Linah Moholo: Botswana’s Top Banker, Powerful and Gracious

London, England – Nick Newton

First of all, I would like to say Happy Birthday to The Village, and I look forward to watching it grow into a vibrant and productive member of the media landscape.

Throughout the year we covered a number of topics in my articles for TheVillage, and I have considered it an honor to do so.  We spoke of the need to essentially pay yourself first, by investing in your retirement plan without fail. Secondly, we covered this idea of diversification by taking advantage of worldwide growth and prosperity.  Lastly, I could not miss the opportunity to provide some context around the crippling deadlock in Washington regarding our national debt ceiling.  I view my job in TheVillage as a mix of common sense financial basics and a stretch goal of providing information for thought, and so it is in this vein I offer my latest article.

Meeting Botswana’s Linah Moholo

I recently (as in two days ago) traveled to London to do something I wasn’t sure I would ever have the chance to do.  In my day job, I run an Asset Management Business for a publicly traded firm, which basically means I am responsible for the firm’s distribution growth strategy in a global context.  On Friday, I had the opportunity to meet with Linah Moholo, and I felt like this would be perfect to share with TheVillage readers.  Ms. Moholo is the Head of the Central Bank of Botswana (think Ben Bernanke, the head of the United States’ Central Bank). We were in London to discuss a possible money management assignment.  Strong, proud and intelligent, Ms. Moholo is very soft spoken, yet very confident and sure of her abilities.  In preparation for the meeting, I wanted to learn as much as I could about Ms. Molholo and her colleagues.  So, I read about Botswana and its remarkable transformation from a very poor country to an emerging economy.

Facts About Botswana:

1)     Botswana has a population of just over 1.6 million people
2)    The country is roughly the size of France or the state of Texas
3)    Jwaneng Diamond Mine is the richest diamond mine in the world
4)    The capital is Gaborone, pronounced Haboronee

I enjoyed Ms. Moholo immensely, responsible for so much and yet still very, very gracious.  I am certain, if allowed, I will enjoy my trip to visit her in her home country.  After a year in TheVillage,  my focus remains the same and the tried and true financial tips remain the same:

TheVillage Review:

1)    Pay yourself first
2)    Pay off your debt as quickly as possible, these low interest rates demand it
3)    Stay diversified in your retirement plan
4)    Make sure you have taken advantage of lower rates to lower your housing expense