From millennial techie to business leader

Meet one of the brightest and youngest leaders in the Paycorp group of companies.

When you meet Nkanyiso Khumalo, Product and Business Development Head of EFTPOS, Paycorp’s point-of-sale business, and member of EFTPOS EXCO, you’ll have the impression of a humble young man. You’ll be right, but don’t mistake his humility for a lack of ambition.

Nkanyiso joined Paycorp, the leading developer and provider of payment services in emerging markets, in mid-2014 as a senior developer. He proved himself to be an achievement-oriented critical thinker, and a hard worker to boot. Within two years he’d been promoted to the position of Technical Team Leader and a mere year later, in mid-2017, he’d turned his tech know-how and leadership skills into the high level management role he now holds. Paycorp prides itself on its mentorship and leadership development programmes.

What does the job entail?

Nkanyiso manages the entire EFTPOS product suite, including traditional point-of-sale and mobile solutions. He is also responsible for identifying, developing and implementing growth opportunities for the merchant services business through active engagement with potential clients and strategic partners.

An unwritten element of the job spec, but core to NK’s motivation at work, is the ability he has to provide often much-needed support to small businesses though tips, tricks and general guidance when he meets his customers face-to-face.

Making the transition from techie to business strategy and management

Nkanyiso freely admits to a steep learning curve but says he finds it refreshing because it’s opened his mind to think more broadly when building solutions for Paycorp’s customers. He’s proving himself to be a natural strategist, carefully considering the way his actions will impact on the value chain.

Leadership style

One of the great qualities of millennials is that they are consultative, a key part of the successful decision-making process.

Nkanyiso cares deeply about developing people and seeing them grow as he has. Part of this is being a good delegator, not least because he recognises that if everything has to go through him he will become a bottleneck.

He not only empowers his team to deal with issues, he also makes a point of having breakfast and lunch with them so that he stays in touch with the issues they face. He also endeavours whenever possible, to engage with small business clients in a similar way.

Right for the job?

Nkanyiso qualified in the Manager Development Programme from Stellenbosch University’s Business School (Jhb branch) in 2017, and he did so while participating in family life. He has a 6-year-old, a 1-year-old, and an equally hardworking wife.

He achieved a BCom Hons in Information Systems and Technology from KZN University in 2009. Needless to say, he has a list of other qualifications longer than his arm.

We’re thoroughly enjoying watching this bright young star shine and wish him all the best in his new role.