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Thom Mpinganjira—Founder and Managing Director of First Discount House Limited—is a simple looking man but possesses one of the sharpest and respected minds on Malawi’s financial market. Taonga Sabola digs into the son of a clerk and entrepreneur’s past and interviews him about his business and future plans.
What is your personal background?
I am Thomson Frank Mpinganjira and was born on 28 February, 1961 in Blantyre. I am a second born in a family of eight. I hail from Dzungu village in Chief Bvumbwe’s area in Thyolo District. I am married to Barbara with whom I have two children—William and Chikondi. They are both studying in United Kingdom.
Where did you go to school?
I did my primary school at Kanjedza, St Pius Boys and Misesa. I went to Zomba Catholic Secondary School between 1975 and 1979. I studied at University of Malawi’s Polytechnic and obtained a Diploma in Business Studies in 1984. I also hold a Bachelor of Commerce degree (accountancy) from the same college. I later qualified as a Certified Public Accountant at Malawi College of Accountancy and qualified to be a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) at Emile Wolf College in London.
What is a discount house?
A discount house is a financial institution that specialises in the buying and selling of money market instruments like Treasury Bills, Reserve Bank of Malawi Bills, Bankers Acceptances, Commercial Paper, Negotiable Certificate of Deposits and many others. Discount houses compliment but also provide an alternative and more lucrative investment and funding opportunity to normal banking. We offer the investment fraternity a ready avenue for flexible, negotiable and profitable investment opportunity.
What does your current job entail?
Providing the strategic, visionary leadership, management and guidance at First Discount House (FDH).
How did you get involved in FDH?
FDH is my brain child. I conceived the idea of opening a discount house a long time ago. At first I wanted to start it with other local Malawians but most of them gave up before the company took off the ground.
How much stake do you hold in the company and who are your partners?
At the moment, I hold 24.9 percent shares through TF Mpinganjira Trust . The other shareholders are Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (Malawi) with 20 percent, Press corporations Limited holds 30 percent and Kingdom Financial Holdings Limited, a listed company on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) controls 25.1 percent.
What other business interests do you have?
I don’t have any other business interests but I own six town houses in Nyambadwe as a way of diversifying my wealth.
Raising capital to start a business has been a big problem for most Malawians. How did you manage it?
I can say three things helped me to raise capital. Firstly, I got a mortgage loan from the then New Building Society, bought a house and quickly repaid the loan. I then rented out the house and was saving the money from the rent. Secondly, from 1992 I have been working on contract basis and saved part of my salary. The money I got from my gratuity also helped me. Thirdly, I was investing in Treasury Bills and shares and invested the returns in FDH.
FDH has been around for some time now. How do you assess its performance?
We started in April 2002. Business has picked up in the last one and half years and I am proud to say that we now control 50 percent of the discount house market.
Any challenges so far?
The biggest challenge came at a time when we had just opened our doors four years ago. This was the time when my cousin Brown Mpinganjira had just fallen out of favour with the government. Thus, the name Mpinganjira was blacklisted and no government department could give us business. This affected us a lot but I never looked back. Things started changing for the better after the current administration took over.
How do you look at FDH in the next ten years?
It’s very hard to predict because we are living in a global village and we are affected by factors outside our control like political and country risks and movements in fuel prices. But in the next ten years, I would like to see the business grow and expand further. I also would like to hand over the business to others and try something else.
Over the past 10 years or so, we have witnessed the emergence of many players on the market apart from traditional ones such as banks and insurance companies. Is there room for new participants?
There is always room for one additional player at every given time. I believe the market is not saturated. The more players we have the better because there will be stiff competition and therefore better services.
What role has Malawi’s financial market played in the growth and development of the country’s economy?
So far it has not played a major role. It has not offered sufficient credit to the private sector which is the engine for economic growth. A lot of support has gone towards government. This needs to be changed.
What has been the driving factor behind your business success?
A good and strong family which is supportive. Putting God first has also helped me to be where I am. I have a very strong religious and ethical background which is supported by a high level of integrity.
Who inspired you?
I was inspired by my father who was one of the first qualified accountants. He once served as a deputy town clerk for City of Blantyre up to 1966. My father was also in the import and export business. During holidays, he used to employ me as a book keeper. When he travelled abroad he used to take me along.
What makes you happy? What makes you sad?
I feel very happy when I am helping people . I realise that the money I have is not for me alone and need to be shared. That’s why you will find me involved in charity activities. But I become very sad when I see the destruction that is happening to our country because of politics, corruption and many other social evils.
What are your hobbies?
I like playing social golf, watching soccer and at times playing social football and volleyball.
FACT FILE
Work experience: Senior Auditor at Deloitte and Touche (1984-1989), Senior Corporate Accountant for BP&P; (1989-1992) Group Accountant at Mandala Limited (1992-1994), Head: Operational Risk and Security for National Bank of Malawi (1994-1997), Chief Executive of Stockbrokers Malawi (1997-2000), Chief Executive of Malawi Stock Exchange (2000-2002), Managing Director and Founder of FDH from 2002.
Business involvement
Formerly: Director (Limbe Leaf), Chairman (Malawinet), Director (Society of Accountants in Malawi), member (Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Committee).
Currently: Board Chairman (Malawi Investments Promotion Agency), Chairman (Reunion Insurance), Member (Malawinet Board), Member (Bankers Association of Malawi Council), member (Ethics&Investigations; Committee, Taxation&Economic; Issues Committee for Society of Accountants in Malawi).
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