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KARERA: I have been to 54 countries so far

Friday May 25 2018
karera

Mireille Karera, founder KORA Coaching and Business Academy. PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA | NATION

By MOSES K. GAHIGI

Mireille Karera was born in Burundi but moved to Congo Brazzaville as a child when her mother then working for the World Bank was posted there.

She later relocated to Germany where she went to school, college, graduated in translation studies and lived her entire adult life.

She is a consummate professional who has worked for a number of international companies as head of new business operating in multicultural environments across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

She grew through the corporate ladder, but despite all the achievements, Karera’s search for her true passion never stopped.

It was during a long-term assignment as head of new business sales teams for Thomson Reuters in South Africa and Kenya that she discovered her talent as a personal coach.

The job at Thomson Reuters entailed mentoring and coaching entrant managers and sales team members, this ignited the coaching fire in her and she started seeing the magnitude of the need for coaching as a tool for personal development.

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She quit her job and opened Kora Coaching and Business Academy in 2015 in Rwanda. Last year the company opened another branch in South Africa.

Besides offering executive and life coaching services, the academy runs coaching training programmes where graduates are awarded internationally recognised certification.

“We saw that personal growth is at the core of economic growth, it’s at the core of everything, it all starts with the individual and the individual impacts the organisation or business”

Mireille says she came up with the academy because there was a need for professional business coaching. Local companies have been contracting coaching companies from South Africa, UK and the US.

“Our vision is to serve that need domestically,” she said.

In 2015, the global coaching industry was worth $2.3 billion, a 19-percentage increase from 2011, with potential for further growth.

Her clients are largely banks and other corporate entities seeking to increase employee performance especially its top executives.

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What is your off-duty passion?

Travelling. I have been to 54 countries on five continents and counting. Once every month I reward myself with a weekend away. It helps me to relax and rejuvenate.

My birthday was on May 11 and I went to the Akagera National Park. I like visiting new and refreshing places even if it’s a getaway within Rwanda. I am generally big on travelling and especially to places with water. I find water very calming.

What would you have been if you were not doing what you are doing today?

I would probably have been a lawyer, but I don’t think I would have been a happy one. What I am doing now is exactly what I want to do.

What signifies your personal style?

Timeless elegance.

How do you manage your wardrobe?

I need some coaching on that. If you ask my sisters they would say that my wardrobe is boring. That it is the same everyday because I usually wear one colour, maximum two, often likely to be black and white. My style is simplicity and beauty.

While in East Africa, where are you most likely to spend your Saturday afternoons?

When in Rwanda it would most likely be Kibuye, but there is a place I recently discovered in Uganda called Bunyonyi. I first saw it in pictures and it is very beautiful. I would like to go there for my next retreat.

Do you have a must-visit list?
New Zealand tops the list. I intend to visit Australia soon. I have been to all the countries I wanted to visit in Latin America such as Brazil, Peru and a few others.

In Africa I want to visit Senegal and Ethiopia because I want to experience the rich Ethiopian culture.

I have visited pretty much all the European countries because I lived in Germany for many years, but there is one place I want to visit — the northern tip of Norway to see the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. They are simply magical.

What is East Africa’s greatest strength?

We have a unique culture. Whether it is Kenyan, Ugandan, Rwandan or Tanzanian culture, there is a gentleness that is welcoming to visitors and that is a big strength for East Africa.

What is your favourite collection?

I am mostly into gospel music. I have Hill Song collections. As a coach I have to be motivated so I listen to Christian spiritual music, especially from the US and Australia.

What is the most thoughtful gift you have received?

I hope I don’t cry, it was from my mother, it was my birthday and she gave me a gift package and in it was a Kitenge dress mixed with other fabrics.

She had copied my favourite dress style and made a dress for me, and she said, ‘you are always the one who gives, today it is you to receive,’ it made me so happy, and that is the most thoughtful gift I have received.

What is the best gift you have given?

I like to give time to people, I don’t know how to quantify that, but there is a group of orphans I have been supporting since 2010.

They have grown now and one has been admitted to university. He recently approached me to help pay his tuition fees and the joy I saw on his face when I did, made me very happy.

Beyond the money however, the idea of me contributing to his education is fulfilling.

When I was studying in Germany I had no one to pay for my school fees and I struggled a lot, doing odd jobs like cleaning. So being in a position to help someone achieve something as important as education is very fulfilling to me.

Which big book have you read recently?

The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. It is an important and insightful book. I prefer audio books these days, but once in a while I read a printed version as well.

Which film has impacted you the most?

I love movies and I watch them almost every weekend. I watch Lion King every year, despite its being an animated film for children. I derive strong life lessons from it. I look at it in a different dimension, especially a spiritual one.

I look at the character of Mufasa as representing God; his brother Scar as representing Satan and young Simba as Jesus who finally takes over the kingdom.

It’s also a story of identity, of discovering who you are.

How do you stay informed in this fast-paced tech lifestyle of today?

Everything is at the tip of our fingers through social media, so I rely on social media and Google.

I don’t watch TV at all; in fact, I don’t own one. I don’t want to get hooked when I can get all the news seated at my desk in the office. And I also want to control my time; TV is tempting, so I stay away.

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