The sky is the limit and Shali Shindume is aiming for the stars

Desiree Gases



Shali Shindume hails from Okatope village in the Ohangwena Region, but he was born in Windhoek and spent his childhood in Katutura, both in Vambolokasie and later in Wanaheda. He comes from a solid traditional family background. Shindume’s parents are firm believers in hard work, which was passed on to him. As the first born of four boys, he got to be a big brother, a nanny, cleaner, and a cook. Shindume has been married for 12 years now and has a daughter and two sons. “They are my pillars,” Shindume says.

Shindume attended Mandume Primary School and Wanaheda Primary School (now called Martti Ahtisaari Primary School). He was selected for enrolment at Concordia College, where he completed grade 12. He studied accounting at the University of Namibia and then pursued a master’s degree in development finance at USB. Shindume also completed an MBA in entrepreneurship at the University of Namibia.

Shindume’s journey with Bank Windhoek started just after matric in 1998, when he was selected to be part of the bank’s CBT programme. He only attended for a month and then was offered an opportunity to go to university. Straight after university, Shindume was admitted to the bank’s new Corporate Candidate Training Programme within CIB. Shindume then went into the market and he now finds himself back at Bank Windhoek at CIB. “I think Bank Windhoek is my home,” Shindume says.

His role entails developing close relationships with the key stakeholders in the public sector in order to grow the bank’s business with entities at national, regional, local level.

“I’m in a fortunate position to make a difference and contribute to the national development goals of our beloved Namibia and facing the challenges in the race for excellence,” he says.

The main challenge is that the public sector operates within a complex regulatory framework, requiring financial solutions that support its mandates of service delivery and sustainable socioeconomic development at all levels of government. The public sector demand for sound financial management is increasing and there is an increasing challenge in terms of service delivery for managing public funds, hence the importance of providing a financial solution to the challenge.

Shindume is proud of the difference he can make in people’s lives. He believes it is a rare privilege to serve in this role where he can provide the necessary leadership to make an impact on national developmental goals and plans in complementing the government’s agenda.

When asked what motivates him, Shindume replied: “A quote from one of my favourite books by Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, called ‘My Vision’, and it best describes why I wake up every morning.

‘With each new day in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing he must outrun the fasted lion or perish. At the same time, a lion stirs and stretches, knowing that he must outrun the slowest gazelle or starve. It is no different for the human race. Whether you consider yourself a gazelle or a lion, you simply have to run faster than others to survive.’”

In his free time Shindume enjoys hunting and outdoor activities, playing golf and reading motivational books. Shindume says if he had to give a message to the youth, he would tell them a simple tale he was once told by his sister-in-law. “There was a competition in which frogs had to complete the very difficult task of climbing the highest hill, which no frog had managed to do before. On the day of the competition there was this frog that kept on climbing and all the other frogs were shouting all sort of discouraging words. To their surprise, the frog made it to the top, becoming the first frog to make it to the top of the hill. They decided to interview the frog to ask him how he did it. To their surprise, the frog was deaf. The frog had not heard any of the discouraging shouts from the crowd, and because of that he made it to the top. So, for the youth, please set your goals and be that deaf frog.”