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20 January 2022 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Supplied
Merceline Mercia Geises, Chief Executive: Standard Bank Namibia.

Her father belonged to a "book club, used to order books and encyclopaedias, and would at times order special gifts for her mother". The daughter of a school principal, Mercia Geises, developed a love for reading at a young age. A trip to the Post Office "provided a connection to the rest of the world".

Growing up in Kalkfeld, a small village in central Namibia, Mercia, her father’s “most trusted child”, saw herself fulfilling messenger duties, sending money to siblings at boarding schools. When the youngest of seven children herself enrolled at a boarding school, the love relationship with the world outside and what it offers continued; more so with "heart-warming letters and a R2 note" from her father every now and then.

Mercia, an alumnus of the University of the Free State and current Chief Executive Officer of Standard Bank Namibia, says her runs to the Post Office and bank made her believe there must be a big world out there; one where Post Office deliveries are made, and money is printed. With dreams to see life outside her village, opportunity beckoned with studies at the UFS.

Carving her destiny 

In matric, with all her peers destined for varsities in South Africa, an aspiration she too had, Mercia found a career guide in a Life Skills classroom. She "scanned through it, jotted down details", and made her way to the Post Office only this time to "carve her own path ignoring everyone’s limited view of the world".

She got accepted at the UFS, an institution which became a home away from home getting mentored by among others Professor Johan Henning, Professor Voet du Plessis, Professor Elizabeth Snyman-Van Deventer, Professor Johan van Schalkwyk, and Professor Gerhard Fjik to complete her LLB Degree (cum laude) and LLM in Mercantile Law.

Her biggest dream, Mercia says, “I always wanted to work for Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Attorneys in Cape Town, but because I was sponsored for my studies by the Namibia Power Corporation I had to go back and work in Namibia.”

“I got an opportunity to work for one of the biggest law firms, M. Slabbert Attorneys and completed my articles, an opportunity I am forever grateful for,” she says.

After completing her articles, Mercia fell pregnant and the biggest motivation for applying for a corporate job was driven by the "need to deliver her baby at a private hospital and having a medical aid".

Seeing a job advert at Old Mutual Namibia in a local newspaper and knowing that she did not meet the requirements, Mercia was called for a junior role, leading her to discover corporate finance and asset management.

Working for Old Mutual for 12 years and obtaining an MBA from Stellenbosch University, Mercia credits the leadership for investing significantly in her growth and development.

Whilst at Old Mutual Investment Group in Namibia as the Chief Executive, Mercia saw a growth opportunity at Standard Bank, Namibia’s leading retail banking franchise and she took a “leap of faith”.

Holding high positions in corporates during her tenure Mercia believes ‘Old Mutual Namibia was the best incubation centre for many young women and the organisational culture was conducive to thrive.’

She says, “We were exposed to leadership that believed in increasing women roles in leadership and business strategy which meant that we were entrusted with big and bold mandates and were provided with necessary mentorship.”

Mercia believes that “working in an environment like this is extremely beneficial, but like all things in life, the other side of it is that it comes with sacrifices, some of which can be costly if one does not have the right support”.

The role of tertiary institutions 

“Tertiary institutions also play the biggest role in upliftment and how we think about things. It has surely taken me from rural Namibia to the world stage, whereas a young executive I could engage in complex issues in boardrooms across the world. I still find my engagements in executive development programmes with institutions of higher learning to be ones that provide me with the edge to lead effectively,” she says.

On challenges facing the banking industry in the continent, Mercia says, “Traditional banks are finding it hard to penetrate the unbanked population who leapfrogs the banking step and participates in the mainstream economy through mobile operators. Accelerating digital capabilities has become a top strategic priority for the banking sector, more so during the pandemic.” She says, “Regulatory authorities have a critical role to play in making this happen, as they are needed to continue to promote innovation while keeping their checks and balances.” 

In her leisure time, Mercia puts her focus on her three children, the youngest of which is two months old. She has an interest in agricultural technology and has a small piece of land where she experiments with various intensive farming concepts.

News Archive

Dr Makutoane to present research on world stage in US
2017-06-14

“If the SBL has acknowledged you,
it means the research you are doing
is solid. There are people out there
who want to listen to my paper.”

To present a research paper at an international conference of about 10 000 people and where 100 sessions are taking place at the same time is what dreams are made of for an academic. This is no longer a dream for the humble Dr Tshokolo Makutoane who will share his knowledge at the annual meeting of the prestigious Society of Biblical Literature (SBL).

Dr Makutoane, a senior lecturer at the Department of Hebrew at the University of the Free State (UFS), will be a speaker at the conference in Boston, in the US, from 19-21 November 2017. This after receiving a remarkable travel grant from the SBL to present his paper, titled The Contribution of Linguistic Typology for the Study of Biblical Hebrew in Africa: The Case of Sesotho Pronouns.

Description: Dr Makutoane to present research on world stage in US Tags: Dr Makutoane to present research on world stage in US

Dr Makutoane, senior lecturer at the Department of
Hebrew at the University of the Free State, was
speechless when he heard he will be presenting a
paper at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical
Literature in Boston in the US.
Photo: Jóhann Thormählen

Scholars from around the world participate
His paper is part of a thematic session on “Theoretical Approaches to Anaphora and Pronouns in Biblical Hebrew” in which scholars from Canada, the US, Australia, Europe and Israel will participate.

The research Dr Makutoane will be showcasing in Boston is about teaching Biblical Hebrew in Africa, and more specifically, pronouns, to Sesotho-speaking students.

“SBL is one of the largest organisations in the world and if you get the opportunity to present a paper there, it is one of the highest honours in our context you can have,” Dr Makutoane said.

“If the SBL has acknowledged you, it means the research you are doing is solid. There are people out there who want to listen to my paper.”

According to the SBL website (https://www.sbl-site.org) more than 1 200 academic sessions and workshops will take place at the conference, co-hosted by the SBL and the American Academy of Religion.

Highlight of researcher’s entire career
Receiving the grant and attending the conference for the first time is the highlight of Dr Makutoane’s career. “I feel very grateful, honoured and humbled. I was speechless when I heard about it. I couldn’t help myself and actually cried,” he said.

The grant, given to only four SBL members – the other three are from Samoa, Nigeria and India – is intended to support under-represented and under-resourced scholars who demonstrate a financial need.

Dr Makutoane thanked his mentors, Prof Jacobus Naudé and Prof Cynthia Miller-Naudé, who assisted him with the application. Naudé is a senior professor at the Department of Hebrew and Miller-Naudé a senior professor and head of the department.

Dr Makutoane, who studied Theology at the UFS and is a minister at the NGKA Rehauhetswe church near Bloemfontein, is also grateful to his church that gave him the opportunity to study at the UFS and be able to work at the university.

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