March 30, 2025 • 30 mins
Leadership: the personal lens of Morlai Kargbo was an opportunity for spotlight for the ACCA winner to offer a personal insight to his early life, the driver to support disadvantaged accountants and what he considers success.
Morlai’s Early Life
Morlai Kargbo a Sierra Leonean, born, went to primary and secondary school in Sierra Leone. He lived there until he was his early thirties. Morlai’s parents were uneducated, they encouraged him throughout his life. Morlai was determined to get a degree and to excel in everything he did.
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Episode Transcript
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Paula (00:00):
Welcome to TesseLeads with your host, Tesse Akpeki,
(00:04):
and co-host me, Paula Okonneh.
TesseLeads is a safe, sensitive, andsupportive place and space to share, hear,
and tell your stories and experiences.
We at TesseLeads get super curiousabout the dilemmas that shape
(00:24):
your future, our future, andthe journeys that we all are on.
Our theme today is leadership: the personal lens of Morlai Kagbo,
who's our guest and what I'll do todayis as I welcome him to the show, I'll
let Morlai tell you all about himself.
(00:46):
And what I mean is that I'mnot going to read his bio.
His bio is going to behim telling us about him.
So welcome to the show, Morlai, andcan't wait to hear more about you.
Morlai (00:57):
Thank you very much, Paula, and also to you, Tesse.
It's always a pleasure tomeet people like yourselves.
My spirit, told me that this was going tobe special, and I'm here to really make it
special, because there's so much to share.
My name is Morlai Kagbo a Sierra Leonean.
(01:19):
Yes, born, and I wouldsay bred in Sierra Leone.
I was in Sierra Leone tillI was my early thirties.
So I know what it feels like, tobe in Sierra Leone, in Africa.
I went to school in Sierra Leoneand obviously after my primary
(01:42):
school, yes, born as a Muslim.
My mom and dad were Muslim.
I learned, and studied the Quran andI was actually calling prayers, in the
mosque, in this community that I lived in.
And then, fast forward, Iwent to secondary school.
(02:03):
My parents, mom and dad, never went to school.
So they wanted me to do so well.
My mom was always, there withme, taking me to schools,
and went to secondary school.
And it was a Christiansecondary school I love singing.
Went into the music and into theband, and then into the choir.
(02:28):
So I started singing in thechoir, and my mom was with me
wherever I went, my mom was there.
And then fast forward, I fell inlove with, Christianity, singing
songs, and whatever it is.
And I find myself, moving from the Muslim,way of doing things, and to the Christian.
(02:49):
Because, I wanted to be, educated,and that's how I moved from
being a Muslim to a Christian.
And my parents allowed me to do it.
Yes, they supported me.
So there I was unable, to afford,university in Sierra Leone.
My parents were, they cannot affordit, after my secondary school.
(03:12):
So finding a job in the formal sectordown there was paramount for me.
And I was so lucky, I met one ofour neighbors who had contacts and
the contact was his cousin who hadan accounting practice in Sierra
Leone, but also had a restaurant.
And I was going one day and she called me and said,
(03:34):
Morlai, what are you doing now?
And I says I'm looking for work.
And he says, okay, come, and hewrote, he gave me a letter and I
said, go and give it to my cousin.
And I took this letter
to Hackers in the city.
And one day this guy said tome, when do you want to start?
(03:54):
Start what?
I'm saying, start what?
He says, when do you want to start?
Not qualified, no experience.
And I said, okay, whenever youwant me to start, sir. And he
said, why don't you come on Monday?
And that's how I got myfirst break in Sierra Leone.
(04:15):
And then what he did was, from theaccounting practice, which I did not
do much, he moved me over into therestaurant and then because there was
some kind of turmoil, in the restaurant.
And I went down there, and anopportunity opened up for me, to manage.
A young man like me to manage, andI thought, okay, that's really good.
(04:38):
So maybe I'll put the, theaccountancy, whatever it is to hold.
And I did that for several years, Iwas able to save money and that gave
me the opportunity for me to be ableto sponsor myself, to go and do my AAT.
I had to leave my full-time job, to go and study ACCA, the AAAT, then.
(05:02):
And my family thought there was somebody,this guy, something's wrong with him.
Yeah, leave a job, to do what?
To go and study full time.
Yes, and I did.
And you know the result, a success.
It was success.
When I finished my exams in Sierra Leone,yeah, I got my AAT and I did the AAT in
(05:25):
the Institute of Public AdministrationManagement, which was under the University
of Sierra Leone, and then I got employed.
Yes, by the Institute as thefinance manager, oh boy, then, and I
thought this is just the beginning.
Yeah, it didn't stop there.
(05:46):
Now I knew what he meant, to have aqualification, and I thought what's
the next, qualification for me?
And that was ACCA.
And I started, studyingfor ACCA in Sierra Leone.
But then it was really,challenging and difficult, to
achieve the ACCA certification.
(06:07):
That later led me to theUK, where I am today.
Yes, and I came to the UK because,access to proper exam structures,
including, lectures and seminars.
But after I finished my ACCA exams, tomy dismay, I struggle, to find work.
(06:30):
And despite my education, despitethe promise that I will find
effective full-time employment onceI'm satisfied, it didn't happen.
But you know what?
I did not give up.
This lasted for about 10months, knocking on doors.
Yes.
And finally, when one dooropened, I never looked back.
