Profiles

Nivi Sharma: Main within the shadow of greatness

Friday January 26 2024

Nivi Sharma is the CEO at Bridges to Prosperity. PHOTO | POOL

Earlier than Nivi Sharma dives into what she does, she first makes this author eggs with feta cheese and diverse condiments, throws in some spices in a pot, and roasts them earlier than turning water into masala tea. She’s a fantastic cook dinner, however she isn’t nearly as good as her husband, who, she insists, is a superb cook dinner, a biker, a camper, a person who faces all sunsets. However extra of him later.

Now cupping a mug of espresso in her palms, Nivi talks about her tech journey as chief working officer at BRCK, a tech startup that supplied free public Wi-fi, and her innovation of KioKit, an award-winning digital schooling toolkit. In 2011, she co-founded eLimu, the primary firm to digitise the Kenyan Major college curriculum content material (later acquired by iHub in 2020).

Then her mom died, and as she scattered half of her ashes over the Ganges River at Rishikesh Bridge in Haridwar, India, she received solutions that led her to tackle the CEO position at Bridges to Prosperity, a world chief in rural infrastructure. The organisation has constructed 508 bridges in 21 international locations, giving 1.8 million individuals entry.

She serves on Normal Chartered Financial institution Kenya and The Open Institute boards. When she isn’t cooking or tenting along with her daughter, husband, and two sausage canines known as Bonanza and Jelly Bean, names she thought-about naming her daughter had her husband not put the kibosh on that. “Thank God, as a result of he mentioned, ‘No, Nivi, you identify the canines, I’ll identify the kid.’”

How did you find yourself constructing bridges in rural areas?

A property developer known as Ken Frantz from Virginia, US, makes an enormous killing in a sale and, like American, buys himself a brand new Ford truck. As he sits within the ready room on the Ford service station, he opens up a replica of a Nationwide Geographic journal. He sees a photograph of this damaged bridge in Ethiopia, a really historic bridge. It’s known as the Sebara Dildy, the Fasil bridge. It’s a Seventeenth-century bridge constructed over the Abbay River. Realizing what he is aware of about civil engineering and development, he says, “I can go and construct that bridge”.

And so he did and located his calling on that bridge. After that, he went all over the world, from South America to Asia, on the lookout for communities that confirmed a transparent must get from level A to level B and constructed a couple of bridges a 12 months.

The turning level for Bridges to Prosperity was established by a younger girl – Avery Bang – who got here in as a college volunteer. This imaginative and prescient of fixing an issue guided her; one in seven individuals on the earth doesn’t all the time have entry, and the quantity of infrastructure {dollars} spent on rural infrastructure is shockingly low, particularly on condition that 80 % of the poor stay in rural areas. Bridges are essential in these areas as a result of they assist farmers make higher choices in regards to the sort of crops to develop and farm inputs to purchase – understanding {that a} bridge will all the time be there. This interprets to a 75 % improve in farmer income and a 30 % enhance of their family earnings. I like to resolve such issues, essential issues that contact on humanity.

Was your childhood attention-grabbing?

It was a phenomenal childhood. I’m grateful to my dad and mom, who raised me to be grateful. They got here right here as immigrants with few [possessions], however they knew how you can domesticate the networks to be entrepreneurs and enterprise individuals and pleasure. They beloved one another deeply. One of many biggest presents they gave me, and if I’ll say, probably the most essential issues we will educate our youngsters is how you can make a cheerful life for themselves.

After we go searching us, at our friendships and work, can we see what’s good about it? That’s the essence of cultivating pleasure. When darkish occasions come, we should always be capable of recognise that because the shadow of greatness, proper? That has guided me in my skilled journey. I can say, yeah, after all, this individual isn’t nice at filling out spreadsheets and reviews, but when I ship him to a gross sales assembly or a gathering with a authorities official, he’ll depart with a distinct coronary heart.

What are your earliest reminiscences of your childhood?

Being despatched residence from college as a result of my dad and mom had not paid my college charges. My mother and pop fought about that as a result of my dad gave away my college charges to assist somebody who lacked. [Chuckles]

What sort of a person was your dad?

