I have to constantly coach myself about, to remember especially that people are different. I hold myself to a high standard and I expect everybody to hold themselves to a higher standard too.

But I realise that when you’re a leader, you’re leading multiple people; different backgrounds, different strengths, you have to know to lead everyone from the place that they are and get people to bring out their strength.

Which character in the Bible would you be best friends with?

I think Daniel. There are many times in life when circumstances demand you change who you are, to fit, but should we be looking to fit or should we be looking to be disruptive?

What interesting things do you do outside work, marriage and parenting?

Previously, this was my response to that question; ‘I like to read and for me a book calms me down.’ But thank God for the first time in my life I have something to say about that question. [Laughs] I recently discovered hiking.

I love the outdoors very much. I have even progressed and now I’m graduating to be a proper camper, like those that have the tools and the right gear. Hiking is great for conversations and bonding. Can you imagine at 41 is when I’m finally finding something fun to do? I’m no longer going to be that weird person in the room. [Chuckles]

Do you ever suffer from imposter syndrome?

I do.

Where does yours come from?

I don’t know whether it’s because of being a woman, because women do suffer from imposter syndrome more than men do, right? I’ve been in places and I’ve asked myself; ‘on what basis are you at this table?’ But I talk myself out of it.

I remind myself all of the time that another guy with lesser experience, lesser exposure, is winging it out there and winning.

So I encourage myself and a lot of women that I interact with. Just this morning, we were talking about imposter syndrome with two of my female colleagues. I was telling them you have to show up even when you are unsure.

Have there been any great revelations in your early 40s?

Friendships get shaken. I’m a very relationship-oriented person. When a relationship is breaking, I’m breaking.

But then from three years ago the friendships I had started crumbling and I don’t know if the shift came as a result of the fact that my career was transitioning to greater roles. It’s been hard to come to terms with that. I wish my friendships would hold.