(06:54):
By the time I realized I was, 11,12 years in this role, where I'd
gain much knowledge, much exposure,much experience and money as well.
Cause I made a lot of money at the time.
And I decided now it's the timefor me to do, my own thing.
In 2008, when the world was going through financial turmoil.
(07:21):
That was the time Morlai decided hewants to go and do his own thing.
To leave his full time jobagain, yes, to go and do what?
Morlai?
What do you want to go and do?
Now, when I want to go and do my thing.
I don't, I'm not sure what I want to do,but I just want to go and do my own thing.
What is that thing?
And this is how Moracle was born in 2008.
(07:42):
And what was bubbling inside me,it was more to come and provide
training and practical work experienceto disadvantaged accountants.
Who had, the necessary qualification, yet,like myself, at that time, struggled to
find work in the fields of accounting.
(08:02):
It's really, it was, what I found when I started was
something I did not bargain for.
I thought it was just goingto be, a handful of these guys
out there, just like myself.
But then I realized, my goodness,the need for, this is huge.
(08:23):
Yeah.
Fast forward two years afterthat, I decided I was going
to start Moracle Foundation.
Because in the accountancy profession,just two things, volunteering, training
within an accounting and auditingpractice, yeah, did not, sit in well.
(08:44):
I thought, no, sorry, Iam not going to give up.
I really want to do this.
So what I'll do is, Iwill set up, a foundation.
And there.
Yeah, it's a vehicle forme to do, and give back.
And that's how MoracleFoundation started in 2010.
So Moracle, the firm, theauditing firm, started in 2008
(09:07):
and Moracle Foundation in 2010.
Yes.
So when I established MoracleFoundation it was more to
offer, this training, to graduates, touniversity students, to provide hands
on practical work experience whilst theywere getting their ACCA certification.
(09:28):
And still, you know, Moracle is stilldoing that and doing quite a lot of stuff.
But at the time, I feltwas, it was an injustice.
Yeah.
So unfair for people, particularlycoming from working backgrounds.
And I remember, when I came tothe UK, my community, everybody
(09:51):
knew I was doing the ACCA.
Yes, they knew when I was taking the exams, they knew when the
results were out, and so when youfinish your examination, the expectation
that everything was going to be, bigand beautiful, yes, never happened.
So now I was in a position whereI've gone through it and I can see
(10:16):
other people, caught up in this.
A situation, and I thought when I sawit, I want to do something about it.
Yes, and today, we've helped over
500, such accountants, whetherit be, you've passed your exams
or you are a student, cominginto the accountancy profession.
(10:39):
Yes, and we'll be so reallyproud, to have done this.
But as the years go by, you realize this is more.
Because particularly, this is notan issue just only for the UK.
But it's outside of the UK.
Where I came from?
Sierra Leone.
Africa in general.
(11:00):
And what can we do about it?
And this is where the idea came to me, togo and then begin to forge relationships.
So I used to travel, go to Ghana, Nigeria,Sierra Leone Uganda, Cameroon, and then
talk to other accountants down there.
Those days you had to fly, to have thisconversation, now it's all digital.
(11:24):
And that's where this idea of, touchingthe lives of not only in the UK, but
guys, in Africa and wherever they are.
And digital way of doing thisactually lends itself now, yeah,
compared to those early years whenMoracle Foundation was set up.
(11:46):
We were based on, a digitalway of working, but it was
not generally accepted.
Yes?
You go have the face-to-face meetings.
Even though we were set up inorder to do all of these things.
But now, it's no excuse, I say, for us to restrict,
this, the number of people.
When I started, in my smalloffice, you go about five people
(12:09):
who will come in with me, yes.
At any one point in time, five, students.
But now, could do a thousand.
Yes, and this is the beautyabout the world that we live in,
with the digital way of working.
In
2019, having done, several yearswork in the Foundation itself.
(12:35):
And I thought something was missing.
And I said what is this?
You know how, you are, you're hustling.
You are out there, there'sso many low hanging fruits.
I can see them, but I was not ableto connect them and I decided what
I was going to invest in myself.
And the investment was pointingme to personal development.
(12:57):
And I took it on.
And that was one of the bestinvestments I've ever made.
And I'm telling you, this iswhere the mindset came from.
I finished that personaldevelopment course and to put,
just to put perspective to this.
I registered for that course sometime April 19, 2019, and then I got
(13:20):
the ACCA award in November 2019, okay?
So it tells me that, all this lowhanging fruit, all this work I've
been doing, I've not been able tohave this, what you call it now?
Put it in a kind of a waythat you can present it.
This blessing, this specializedknowledge that one has acquired,
(13:43):
you've done so much, but you'renot able to bring it together.
Yes.
And then, and direct it, to a particular,cause, that will produce the outcome.
This mindset helped meto be able to do that.
And that's how ACCA reached out tome, and said, we recognize the work
(14:04):
that you're doing, yeah, it's timefor us to, to give you this award
and I'm so honored.
And so blessed as well.
And every time I touch this badge, theACCA badge, I think about my parents,
my mom, yes, particularly my mom.
And I say, this is for you.
(14:25):
And the one thing that I always say.
If only I could be allowed, togo and then, get them to come up
for just five minutes, for themto come and see, this troublesome
boy, that's what he's doing now.
That would have been my best thing.
I'm telling you, yes.
I know where they are right now.
(14:45):
They, they can feel it.