Oh, let me inform you about my mother first. She got here from a group of Indians known as the Siddhis, identified to be astute businesspeople and excellent with numbers. They’ve amassed wealth within the Indian diaspora group. Alternatively, my father comes from the Bengalis, a group identified for profitable Oscars and Pulitzer prizes and writing novels. The Bengalis are very poetic. They compose stunning songs and literature. Each of my dad and mom refused to stay their lives in accordance with the group’s expectations.

Regardless of their variations, they made a phenomenal couple. They beloved one another profoundly and balanced one another effectively. My mother was all the time fascinated with what got here subsequent, planning. She was bold. My father all the time had a joke, a smile, and kindness to share with anybody round him. He was horrible with cash. (Chuckles). My dad nonetheless walks with a bunch of Sh50 notes that he provides to anybody he thinks the cash may deliver a smile to their face.

Generally, I have a look at him and suppose he’s only a man on the lookout for exterior validation. Different occasions, I see the real pleasure he will get from making different individuals comfortable, nonetheless massive or small which may be. That’s fairly an infectious and, typically, irritating factor to be round.

Fairly the couple, your dad and mom.

Sure. It was my mother’s fourth anniversary on Tuesday. I used to be raised within the shadow of a fantastic girl. She was sensible. Being human, she made some horrible errors, as all of us do in our lives, however she informed me to all the time be current in moments. Like everybody, I’ve been embarrassed by my dad and mom. I’ve laughed at my dad and mom. I’d not all the time get presents on my birthdays, however she would write me a card full of blessings, good needs, love, and aspirations.

She’d checklist issues like how she’s impressed by me and what she sees in me. Being a younger girl going into the world, being deeply beloved by my mom, my position mannequin, and simply being informed that I’m superb, that I’ve received greatness in me, that the world is fortunate to have me, was so validating. [In reverie]. She would write these playing cards, run out of area, and write on the again of the playing cards. She would write poetry for me and my dad. My dad as soon as wrote, “You’re twelve years previous now; perhaps you’ll be able to cease being so silly” on the birthday card she had written for me. [Laughs hard] I nonetheless snicker at it to today. I’ve saved all these playing cards. Oh, my dad is such a foolish man.

Your mother’s dying will need to have been like a bomb going off in your house.

Devastating. We’re only a nuclear household in Kenya. It’s all the time been simply my brother, myself, and my dad and mom. My mother was the one who would make plans and work out the place we’d stay and the way we’d pay payments. She was the breadwinner.

On a current journey, I realised I’d have to purchase flights and e book motels for my father. You already know, as a result of he can not do this.[Chuckles] She was the grown-up. She was the one who would insist on after we would get collectively at any time when there was one thing essential to speak about, what the household wanted to do, take into consideration, and pray about. She was a voracious reader and religious in a really mental sense.

My father’s very ritualistic. He’ll go to the temple, ring the bell, and pour milk day by day. My mother would inform us about Jesus and the Sikh gods and say, “Properly, why can we gentle a hearth and maintain it all through the home? Why can we gentle incense sticks? And why can we ring bells?”

How has your dad survived with out her?

I believe 2020 was a difficult 12 months for lots of aged individuals. For a widower, it was very robust. I take into consideration my mother usually, however he thinks about her continuously. He talks about issues she would say or approve of or what would irritate her. He kisses her images, tiny little kisses. [Pensive pause] He loves her deeply. [Pause] For some time, I resented that love as I had boyfriends who would continuously disappoint me. [Chuckles]

What sort of teenager have been you?

I used to be such a horrible teenager. I apologised to my mom all her life for being so dangerous. I used to be indignant numerous the time for causes I felt have been good. Nobody knew why I used to be rebellious. I’d usually mislead my dad and mom, sneak out, be in locations the place I shouldn’t be, strive smoking, and have the worst boyfriends.

