From tax collector to FNB Eswatini CFO, ‘fairly chilled guy’ and Kaizer Chiefs supporter Njabulo Dlamini shares how grabbing opportunities has been crucial to his success.
Njabulo Dlamini, CFO of FNB Eswatini, believes that his X factor comes from academic discipline and consistent performance. A top performer throughout his schooling career, he was pushed to excel from a young age.
“I have always prized academic achievement and been a top student. I think it has also been instilled by my parents. My father had a master’s degree in law when people at the time couldn’t believe he had a master’s because he was a black man in SA. My mother held an accounting honours from Unisa – the drive to study further has always been there,” he says.
“Eswatini is a very small market. It is competitive. You must stand out for opportunities. I believe in performing at a high level wherever I am placed. I always make sure that I hit the ground running. I am not scared of challenges,” he adds.
Born in eSwatini, Njabulo spent the first 10 years of his life in Mmabatho, South Africa, where his father was a law professor at the local university. Upon the family’s return to eSwatini, they settled in the quiet sugar belt of Big Bend. His father would later head the Constitutional Review Commission in eSwatini, which oversaw the drafting of the country’s new constitution.
After finishing matric, Njabulo moved back to South Africa to study at the University of Pretoria, where he completed a BCom in accounting, and his honours thereafter. He returned to eSwatini to complete his articles at PwC and sat for the South African board exam through Saica. He qualified as a CA in 2010 and joined the income tax department as an income tax manager, where his role focused on domestic taxes. But the role did not suit him and he wanted to enter financial services – that decision shaped the next stage of his career.
Building from the ground up
In 2012 he joined Old Mutual as a product accountant. “I looked after the income statement for the life insurance business,” he says. He also handled asset management functions for the local collective investment scheme. After a year, he was approached by Momentum Metropolitan and took on the role of CFO there in 2013.
“There was no finance function at the time. Everything had been centralised in South Africa,” he says. This led to him building the function from the ground up and the role expanded into payroll, compliance and legal. Later, Njabulo, together with management, led a buyout as Momentum Metropolitan Holdings offloaded subsidiaries across Southern Africa. The buyout was finalised by 2019 and the business rebranded to Oracle Insurance.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he finished an MBA at GIBS, while navigating personal and career pressures. Completing his MBA is what strengthened Njabulo’s understanding of leadership and personal discipline.
Njabulo believed he would stay at Momentum Metropolitan for the rest of his career, but that changed when FNB approached him in 2022. He had always admired the FirstRand Group, so he accepted the offer to become CFO.
New opportunities
Not one to shy away from a challenge, he believes recognising opportunity and cultivating strong work relationships has played a major part in his success. The CFO role at Momentum came about because he had fostered a relationship with someone at university, he believes. That person later referred him to the opportunity. The same thing happened at FNB. Long-standing professional relationships with people at exco level would later intersect with career opportunities.
Another value he holds onto strongly is integrity. “Your name is what you have. Avoid scandal. Avoid anything that can tarnish your reputation. I have seen capable people lose momentum because of reputational damage. I believe reputation must be guarded at every stage of a career,” he says.
A self-described “fairly chilled guy” and firm FC Barcelona and Kaizer Chiefs supporter, Njabulo is an avid reader. “Anything from fiction, to self-development. I love to read. I also love listening to podcasts, to keep abreast of current issues.”
Spending time with his wife and children who are based in Johannesburg is also important to him, so he flies to Mzansi as frequently as his busy schedule allows. “Ï always make sure whatever time I have there I’m devoted and giving them my full attention.” He met his wife, a South African, at the University of Pretoria. Their relationship, he adds, has always included periods of long distance. While he settled in the City of Gold for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, he had to return to eSwatini when he joined FNB. He has commuted between the two countries since.
“I had to learn how to manage time carefully and correctly divide my commitments between work in eSwatini and family life in South Africa,” he says.
His career, however, has not been without pressure, which later resulted in him experiencing burnout in 2019. He underwent cognitive behavioural therapy and began practising healthier routines like prioritising sleep, taking breaks, having quiet time and doing breathing exercises. He also learnt how to prepare healthy meals and maintain an exercise routine.
“I underwent extensive medical tests. No physical issues were found and the diagnosis was burnout. I recall being unable to cope during an intense audit season. This period forced me to understand the dangers of poor work-life habits,” says Njabulo. “I have to stay disciplined about switching off from work because I used to work until 11 at night on my laptop. I would fall asleep working. That is how I developed insomnia, but I now follow strict boundaries that protect my mental health.”
He uses these lessons in leadership and believes that leaders must have self-awareness, and must know their strengths, weaknesses and blind spots. “Trust does not come because you have authority. People follow authority, but trust is earned. I believe trust is built through patience and awareness. Many of these lessons came from leadership courses that focused on personal mastery rather than technical skills. I have to stress this – a leader needs to be patient in their role. People need time to trust their leader. Leaders must create environments where team members feel safe to raise issues early,” he adds.
Success, strategy and practical guidance
Njabulo sees success as a personal journey. He said that becoming a CA had once been the end-goal, but after qualifying in 2010, he realised that he still needed direction. “You think everything will open up for you. But you still need to work hard. You need to know what you want.” He now focuses on personal growth and meaningful opportunities and does not measure success through money – he values contentment and has had to learn not to pace himself according to other people.
“Industry pressure can distort a person’s direction,” he says, so he avoids comparing his progress with that of peers.
Njabulo is also passionate about teaching young professionals the value of accountability and advocating for oneself. “You will fail. You will make mistakes. The biggest thing is how you take accountability,” he says. “You get what you negotiate. You do not get what you deserve.” He believes the culture of silent hard work is outdated and encourages young people to voice their needs. “How you show up is key,” he notes.