And this is what they were trying to do,and they knew, yes, they were going to
be successful, it's just that they're notgoing to be here to see it in person, yes.
But they had invested and, intheir prayers, and everything that
they did, and for this to happen.
I'm so grateful, I'm so grateful to God, for this to happen.
(15:08):
But for me, It's this mindset,that you bring to bear.
Yeah, to be able to serve, to beable to use your profession to serve.
Accountants we're not trained,to know how to serve, yes?
We act like we are gods, sometimes.
We know everything,
(15:31):
I tell you this way or thehighways, so to speak, I'm the
accountant, so there you go.
But no, that's not how itshould be, in our world.
But I think it's all about the mindset,that helped me, to be able to know
who I am, to be able to serve clients,to be emotionally involved in what
you do, yeah, when you're serving.
(15:54):
And when you're serving,there's no reservation.
Yes, you don't hold anything back.
When I decided, I was going to,to go back, to, to Africa to
set up the Moracle, project.
Which is the initiative where you identifywomen, who are ACCA qualified and want
(16:16):
to own their own accounting practice.
And people say hold on, why do you want to do that?
And I said, I really don'tknow, but I just have this,
this idea, to go and do it.
But you can see there's a gaphere, so many women now, are
doing so well, in accounting, but,
the ownership, of theirown business, is very few.
(16:40):
And today I'm glad, when youlook at the profession itself.
The top three, arewomen in the profession.
And I'm saying what can we do?
So again, it's another initiative.
Yeah, and if you ask me the reasonwhy I want to do it or I'm doing it,
again, probably it's because of my mom.
And I can see my mom there,will be saying, I'm so proud
(17:03):
of you, to be doing this.
And I'm so chuffed,to be able tofind the time to do that, with women.
To empower women.
To work with women, it says you,you train up, a woman, you train up
the whole village, you understand?
And that's what it is, and today, I wasjust reminded, I think it was Paula, who
(17:26):
said, men make the rules, but you knowwhat, it is women, who bring forth, men,
Paula (17:34):
Yes.
That's the truth.
Morlai:
You know what?
I totally agree with you, Tesse,and I'm sure you would agree with
me, yes, but it is women, we bringforth, men we need to listen.
Tesse (17:52):
This is very beautiful; the flow of your story is so encouraging.
It is inspiring.
Your perseverance, sticking with thingsand also how your faith, were footsteps
for you.
And that's really beautiful.
(18:13):
However, you said aboutconnecting the dots.
For people who are hearingthis story that you've told.
Your story, because wecall this a personal lens.
How will you summarize?
From your perspective, someof the steps to success?
We in the UK, and then I'm surein America, we have all these
Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
We have celebrity this,celebrity that, we have all that.
(18:36):
But your story was a slow burn.
Yeah.
So what would you say to the majoritywhose stories are usually slow burn,
that to encourage them from your story?
Morlai (18:49):
There are so many things that jumps out at me, and the phrase
that just stand out, it says boldmoves create extraordinary outcomes.
Bold moves.
Yeah, for you to make a bold move,then it is believing in yourself.
Know who you are.
(19:09):
Yes.
It's a Be Bold.
Yes.
Why?
Because the Lord, thy God, is with you.
Yes.
Be bold.
Yeah.
I always, go back againto that, the spirituality.
If you take that outof me, then, who am I?
(19:31):
So I will encourage, everyone whois looking, for that success factor.
It's not out there.
It's within.
Why is it that you want to do something?
Yes.
What is it?
That actually makes youwake up every morning.
(19:51):
Wanting to go and do thisstuff, over and over.
I tell you what, and I get a nudge.
And it's well, you loveworking so much, and I say.
Think about it, I do!
I love what I do.
And I love it.
I love accounting.
I love, talking about accounting.
But you know what?
I love the people that I work with.
(20:13):
My clients, my staff, my contacts, sorry!
Because, everyone that I meet,I want to leave them with
the impression of increase.
And that, I'm telling you, foranyone listening out there.
Yeah, if you hold that, if you can dothat to leave everyone, you come in
(20:36):
contact with that impression of increase.
They know that you have met them.
The contact capital, thevalue, that you generate.
Oh,
that's the compensation.
I call it the law of compensation.
No choice about that.
It's so clear.
Tesse (20:56):
Paul, I'm going to hand over to you because sometimes I
have a weak point, which is thatI get too excited for my own good.
But the point I have is that I alsoget too excited for my own good.
So you know, I'm going to handle it,that, I love that word contact capital
because people usually talk aboutsocial capital, economic capital.
(21:17):
You've mentioned people, capital,contact capital, and I am
loving this conversation, Paula.
Paula (21:26):
Yes, your life story bowled me over.
You started us from the verybeginning, primary school,
secondary school, Finishing.
And here you are today.
The CEO of multiplecompanies, giving back.
They were listening to your stories.
(21:48):
I could see there were high points, therewere low points, but you didn't give up.
And so when people don't use the word, I didn't give up, that means there
must have been some failure in between.
You can call it challenges.
What have you learned from that?
That you can share with our people?
Because we've heard, as I said, I'm bowledover the your story and look at you today.
(22:10):
But there's something that you learnfrom your ups and downs, the goods
and the times that weren't so good.
Some people call it failures.
Some people also use the acronymFirst Attempt In Learning.
What have you learned from that, sir?
