Saul: How my business acumen was shaped at Indian university

Dar es Salaam. Sitting in his office at Travel Track, a travel management company based in Dar es Salaam, Saul Swai Kagina’s presence radiates energy and confidence.

As a general manager, his team looks up to him to lead a role he has mastered well.

He owes it all to his years in India, where he went to earn his MBA (Master of Business Administration). He has high regard for the nation and remembers so well his time as a Tanzanian diaspora in India.

His first time in the country, he went there for short-term training as an employee for a bank; their robust education system motivated him to go back and study further. 

He observed that their business acumen and top-notch business schools are renowned, and he has always been interested in studying business. 

“In India, you get an education that is worth the cost, and it gives you the exposure to meet international students and network,” he said.

He is still in touch with the international students he studied with. “I have friends I studied with in the Maldives, so if I want to do business there, I already have a connection there,” he added.

He remembers his first time in India like it was just yesterday; the first city he went to was New Delhi, the capital city and a vibrant metropolis with a bulging population.

Indians are tech-savvy, and the utilisation of technology in their everyday lives impressed Saul; he noticed that most business transactions are preferred to be done online; no one likes taking cash in hand anymore; they have evolved from that; they just scam and pay.

The culture shock was imminent when he moved to Kerala. He noticed that the Hindi language, though widely spoken in New Delhi, is not spoken in all parts of the country; each region or state has its language and culture.

“There are some Indians who do not even speak Hindi; they have their language. India is a big country and very diverse,” he explained. 

A country that vast is an integration of multiple ethnicities, like the Tamil people who are predominantly in Southern India, speak Tamil, a Dravidian language, one of the oldest surviving classical languages in the world. 

Saul lived in a state close to them; he studied in Kerala, which has a unique culture and way of life.

 “They have huge festivals like the Onam festival, the most important and celebrated festival marking the annual homecoming of King Mahabali."

His stay there opened him up to a whole new world that changed his perspective on life as he kept interacting with people from across the world. 

The language barrier was the difficult part of his stay, but he has fond memories too.

While boarding the public buses, he noticed that, unlike in Tanzania, where the conductor comes up to you for the fare, in India it’s the other way around. 

The conductor simply sits at the back of the bus and trusts you to walk up to him and hand over your fare. 

His tenure at the University of Calicut, located in India, was a memorable time that shaped him to be the leader he is today. Kerala is one of the most educated states in India; it’s known for its educational institutions, and all its lecturers have PhDs.

He was lucky enough to meet another Tanzanian who was studying fishery at the same university. 

More Tanzanians lived in the same state but in the port city of Cochin, which required a 3-hour commute. 

There is a huge presence of Tanzanians in that city, and that’s where they would always go for rendezvous. 

That’s where they would go for the ‘bongo cuisine,’ a taste of their home food in a country that has a different food from what they are accustomed to eating in Tanzania.

They also had the Tanzanian council, a body that united all Tanzanians studying there. 

“We also have a WhatsApp group that has all Tanzanians who have studied in that state,” he added.

They would meet whenever Tanzanian teams would come to play in India. Together they would travel to cheer for them, and that was an opportunity to meet and greet other Tanzanians. 

Saul would choose India over any other country when it comes to the quality of educational institutions. 

“When it comes to business schools, India is a top contender; if you look at most Indians in Tanzania, you see they practice business, they are good at it, and that only shows what kind of education prepares them to be that efficient, “ he said.

An added advantage is the presence of many Tanzanian students there, so you can’t be alienated when there are so many fellow countrymen amidst you. 

He attests to the practical nature of the study rather than just sitting in the lecture halls. 

Indians import few products from other countries but hugely export their own manufactured goods, due to the availability of so many factories. 

The room to learn is readily available, and many Tanzanians end up trading when they go there, he said. 

Those who go for studies in medicine end up exporting medicine and opening up pharmacies when they get back to Tanzania, and many studying businesses end up as phones and other electronics exporters. 

“India makes everything, from automobiles to aeroplanes; they do not only assemble, they manufacture from scratch,” he said.

The country is building its reputation for premium products; their products cost more than the cheap Chinese products that have been flooding markets in Africa. 

From bolts and nuts to suits, Indian products are now synonymous with quality. 

Their fast-growing economy, which has even surpassed some Western nations, is an indication of the potential the nation still has to be a major superpower. 

Saul urges other Tanzanians to seize this moment to tap into the vast pool of knowledge Indian universities have to offer.

Saul believes that vision and strategy are what drive the country forward. 

The unison in what direction the country goes, even to the university level, when their Chancellor retired and was replaced, the new Chancellor didn’t come up with his visions; he kept implementing what he found and carried on the broad vision the university had under the previous one.

He said Tanzania can replicate that, “As a nation, we should have one vision as a people regardless of political party or whoever is leading the nation,” he advised.

Saul Swai is now a valuable addition to Tanzania’s workforce, attributing his confidence and immaculate strategic thinking to his education. 

In his MBA, he specialised in marketing and performance management.

His work is to help employees to work effectively and lend a hand whenever he is needed. 

He attributes his good communication skills to having helped him navigate through difficult tasks and find solutions to attain goals.

The rigorous education that pitted him against the best in India has honed him to be the general manager he is today. 

He hopes more young Tanzanians will explore their opportunities to study there because, as a country, Tanzania needs advanced education opportunities in India.