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At just 26 years, Matthew Mukalere, a Ugandan by descent, is working at BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset managers with USD 8.6 trillion in assets under management. But Matthew’s life wasn’t always this spectacular. For most of his education life, he was an average.
“I was born and raised in the UK to Ugandan parents”, Matthew tells The ORION Beacon. “I had a good experience in school, but I wasn’t truly a top student. I didn’t fail exams, but I wasn’t spectacular enough to get into the likes of Oxford or Cambridge.” Everything came full circle for Matthew when he was told he couldn’t do computer science at A Level because he didn’t have enough points to qualify for the course. So Matthew settled for B Tech which he described as “something for the dumb kids”.
However, Matthew made the most of that course. “I found B Tech to be an exhilarating experience. That is when I discovered my love for computers and software. I achieved top grades in that course and got a partial scholarship to the University of Kent. This made me realise how much hard work can change one’s life. This was when my mindset shifted.”
At the University of Kent, Matthew could finally study computer science. “I worked so hard, and I got a first class every semester for four years. As a result of this hard work, opportunities started rolling in. I got my first job while still at university, and I was working for my university. I also got an opportunity to work at Accenture for my internship, which had almost half a million employees worldwide.”
When Matthew graduated from university, he started weighing his options. “I had already worked at a huge corporation for my internship, so it made sense to try a new experience with a startup.” Having excelled as a Research Assistant at his university, Matthew teamed up with his professor, who was launching his startup, Verifiable Credentials Ltd. After 18 months of working at the startup, it was acquired by Crossword Cybersecurity Plc for almost GBP 3 million. “That was a big moment for me. I thought to myself that I could work at something, and someone could find it valuable enough to purchase”.
Having worked at a startup that was acquired as a software engineer opened so many opportunities for Matthew. He was fortunate enough to get three lucrative job offers from Bloomberg, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, three of some of the world’s most influential companies in finance. Matthew decided to join BlackRock since it was simply “the best offer”.
Former Equity Bank Executive Director, Elizabeth Mwerinde appointed Head of Commercial Banking operations at EcoBank BlackRock is one of the world’s most powerful companies. With USD 8.6 trillion under management, it is the world’s largest asset manager and this rubs off its employees. “BlackRock is a unique investment company, and they have a lot of power as the world’s largest asset manager. A powerful company is always focused on abundance and not scarcity. And that rubs off on its employees. I am always focused on an abundance mindset in everything I do. I also get significant recognition just because I work there, which helps sometimes. ”
Matthew has also continued his streak of conquering his fears and being high achievers. “I have been able to grow so much. For example, when I joined, we had just come out of lockdown, so my social skills were in the gutter. I couldn’t even speak in team meetings. I went on a mission to learn public speaking, and within a year, my speaking abilities and confidence had improved and I became the President of the public speaking club at BlackRock.”
In the long term, Matthew hopes to build a startup focusing on the African market or source investment for startups. “I journeyed to Uganda this year to look at opportunities I can tap into. I also visited other countries like Kenya and Rwanda to understand the startup ecosystems there. One needs to educate themselves before diving in.”
“I hope my experience of being an early employee at a startup that was acquired and working at a big company like BlackRock will help. But if I don’t build my own startup, I could establish a link between startups in Uganda and other African countries with investors in the UK”.
This Story was published in partnership with ORION, a community of ambitious Founders, Fund Managers and Career Professionals of Ugandan descent. Matthew Mukalere is an ORION Member.