Morlai (22:26):
Failures, ups and downs is part of the equation.
I wish I can share all mymathematical formulas with you.
I love, as a numbersperson, I love formulas.
So do I. But really, as a true professional and a
business person, a human being.
Yes, and one thing I will not let, yes,in my mind right now is this self doubt.
(22:54):
Yeah, that self doubt, thatcloud, one's ability to make
decisions and end up, being stuck.
Yes, and It's something that,I have learned, in all my
dealings, even when I'm down.
I look at myself, who is down?
It's this Morlai who is down?
(23:17):
Or is it just the situation that is down?
Yes?
And slowly, whatever thatcircumstance is, or whatever the
situation, I'm moving from it.
This is nothing to do with Morlai.
It cannot be Morlai.
God made me in his own image and likeness.
Yes?
No.
I am who I am.
(23:39):
God says I am.
So I move myself out of it andthen stand somewhere and look
where I was standing and say, oh!
Yeah, it is over there.
Yeah.
But you cannot.
You cannot stop.
A moving trend.
Yes?
The environment.
There are things happening,out of your control.
(24:03):
Yes?
And we all face that every day.
But all we got to do.
Yeah, is to be able,to look after oneself.
To be able to look at yourselfin the mirror and says hold on?
Is this the Morlai that I want to be?
(24:24):
And if we do that, it takes time to do it.
It takes the discipline,not just about that.
It takes, the consistency.
It takes the imagination, and I,once I was told, by my mentor.
He says,Morlai?
Morlai:
(24:49):
Your way is not working.
Why don't you follow my way?
Morlai, your way is not working.
Why don't you follow my way?
And until you can prove my way is notworking, I'm saying to you, follow my way.
And I'm telling you, assimple as that advice.
It means that, you know what,when I get stuck, yeah, I'm always
going to find somebody out there.
There are people out there, and all we gotto do, just be bold and ask the question.
(25:14):
I need help.
I need help.
Yes.
And I'm telling youthis world of abundance.
Sorry, you cannot be alone.
Tesse:
There are things that happen and somehowI love what you were saying about
using opportunities from hardship.
(25:36):
Using opportunity from adversity.
Seeing things as stepping stones,even when it's not looking good.
Tesse (25:44):
And I love that.
I think what comes to my mind is thepeople talk about, resilience, very
few people talk about hardiness, howcan we actually not be so fragile?
How can we actually build from thatplace of things that challenge us?
Of people that challenge us?
(26:05):
From situations that challenge us?
So in relation to a proverb that youmight think of, because Africans,
and I see myself as one of those,Africans, we like the proverbs.
Do you have any proverbs that cometo mind as we wrap up on this whole
piece about your personal lens?
Morlai (26:23):
That's a good one.
African Proverbs.
Oh gosh, that is yeah,nothing comes up now.
But I'm a proverb person as well.
Paula (26:37):
How about it takes a village to raise a child?
You're talking about how moms are
the world.
Morlai (26:44):
Yes.
I think I would go for that.
Yes.
Because it's true though.
It's true.
It's true.
In terms of just empowering,as I said, people is my people.
Yeah.
You go to a hotel and take the people out.
You don't have a hotel anymore.
(27:05):
It's just a structure.
It's all bricks and mortar.
Yes.
All you get is just bricks and mortar!
There's no hotel anymore.
Yeah?
So you need the people aspect.
It'so so important.
Thank you so much.
Wow.
Outro (27:26):
Paula
would we be basically you're saying.
And that's why we do Tesse Leadsbecause people's precious stories
and their lives matter to us.
And so we come on every time onTesseLeads and ask you, our audience,
to share these stories with us.
(27:47):
Because when people hear them,they feel supported, they
feel encouraged, and they feel
nurtured.
In other words, Tesse Leads is to ensurethat people don't ever feel alone.
And so we always encourage our listenersto head over to Apple Podcasts, YouTube,
Spotify, anywhere else that you listento podcasts, and click subscribe.
Paula (28:13):
And if you have found Tesse Leads helpful, who wouldn't?
Especially with Morlai's story.
We ask that you let us know ina review, hopefully, preferably
at Apple Podcast review.
If you have any questions ortopics that you'd like us to cover,
we ask that you send us a note.
And last but not least, if you'd liketo be a guest on our show, Tesse Leeds.
(28:37):
Please head over to our website,which is www.Tesseleads.com to apply.
This has been awesome!
Thank you so much, Morlai.
Morlai (28:49):
That's okay.
That's all right.
Thank you very much, Tessethank you very much.
Thank you Paula.
And nice to meet youguys, and it's beautiful.
It's beautiful just tocatch up with you guys.
But also I feel, talking to you guys.
I feel special.
I've known you guys for so long.
I'll
(29:12):
pray for whatever it is thatyou guys are doing there.
Because to create this awareness, throughpodcasts, engaging people shows there's
so much good you guys are doing out there.
Remember, the world needs to hearpeople like ourselves, talk about their
experiences, connect and relate, too.
(29:34):
But also be there, as a signposting.
I used that word there, that phraseology, contact capital.
I believe in so much contact capital.
We accountants, we like to put value,to things that we see physically.
The bank account, or yeah, moneycoming in and stuff like that.
(29:56):
But try putting value to contacts.
They say, hold what you talking about?
I'm saying contacts is so much capital, you're tied into it.
Tesse (30:08):
How beautiful.
