Banking industry seeks skills of alumna Mugaba

By Christine Mirembe

As Olivia Mugaba completed secondary school, the only institution in her mind for undergraduate studies was Makerere University. When she failed to get the points that could earn her a government scholarship at the university, Mugaba repeated Senior Six. She could only score 12 points out of a total of 25. The previous year, she had garnered 11 points. Neither score was enough to earn a government scholarship at Makerere.

When she opted for private sponsorship at Makerere, her preferred course, Bachelor of Business Administration, was not what the university offered her. The offer was for a Bachelor of Arts in Education, which was her fourth and last choice. 

She declined.

It is then that a friend recommended Uganda Christian University (UCU). When Mugaba sold the idea to her family, they welcomed the development. 

“I was happy to join UCU,” she said of her 2020 enrollment.. “The environment, the people, the aura of dignity and the brotherliness were just inviting.” 

Mugaba said she felt at home as she developed meaningful relationships, including with her spiritual father, the Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, and his wife, Canon Dr. Ruth Senyonyi. Their warm demeanor, she says, greatly inspired her. At the time, Senyonyi was the chaplain of the university. Senyonyi later led UCU as its Vice Chancellor from 2010 to 2020.

“The couple was hospitable, humble, loving and caring towards everybody and served the Lord diligently,” Mugaba recalled. Her close relationship with the Senyonyis exposed her work ethic to the couple – something that helped Mugaba get her first job.

Following her graduation in 2003 with a Bachelor of Business Administration, a partner at Ernst & Young Global Limited contacted Senyonyi for his recommendation of exceptional graduates who would be interested in joining the firm. Among the people chosen was Mugaba. 

Around that time, Mugaba married her husband, Vincent Mugaba. She left Ernst & Young three years later to concentrate on family. She says her husband has been her greatest cheerleader, encouraging her to be the best version of herself.

“The pressure of the work, plus my personal challenges, led to my resignation,” said Mugaba, who was then pregnant. “I remember telling myself that I needed time. I told the Lord to give me the time to rest.”

Olivia Mugaba, her husband, Vincent Mugaba, and their five children

The miraculous way she got her job at Ernst & Young was a continuation of her birth miracle. 

Born on May 28, 1979, Mugaba is the fourth of seven children of the late Rev. David Twinamatsiko and Mrs. Joy Twinamatsiko. At that time, her father was training to become a priest at the Bishop Tucker Theological College, which became UCU in 2007. As such, Twinamatsiko’s family was living on the premises of the college. 

In 1979, Uganda and Tanzania were at war; hence, at the time of Mugaba’s birth, government soldiers were stationed close to their home, which hindered their movement to a hospital when her mother developed labor pains. The father facilitated the delivery. The family relocated to Kabale in southwestern Uganda.

Mugaba joined Kabale Kindergarten for nursery school and Kabale Primary School from Primary 1 to 4. She completed primary education at Lake Victoria Primary School in Entebbe. For secondary school, she was enrolled at Kigezi High School, Kabale, where she served as deputy head girl at one point and was an active member of the debate club and the Red Cross club.

Getting another job

More than a year after leaving her job at Ernst and Young (now EY), Mugaba secured an electronic banking officer job at Barclays Bank (now ABSA Bank). During a three-month contract, Mugaba was assigned to enroll 80 corporate clients on the online banking platform. After she achieved over 200, she was hired for a longer contract and, hence, worked with the bank for the next six years. 

At Barclays, she analysed cash management solutions, operations and processes; developed Service Level Agreements and procedure manuals, as well as monitored product performance. 

After six years at Barclays, she joined Ecobank as Head Transaction Banking and later Head Corporate Coverage. After eight years at Ecobank, she joined MFS Africa, (now Onafriq) as Product Director for payments. Onafriq is Africa’s largest Fintech operating in more than 40 African markets.

In 2022, the mother of five joined NCBA Bank as Head of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) before switching to Equity Bank in January 2025 to perform the same role. 

For the banking industry journey she has walked, Mugaba is grateful to God for giving her the mentors she needed. She said her mother’s strong faith in God and quiet, yet resilient character, greatly impacted her faith, leading to her to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior at age eight.

People like her mother and her siblings, she said, have served as her pillars and supported her to perform well with the daily drive for self-improvement. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Administration at the University of East London in the United Kingdom. 

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