Guided by the African proverb, “I am because we are,” Mukuru’s head of engineering, Carmelo Naciti, builds success through conversations, community focus and simplicity.
Every day, Carmelo Naciti, head of engineering at Mukuru, begins with two non-negotiables: family time and a good cup of coffee. This simple ritual reflects his leadership philosophy at Mukuru, where he oversees an engineering team of more than 100 people.
“For me, it’s important to acknowledge what’s at the heart of this role, and that’s people,” Carmelo explains. “I’m a family man, and things just work well when your personal values align with the professional values of your team and workplace.”
His days at Mukuru are structured around meaningful interactions. “My day at work also starts with people and a lot of conversations,” he elaborates. “These conversations span from empowering and unblocking, brainstorming, solving, collaborating and supporting challenges, to identifying opportunities. All of these impact our people, our processes, our solutions.”
A key insight he emphasises is often overlooked: “Engineering is largely about communication, and programming starts well before a single line of code has been written. Having these conversations and planning are actually critical to the level at which we can execute. We’re in the business of people, and these people have a passion for finding efficient, creative ways to solve problems. Supporting our people and creating an environment that empowers them – that’s what my day is about.”
Carmelo’s leadership style is rooted in the African concept of Ubuntu: “I am because we are.” Under his leadership, Mukuru’s engineering team has developed a distinctive approach to fostering innovation. “Mukuru cultivates a strong leadership culture, and we achieve it because we encourage distributed leadership and decentralised decision-making. People are really empowered to make decisions and lead within their roles,” he explains.
The organisation’s strength lies in its diversity and values. “We leverage our diverse community of employees and a value-based approach to everything we do in the organisation,” says Carmelo. ”Our overall leadership approach is underpinned by these values.”
Two specific values that stand out to Carmelo are taking ownership and creating belonging. This philosophy manifests in practical ways: “Our teams are self-managing, and we have processes that exist in the service of our people, not the other way around. People don’t exist in the service of our processes, and we welcome change.”
Laying the blocks of success
Originally from Ermelo, Mpumalanga, Carmelo’s tech journey began in high school, when he attended evening classes with his mother to learn about email. “When I was in high school, I actually went with my mom two evenings a week to get classes on email. Can you believe it? Something as rudimentary as email – we actually attended classes to do that, probably back on, Windows 95 and Netscape Mail,” he recalls with amusement.
Carmelo’s tertiary education began at the University of Pretoria in the early 2000s, where his path took an interesting turn. “I started with an engineering degree and moved over to information sciences and multimedia, which was quite a good balance between the creative design and the programming elements,” he explains. The shift came at an exciting time for the tech industry. “A lot of the computer science and information science courses were relatively new in their journeys.”
After completing his honours degree in multimedia, Carmelo followed what he describes as “almost the standard” path for multimedia students, stepping into web development. This combination of creative and technical skills would prove valuable throughout his career. “With programming and development, you really get challenged when it comes to problem-solving, and within that, you have the opportunity to apply yourself creatively,” he explains.
His career path then took another turn. In 2010, after his initial foray into the tech world, he took a sabbatical to join the family business. Founded in 1995, his parents owned a hardware store in Ermelo. “My parents always modelled hard work and were firm believers of working with your hands, leading by example,” he explains. “I worked wherever I was needed – loading cement, mixing paint, serving customers, receiving stock, upgrading systems.”
The hardware store, which operated for 20 years, became a crucible for his leadership development. “This firmly established my ethos about life – it’s not about what you can get, it’s all about what you can give. You need to go look for those opportunities where you can add value.”
Hardware stores remain close to his heart, even though his family’s one has closed: “That’s my happy place. Even just grabbing a cup of coffee and walking around in a hardware store brings back a lot of good memories. I’m really comfortable picking up a drill. I’m not too much of a fan of being on the roof, but I’d be happy to try anything else out.”
Following his sabbatical, Carmelo got back into web development and joined MiWay Insurance as a PHP developer. “During my time at MiWay Insurance, I grew within leadership roles, and ultimately stepped into the engineering manager role.”
This experience prepared him for his current role at Mukuru, where he has served as the head of engineering for just under a year. “It’s been a massive privilege,” he reflects. “I’ve just always had a passion for responsibility for people, for leading, and it’s just been amazing to have these opportunities.”
Keeping IT simple
Carmelo is a firm advocate of simplicity in both leadership and engineering. “People underestimate how much work it takes to keep things simple,” he says. “In organisations, it’s so easy to just add a process, but we want to be efficient.”
This philosophy extends to Mukuru’s evolving ecosystem of services, systems, and products. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve built and invested in many new services, systems, and products, putting incredible value out across multiple countries and territories,” he says. “Now, we’re at a point where we can really see that investment come to life and deepen its impact.”
He explains that Mukuru has strong strategies in place and a clear direction as an organisation, which helps them keep it simple. “This year is about refining what we’ve built – getting our products and services to operate optimally, and ensuring we maximise their value.”
His approach balances innovation with compliance, ensuring efficiency in processes while maintaining regulatory standards across multiple countries. This focus on simplicity extends to his communication style, decision-making processes, and leadership philosophy too. "We want to be efficient, and within that efficiency, people have the room and space to really do and specialise in what they enjoy.”
While he used to be an active cyclist (“If any of my friends hear me saying that, they’re like, ‘You do not cycle anymore because we haven’t seen you in a long time,’”) his focus has shifted to other pursuits. Yet, his connection to community remains central to his philosophy: “If we want to walk far, we want to walk together. That genuine sense of community in all aspects of your life, be it personal or professional, is so important. Being able to seek counsel within that community is humbling. We often need it to move forward, keep ourselves honest and accountable, and identify areas of growth. I’ve been blessed with phenomenal people in my journey.”
To slow down, Carmelo likes to read. “It gives me time to think,” he shares. “I prefer reading over podcasts. I subscribe to Medium, and I enjoy mulling over a good article with a cup of coffee. I often share these with the team as well.”
He has replaced cycling with nature walks and finding other ways to spend outdoors or in the communities with his children.
The love of Lego – and building something cool
As Mukuru’s engineering division moves forward under his leadership, Carmelo continues to find inspiration in unexpected places. “As a family, we love Lego. My son recently asked me what roles Lego offers, and we came across a pick-a-brick manager. I have no idea what that role does, but it sounds pretty cool.”
Perhaps this perfectly encapsulates his approach to leadership. Like Lego, it’s about having the right pieces, connecting them thoughtfully, and building something cool – one piece at a time.