Morlai (30:09):
We need to be able to explore it.
Tesse (30:11):
Beautiful!
Exploring capital contact capital.
That's wonderful.
Is a joy that you've reached out tous and we wanna have you back so,
we are not leaving you like this.
Come back next year.
We'd love to hear from you
again.
Welcome to TesseLeads with your host, Tesse Akpeki,
(00:04):
and co-host me, Paula Okonneh.
TesseLeads is a safe, sensitive, andsupportive place and space to share, hear,
and tell your stories and experiences.
We at TesseLeads get super curiousabout the dilemmas that shape
(00:24):
your future, our future, andthe journeys that we all are on.
Our theme today is leadership: the personal lens of Morlai Kagbo,
who's our guest and what I'll do todayis as I welcome him to the show, I'll
let Morlai tell you all about himself.
(00:46):
And what I mean is that I'mnot going to read his bio.
His bio is going to behim telling us about him.
So welcome to the show, Morlai, andcan't wait to hear more about you.
Morlai (00:57):
Thank you very much, Paula, and also to you, Tesse.
It's always a pleasure tomeet people like yourselves.
My spirit, told me that this was going tobe special, and I'm here to really make it
special, because there's so much to share.
My name is Morlai Kagbo a Sierra Leonean.
(01:19):
Yes, born, and I wouldsay bred in Sierra Leone.
I was in Sierra Leone tillI was my early thirties.
So I know what it feels like, tobe in Sierra Leone, in Africa.
I went to school in Sierra Leoneand obviously after my primary
(01:42):
school, yes, born as a Muslim.
My mom and dad were Muslim.
I learned, and studied the Quran andI was actually calling prayers, in the
mosque, in this community that I lived in.
And then, fast forward, Iwent to secondary school.
(02:03):
My parents, mom and dad, never went to school.
So they wanted me to do so well.
My mom was always, there withme, taking me to schools,
and went to secondary school.
And it was a Christiansecondary school I love singing.
Went into the music and into theband, and then into the choir.
(02:28):
So I started singing in thechoir, and my mom was with me
wherever I went, my mom was there.
And then fast forward, I fell inlove with, Christianity, singing
songs, and whatever it is.
And I find myself, moving from the Muslim,way of doing things, and to the Christian.
(02:49):
Because, I wanted to be, educated,and that's how I moved from
being a Muslim to a Christian.
And my parents allowed me to do it.
Yes, they supported me.
So there I was unable, to afford,university in Sierra Leone.
My parents were, they cannot affordit, after my secondary school.
(03:12):
So finding a job in the formal sectordown there was paramount for me.
And I was so lucky, I met one ofour neighbors who had contacts and
the contact was his cousin who hadan accounting practice in Sierra
Leone, but also had a restaurant.
And I was going one day and she called me and said,
(03:34):
Morlai, what are you doing now?
And I says I'm looking for work.
And he says, okay, come, and hewrote, he gave me a letter and I
said, go and give it to my cousin.
And I took this letter
to Hackers in the city.
And one day this guy said tome, when do you want to start?
(03:54):
Start what?
I'm saying, start what?
He says, when do you want to start?
Not qualified, no experience.
And I said, okay, whenever youwant me to start, sir. And he
said, why don't you come on Monday?
And that's how I got myfirst break in Sierra Leone.
(04:15):
And then what he did was, from theaccounting practice, which I did not
do much, he moved me over into therestaurant and then because there was
some kind of turmoil, in the restaurant.
And I went down there, and anopportunity opened up for me, to manage.
A young man like me to manage, andI thought, okay, that's really good.
(04:38):
So maybe I'll put the, theaccountancy, whatever it is to hold.
And I did that for several years, Iwas able to save money and that gave
me the opportunity for me to be ableto sponsor myself, to go and do my AAT.
I had to leave my full-time job, to go and study ACCA, the AAAT, then.
(05:02):
And my family thought there was somebody,this guy, something's wrong with him.
Yeah, leave a job, to do what?
To go and study full time.
Yes, and I did.
And you know the result, a success.
It was success.
When I finished my exams in Sierra Leone,yeah, I got my AAT and I did the AAT in
(05:25):
the Institute of Public AdministrationManagement, which was under the University
of Sierra Leone, and then I got employed.
Yes, by the Institute as thefinance manager, oh boy, then, and I
thought this is just the beginning.
Yeah, it didn't stop there.
(05:46):
Now I knew what he meant, to have aqualification, and I thought what's
the next, qualification for me?
And that was ACCA.
And I started, studyingfor ACCA in Sierra Leone.
But then it was really,challenging and difficult, to
achieve the ACCA certification.
(06:07):
That later led me to theUK, where I am today.
Yes, and I came to the UK because,access to proper exam structures,
including, lectures and seminars.
But after I finished my ACCA exams, tomy dismay, I struggle, to find work.
(06:30):
And despite my education, despitethe promise that I will find
effective full-time employment onceI'm satisfied, it didn't happen.
But you know what?
I did not give up.
This lasted for about 10months, knocking on doors.
Yes.
And finally, when one dooropened, I never looked back.
(06:54):
By the time I realized I was, 11,12 years in this role, where I'd
gain much knowledge, much exposure,much experience and money as well.
Cause I made a lot of money at the time.
And I decided now it's the timefor me to do, my own thing.
In 2008, when the world was going through financial turmoil.
