MAIN IMAGE: Nondumiso Ncapai managing executive of Absa Home Loans
Editor
Nondumiso Ncapai, a key member of the Absa Group Product Solutions Cluster Executive Management team in South Africa, currently serves as the managing executive of the Home Loan business in South Africa. With over 13 years of experience in the Digital and IT disciplines and a further 11 years in the financial services industry, Nondumiso brings a wealth of expertise to her role.
Here, she shares how she entered the mortgage industry, what’s happening at Absa Home Loans, thriving as a woman in a male-dominated industry, the South African housing crisis, the repo rate and more.
How does a business analyst working in the digital space become MG of Absa Home Loans?
I worked in digital and IT for several years before joining Absa in 2010. Moving into business, but from the digital aspect, gave me a lot of exposure to retail banking, right across from everyday banking into mortgages, vehicle finance, Absa fund managers, etc. Working with those stakeholders gave me a good view of business and its heartbeat.
While working there, I was approached about a role in the mortgage business. I came into it intending to drive digital specifically for mortgages, but I fell in love with the industry and what the mortgage business stands for, and I never looked back.
You’re known for your passion for the mortgage industry. How does it inspire you?
I come from humble beginnings. There was a time when my parents had to sacrifice a lot, and we lived in a shack at some point. Having lived in those conditions and understanding deeply what it means to live in those circumstances placed me in a position where I understand I’m not just doing financing. What we can do every day as a business for the ordinary South African is beyond financing.
I have been fortunate to work with teams to design and deliver solutions that address customers’ needs. This passion is the driving force behind the purpose of the Home Loan business I lead today, inspiring the work that colleagues deliver each day with excellence: “House the Nation and Shape the Industry in a meaningful way.”
You’re in a senior position in what could arguably still be called a male-dominated industry. Does that stereotype still apply? If so, what can be done to change it?
The financial industry is indeed predominantly male, particularly in senior roles. But I’ve been fortunate to work with exceptional leaders, many of whom were giants whose shoulders I stood on. They’ve guided me through challenging situations and pushed me to grow. Their mentorship and determination have allowed me to thrive in this environment, and I hope my journey can inspire others to do the same.
The stereotype I would like to highlight is about the many roles that women have to juggle (motherhood and corporate) and often have to sit at the table to perform at the same level as peers who may not necessarily juggle making dinner, running the household, looking after children, and managing a corporate career.
While much has improved, the industry still needs to accommodate women’s needs and enable them to grow. For example, adopting hybrid ways of work, addressing the gender pay parity gap, and becoming aware of unconscious bias are crucial steps that should be considered and implemented to enable women to advance in the world of work.
The Q2 Absa Homeowner Sentiment Index was recently released. Tell us more about the HSI and how you see it developing.
We proudly celebrate almost a decade of bringing South Africa insights on consumer confidence in the local property market through the Absa Homeowner Sentiment Index report.
Today, the index presents a customer-centric view involving more than 1,000 consumers. It is uniquely consumer-focused, as it is the only index in the market measuring consumer sentiment, capturing their immediate and forward-looking views on the market.
Moving forward, we will deepen our insights for the industry’s benefit. We are exploring incorporating an industry section to obtain additional insight from consumers who are employed in the property sector. To gain a more complete picture of the homeownership space, incorporating sentiments from the lens of consumers who may also be employed in the property sector may provide an additional layer of insight.
We can’t talk about property without touching on the repo rate. What is your outlook? When will we get a rate cut?
There is some good news: our baseline view is for a shallow cutting cycle to begin in September. Headline CPI inflation printed much lower than expected at 4.6% in July, which we believe significantly strengthens the case for the SARB MPC to begin cutting rates by 25bps from September. We expect cuts of 25bps in each of the next four MPC meetings, ultimately leaving the repo rate at 7.25%.
What is your advice for graduates or young career execs pursuing finance?
I’d say be open to learning, be curious, embrace strategic patience, and finally, to quote Steve Jobs: “…Stay Hungry, Stay foolish…”.
What do you mean by ‘strategic patience’?
I’ve learned that if you want to see growth, you can’t wake up and automatically be in the role you want to be. It’s got to come with patience, learning, growth, and strategic patience. If you’re impatient and want to grow quite quickly and vertically, it will come with pain if you accelerate too quickly.
There’s a reason you go through a particular journey. As a leader, growth happens as you lead, and it’s beautiful when you land at a place with huge responsibility and bring some of that learning with you.
I sit in a business with systemic impact within Absa and in SA as a market, and it comes with tremendous responsibility. It might look rosy, and you might romanticise saying, “She’s managing exec,” but it comes with significant responsibility, and for me, it came at the right time in my journey. I’ve gone through a lot to appreciate the responsibility, the accountability I have, and the role I play as a leader.
That’s what I mean by strategic patience, which is so important but often overlooked.
Could you share a quote ‘to live by’?
In my journey, I have learned that one’s inner hunger to learn and grow must supersede any challenge one may face and that challenges are a stepping stone to growth and progress. As Denzil Washington once said when he accepted his award at the NAACP 2017 Awards, “Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.”
