Shiimi is a Namcor high-flyer

Lazarus Shiimi describes himself as a hardworking, results-driven team player, who aspires to make it big in Namibia’s financial sector.
ELIZABETH JOSEPH
Elizabeth joseph

Born and raised in Oshakati, Shiimi completed his secondary education at the Gabriel Taapopi Senior Secondary School in Ongwediva.

After passing matric, Shiimi decided to go into the financial field and studied towards a Bachelor of Accounting Honours degree at the Unam, which he completed after four years.

His potential certainly didn’t go unnoticed, because he was then offered a bursary by the Institute of Charted Accountants of Namibia (ICAN), in collaboration with the Thuthuka Bursary Fund, to do his CTA studies at the University of Johannesburg (UJ).

“On completion of my bridging certificate at UJ, I came back to the Land of the Brave and got employed by Ernst & Young auditing firm as a trainee auditor,” Shiimi said.

During his time at Ernst & Young, he was privileged to audit huge companies such as NamWater, Epangelo Mining and the NovaNam Group, to mention a few.

This exposure allowed Shiimi to be recruited to the position of financial accountant: budget and treasury at the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) in July of 2016.

When asked what the environment is like at Namcor, Shiimi said it has been one of the most exciting journeys so far.

“Namcor offers a friendly working environment, where I am encouraged to wake up every day and go to work. The people are amazing to work with and are all aware of what is required from them for the company to achieve its objective of being a world-class petroleum organisation, providing sustainable benefits to all stakeholders.

“As for me, being a budget custodian and also a treasurer for Namcor really keeps me focused. I maintain transparency and safeguard the company’s funds by making sure it only spends as per the budget and invests excess funds in safer and higher interest earning investment portfolios for interest income,” he added.

Some of his short-term goals are to complete his masters’ degree in finance and to remain competitive and relevant in the financial sector.

He is always looking for ways to excel in everything he does.

Fact box

1. Shiimi enjoys working for Namcor.

2. He believes ethics, integrity and trustworthiness really matter in the world.

3. He has only studied accounting and commerce subjects.

4. He has financial discipline and bought cars and a freestanding house before he turned 28.

5. His mom is his role model and her advice got him to where he is today.

6. He is friendly and accommodative and has lots of friends.

7. He loves playing and watching soccer and is a hardcore Liverpool fan.

8. He is an entrepreneur in his spare time, normally weekends, and is inspired by my dad. He has a taxi business and a company registrations consultancy.

9. He has travelled the world, including to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, London, Singapore, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.

10. Tourism and safaris are always part of his holiday packages.