(07:21):
That was the time Morlai decided hewants to go and do his own thing.
To leave his full time jobagain, yes, to go and do what?
Morlai?
What do you want to go and do?
Now, when I want to go and do my thing.
I don't, I'm not sure what I want to do,but I just want to go and do my own thing.
What is that thing?
And this is how Moracle was born in 2008.
(07:42):
And what was bubbling inside me,it was more to come and provide
training and practical work experienceto disadvantaged accountants.
Who had, the necessary qualification, yet,like myself, at that time, struggled to
find work in the fields of accounting.
(08:02):
It's really, it was, what I found when I started was
something I did not bargain for.
I thought it was just goingto be, a handful of these guys
out there, just like myself.
But then I realized, my goodness,the need for, this is huge.
(08:23):
Yeah.
Fast forward two years afterthat, I decided I was going
to start Moracle Foundation.
Because in the accountancy profession,just two things, volunteering, training
within an accounting and auditingpractice, yeah, did not, sit in well.
(08:44):
I thought, no, sorry, Iam not going to give up.
I really want to do this.
So what I'll do is, Iwill set up, a foundation.
And there.
Yeah, it's a vehicle forme to do, and give back.
And that's how MoracleFoundation started in 2010.
So Moracle, the firm, theauditing firm, started in 2008
(09:07):
and Moracle Foundation in 2010.
Yes.
So when I established MoracleFoundation it was more to
offer, this training, to graduates, touniversity students, to provide hands
on practical work experience whilst theywere getting their ACCA certification.
(09:28):
And still, you know, Moracle is stilldoing that and doing quite a lot of stuff.
But at the time, I feltwas, it was an injustice.
Yeah.
So unfair for people, particularlycoming from working backgrounds.
And I remember, when I came tothe UK, my community, everybody
(09:51):
knew I was doing the ACCA.
Yes, they knew when I was taking the exams, they knew when the
results were out, and so when youfinish your examination, the expectation
that everything was going to be, bigand beautiful, yes, never happened.
So now I was in a position whereI've gone through it and I can see
(10:16):
other people, caught up in this.
A situation, and I thought when I sawit, I want to do something about it.
Yes, and today, we've helped over
500, such accountants, whetherit be, you've passed your exams
or you are a student, cominginto the accountancy profession.
(10:39):
Yes, and we'll be so reallyproud, to have done this.
But as the years go by, you realize this is more.
Because particularly, this is notan issue just only for the UK.
But it's outside of the UK.
Where I came from?
Sierra Leone.
Africa in general.
(11:00):
And what can we do about it?
And this is where the idea came to me, togo and then begin to forge relationships.
So I used to travel, go to Ghana, Nigeria,Sierra Leone Uganda, Cameroon, and then
talk to other accountants down there.
Those days you had to fly, to have thisconversation, now it's all digital.
(11:24):
And that's where this idea of, touchingthe lives of not only in the UK, but
guys, in Africa and wherever they are.
And digital way of doing thisactually lends itself now, yeah,
compared to those early years whenMoracle Foundation was set up.
(11:46):
We were based on, a digitalway of working, but it was
not generally accepted.
Yes?
You go have the face-to-face meetings.
Even though we were set up inorder to do all of these things.
But now, it's no excuse, I say, for us to restrict,
this, the number of people.
When I started, in my smalloffice, you go about five people
(12:09):
who will come in with me, yes.
At any one point in time, five, students.
But now, could do a thousand.
Yes, and this is the beautyabout the world that we live in,
with the digital way of working.
In
2019, having done, several yearswork in the Foundation itself.
(12:35):
And I thought something was missing.
And I said what is this?
You know how, you are, you're hustling.
You are out there, there'sso many low hanging fruits.
I can see them, but I was not ableto connect them and I decided what
I was going to invest in myself.
And the investment was pointingme to personal development.
(12:57):
And I took it on.
And that was one of the bestinvestments I've ever made.
And I'm telling you, this iswhere the mindset came from.
I finished that personaldevelopment course and to put,
just to put perspective to this.
I registered for that course sometime April 19, 2019, and then I got
(13:20):
the ACCA award in November 2019, okay?
So it tells me that, all this lowhanging fruit, all this work I've
been doing, I've not been able tohave this, what you call it now?
Put it in a kind of a waythat you can present it.
This blessing, this specializedknowledge that one has acquired,
(13:43):
you've done so much, but you'renot able to bring it together.
Yes.
And then, and direct it, to a particular,cause, that will produce the outcome.
This mindset helped meto be able to do that.
And that's how ACCA reached out tome, and said, we recognize the work
(14:04):
that you're doing, yeah, it's timefor us to, to give you this award
and I'm so honored.
And so blessed as well.
And every time I touch this badge, theACCA badge, I think about my parents,
my mom, yes, particularly my mom.
And I say, this is for you.
(14:25):
And the one thing that I always say.
If only I could be allowed, togo and then, get them to come up
for just five minutes, for themto come and see, this troublesome
boy, that's what he's doing now.
That would have been my best thing.
I'm telling you, yes.
I know where they are right now.
(14:45):
They, they can feel it.
And this is what they were trying to do,and they knew, yes, they were going to
be successful, it's just that they're notgoing to be here to see it in person, yes.
But they had invested and, intheir prayers, and everything that
they did, and for this to happen.
I'm so grateful, I'm so grateful to God, for this to happen.