I put them [parents] by means of it. After I was getting married, my greatest good friend mentioned, “It’s factor you don’t want a hen night time, as a result of that’s what your complete life has been”. [Laughs hysterically]. However I actually frightened my dad and mom. That they had numerous sleepless nights, questioning once I could be residence.

What have been a number of the notable headwinds of your life?

The dying of my mother. Once more, like coming again to cash, each coin has a distinct facet to it, proper? Her dying was devastating, however out of that, I discovered real kindness from strangers and volunteers who got here to the morgue and helped me wash her physique and costume her up. Do you know that’s a factor individuals volunteer for? Her dying confirmed me the kindness in humanity.

In the event you have been to apologise to at least one individual, who would that be?

[Long pause] It could be some associates I’ve misplaced alongside the best way. I’m turning 40 quickly and thru my 30s, I’ve deepened how I take into consideration and navigate friendships. I don’t have many associates, perhaps one or two associates I might name in the course of the night time to bury a physique.

I’ve walked away from numerous friendships with out having essential conversations. Perhaps I’ve damage these individuals. I additionally consider previous romantic relationships as effectively. I’ve been flippant in ending relationships that didn’t align with mine. I don’t know if that’s a perform of being an Aquarius, having the ability to transfer on. However I believe I’ve damage lots of people. I’d apologise to those individuals.

Do you are feeling a shift as you method 40?

I believe 40 is a robust time in a girl’s life. There’s a lot written about menopause, which I’m not at but there, however as ladies, one of many attention-grabbing negative effects of menopause that isn’t spoken about sufficient is your oestrogen makes you good to individuals, and in order ladies hit menopause, their nonsense detector will get actually honed in. Whenever you see extra ladies leaving their husbands and submitting for divorce, it truly is a perform of not having sufficient oestrogen. [Chuckles] So, I believe the shift I’m seeing is being extra selective with who I enable into my area and extra gracious and understanding.

Your dad and mom set a benchmark for relationships. Have been you on the lookout for your father within the man to marry?

Two younger fish swimming by means of the water meet an older fish who says, ‘Good morning, how’s the water?’ The 2 fish swim on, and one turns and asks the opposite, ‘What water?’ That’s a great way of explaining how your dad and mom’ relationship shapes what you suppose relationships ought to be, whether or not abusive or loving.

I didn’t see many different {couples} rising up as a result of we didn’t have an enormous social circle or an enormous household. I all the time mentioned, ‘I’m going to marry a person who’s received an enormous profession, and the monetary burden mustn’t fall on me to be the only real breadwinner.’

my dad’s flaws – forgetfulness, and so on – I used to be going to marry an organised man, however on the opposite facet of the coin, a person stunning in persona, a beneficiant human man like my dad. However then all of it modified, and sooner or later, I used to be positive the non-negotiables weren’t about cash or ambition.

I by no means heard my father increase his voice, not to mention his hand, or swear at my mom. And I can’t think about my husband or a associate doing that. And perhaps that’s why I’ve had so many failed relationships: You raised a voice, and I used to be a foot out. My husband is a phenomenal, variety, and loving man who has by no means modified his true nature, so sure, I married my father. [Laughs]

How did you two meet?

Through the Structure referendum. I had organised an election commentary, and he was one of many volunteers. Just a few years later, I used to be having a Kenya Jubilee housewarming celebration, and I invited him. The costume code theme was gold, so he got here carrying a Tullamore Dew whisky. He frolicked within the kitchen (he likes to cook dinner) the place on the blackboard wall, which featured a chapati-maker on the prime, he drew graffiti round it and wrote the phrases ‘Jackpot!” [Laughs]

After every week or two of courting, we each knew we had discovered ‘the one’. He took me on his motorcycle, a Honda, to a tea plantation in Limuru, the place he proposed. It’s the identical motorcycle we rode on our marriage ceremony day. Even eight years after our marriage ceremony, I nonetheless really feel he’s ‘the one’. We nonetheless acknowledge to one another how fortunate we’re to have this sort of love. He’s a really variety and loving soul, a superb cook dinner, and a phenomenal father to our daughter. I’m fortunate.

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