(15:08):
But for me, It's this mindset,that you bring to bear.
Yeah, to be able to serve, to beable to use your profession to serve.
Accountants we're not trained,to know how to serve, yes?
We act like we are gods, sometimes.
We know everything,
(15:31):
I tell you this way or thehighways, so to speak, I'm the
accountant, so there you go.
But no, that's not how itshould be, in our world.
But I think it's all about the mindset,that helped me, to be able to know
who I am, to be able to serve clients,to be emotionally involved in what
you do, yeah, when you're serving.
(15:54):
And when you're serving,there's no reservation.
Yes, you don't hold anything back.
When I decided, I was going to,to go back, to, to Africa to
set up the Moracle, project.
Which is the initiative where you identifywomen, who are ACCA qualified and want
(16:16):
to own their own accounting practice.
And people say hold on, why do you want to do that?
And I said, I really don'tknow, but I just have this,
this idea, to go and do it.
But you can see there's a gaphere, so many women now, are
doing so well, in accounting, but,
the ownership, of theirown business, is very few.
(16:40):
And today I'm glad, when youlook at the profession itself.
The top three, arewomen in the profession.
And I'm saying what can we do?
So again, it's another initiative.
Yeah, and if you ask me the reasonwhy I want to do it or I'm doing it,
again, probably it's because of my mom.
And I can see my mom there,will be saying, I'm so proud
(17:03):
of you, to be doing this.
And I'm so chuffed,to be able tofind the time to do that, with women.
To empower women.
To work with women, it says you,you train up, a woman, you train up
the whole village, you understand?
And that's what it is, and today, I wasjust reminded, I think it was Paula, who
(17:26):
said, men make the rules, but you knowwhat, it is women, who bring forth, men,
Paula (17:34):
Yes.
That's the truth.
Morlai:
You know what?
I totally agree with you, Tesse,and I'm sure you would agree with
me, yes, but it is women, we bringforth, men we need to listen.
Tesse (17:52):
This is very beautiful; the flow of your story is so encouraging.
It is inspiring.
Your perseverance, sticking with thingsand also how your faith, were footsteps
for you.
And that's really beautiful.
(18:13):
However, you said aboutconnecting the dots.
For people who are hearingthis story that you've told.
Your story, because wecall this a personal lens.
How will you summarize?
From your perspective, someof the steps to success?
We in the UK, and then I'm surein America, we have all these
Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
We have celebrity this,celebrity that, we have all that.
(18:36):
But your story was a slow burn.
Yeah.
So what would you say to the majoritywhose stories are usually slow burn,
that to encourage them from your story?
Morlai (18:49):
There are so many things that jumps out at me, and the phrase
that just stand out, it says boldmoves create extraordinary outcomes.
Bold moves.
Yeah, for you to make a bold move,then it is believing in yourself.
Know who you are.
(19:09):
Yes.
It's a Be Bold.
Yes.
Why?
Because the Lord, thy God, is with you.
Yes.
Be bold.
Yeah.
I always, go back againto that, the spirituality.
If you take that outof me, then, who am I?
(19:31):
So I will encourage, everyone whois looking, for that success factor.
It's not out there.
It's within.
Why is it that you want to do something?
Yes.
What is it?
That actually makes youwake up every morning.
(19:51):
Wanting to go and do thisstuff, over and over.
I tell you what, and I get a nudge.
And it's well, you loveworking so much, and I say.
Think about it, I do!
I love what I do.
And I love it.
I love accounting.
I love, talking about accounting.
But you know what?
I love the people that I work with.
(20:13):
My clients, my staff, my contacts, sorry!
Because, everyone that I meet,I want to leave them with
the impression of increase.
And that, I'm telling you, foranyone listening out there.
Yeah, if you hold that, if you can dothat to leave everyone, you come in
(20:36):
contact with that impression of increase.
They know that you have met them.
The contact capital, thevalue, that you generate.
Oh,
that's the compensation.
I call it the law of compensation.
No choice about that.
It's so clear.
Tesse (20:56):
Paul, I'm going to hand over to you because sometimes I
have a weak point, which is thatI get too excited for my own good.
But the point I have is that I alsoget too excited for my own good.
So you know, I'm going to handle it,that, I love that word contact capital
because people usually talk aboutsocial capital, economic capital.
(21:17):
You've mentioned people, capital,contact capital, and I am
loving this conversation, Paula.
Paula (21:26):
Yes, your life story bowled me over.
You started us from the verybeginning, primary school,
secondary school, Finishing.
And here you are today.
The CEO of multiplecompanies, giving back.
They were listening to your stories.
(21:48):
I could see there were high points, therewere low points, but you didn't give up.
And so when people don't use the word, I didn't give up, that means there
must have been some failure in between.
You can call it challenges.
What have you learned from that?
That you can share with our people?
Because we've heard, as I said, I'm bowledover the your story and look at you today.
(22:10):
But there's something that you learnfrom your ups and downs, the goods
and the times that weren't so good.
Some people call it failures.
Some people also use the acronymFirst Attempt In Learning.
What have you learned from that, sir?
Morlai (22:26):
Failures, ups and downs is part of the equation.
I wish I can share all mymathematical formulas with you.
I love, as a numbersperson, I love formulas.
So do I. But really, as a true professional and a
business person, a human being.
Yes, and one thing I will not let, yes,in my mind right now is this self doubt.
(22:54):
Yeah, that self doubt, thatcloud, one's ability to make
decisions and end up, being stuck.
Yes, and It's something that,I have learned, in all my
dealings, even when I'm down.
I look at myself, who is down?
It's this Morlai who is down?
(23:17):
Or is it just the situation that is down?
Yes?
And slowly, whatever thatcircumstance is, or whatever the
situation, I'm moving from it.
This is nothing to do with Morlai.
It cannot be Morlai.
God made me in his own image and likeness.
Yes?
No.
I am who I am.
(23:39):
God says I am.
So I move myself out of it andthen stand somewhere and look
where I was standing and say, oh!
Yeah, it is over there.
Yeah.
But you cannot.
You cannot stop.
A moving trend.
Yes?
The environment.
There are things happening,out of your control.
(24:03):
Yes?
And we all face that every day.
But all we got to do.
Yeah, is to be able,to look after oneself.
To be able to look at yourselfin the mirror and says hold on?
Is this the Morlai that I want to be?
(24:24):
And if we do that, it takes time to do it.
It takes the discipline,not just about that.
It takes, the consistency.
It takes the imagination, and I,once I was told, by my mentor.
He says,Morlai?
Morlai:
(24:49):
Your way is not working.
Why don't you follow my way?
Morlai, your way is not working.
Why don't you follow my way?
And until you can prove my way is notworking, I'm saying to you, follow my way.
And I'm telling you, assimple as that advice.
It means that, you know what,when I get stuck, yeah, I'm always
going to find somebody out there.
There are people out there, and all we gotto do, just be bold and ask the question.
(25:14):
I need help.
I need help.
Yes.
And I'm telling youthis world of abundance.
Sorry, you cannot be alone.
Tesse:
There are things that happen and somehowI love what you were saying about
using opportunities from hardship.
(25:36):
Using opportunity from adversity.
Seeing things as stepping stones,even when it's not looking good.
Tesse (25:44):
And I love that.
I think what comes to my mind is thepeople talk about, resilience, very
few people talk about hardiness, howcan we actually not be so fragile?
How can we actually build from thatplace of things that challenge us?
Of people that challenge us?
(26:05):
From situations that challenge us?
So in relation to a proverb that youmight think of, because Africans,
and I see myself as one of those,Africans, we like the proverbs.
Do you have any proverbs that cometo mind as we wrap up on this whole
piece about your personal lens?
Morlai (26:23):
That's a good one.
African Proverbs.
Oh gosh, that is yeah,nothing comes up now.
But I'm a proverb person as well.
Paula (26:37):
How about it takes a village to raise a child?
You're talking about how moms are
the world.
Morlai (26:44):
Yes.
I think I would go for that.
Yes.
Because it's true though.
It's true.
It's true.
In terms of just empowering,as I said, people is my people.
Yeah.
You go to a hotel and take the people out.
You don't have a hotel anymore.
(27:05):
It's just a structure.
It's all bricks and mortar.
Yes.
All you get is just bricks and mortar!
There's no hotel anymore.
Yeah?
So you need the people aspect.
It'so so important.
Thank you so much.
Wow.
Outro (27:26):
Paula
would we be basically you're saying.
And that's why we do Tesse Leadsbecause people's precious stories
and their lives matter to us.
And so we come on every time onTesseLeads and ask you, our audience,
to share these stories with us.
(27:47):
Because when people hear them,they feel supported, they
feel encouraged, and they feel
nurtured.
In other words, Tesse Leads is to ensurethat people don't ever feel alone.
And so we always encourage our listenersto head over to Apple Podcasts, YouTube,
Spotify, anywhere else that you listento podcasts, and click subscribe.
Paula (28:13):
And if you have found Tesse Leads helpful, who wouldn't?
Especially with Morlai's story.
We ask that you let us know ina review, hopefully, preferably
at Apple Podcast review.
If you have any questions ortopics that you'd like us to cover,
we ask that you send us a note.
And last but not least, if you'd liketo be a guest on our show, Tesse Leeds.
(28:37):
Please head over to our website,which is www.Tesseleads.com to apply.
This has been awesome!
Thank you so much, Morlai.
Morlai (28:49):
That's okay.
That's all right.
Thank you very much, Tessethank you very much.
Thank you Paula.
And nice to meet youguys, and it's beautiful.
It's beautiful just tocatch up with you guys.
But also I feel, talking to you guys.
I feel special.
I've known you guys for so long.
I'll
(29:12):
pray for whatever it is thatyou guys are doing there.
Because to create this awareness, throughpodcasts, engaging people shows there's
so much good you guys are doing out there.
Remember, the world needs to hearpeople like ourselves, talk about their
experiences, connect and relate, too.
(29:34):
But also be there, as a signposting.
I used that word there, that phraseology, contact capital.
I believe in so much contact capital.
We accountants, we like to put value,to things that we see physically.
The bank account, or yeah, moneycoming in and stuff like that.
(29:56):
But try putting value to contacts.
They say, hold what you talking about?
I'm saying contacts is so much capital, you're tied into it.
Tesse (30:08):
How beautiful.
Morlai (30:09):
We need to be able to explore it.
Tesse (30:11):
Beautiful!
Exploring capital contact capital.
That's wonderful.
Is a joy that you've reached out tous and we wanna have you back so,
we are not leaving you like this.
Come back next year.
We'd love to hear from you
again.
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