Born With a Silver Spoon. So Why Is Benjamin Still Figuring It Out?

Some career stories are carefully mapped out from the beginning. Others are built through a series of unexpected turns, missed opportunities, new interests and decisions that only make sense when you look back.

Benjamin Kavubu’s story is certainly not a conventional one. Based in Kampala, Uganda, Benjamin has found himself moving between worlds that do not immediately appear to belong together.  But there is another part of his story that makes it particularly interesting.

Benjamin is refreshingly open about privilege. Yet that doesn't mean his professional journey followed a neat or predictable path or that he is going to pretend that everything he has pursued has already become financially successful.

You graduated in 2016. What do you remember most about the period immediately after university?

I remember wanting to work in the field I had studied and believing that, like most graduates, I would eventually find my way into a permanent role. I had studied Procurement and Logistics Management, so I tried to practise what I had been trained to do. I associated with some very disciplined and respected institutions in Uganda within the supply chain space, which gave me valuable exposure even though I never landed permanent employment.

At the same time, I was becoming increasingly interested in much bigger questions. History, political economy, international trade and geopolitics resonated with me in a way that the conventional career path did not. Looking back, I think that period forced me to think much more seriously about what I actually wanted to do

At what point did you stop trying to make the conventional route work?

There wasn't one dramatic moment. It was more of a gradual realisation. I had spent years submitting applications to established corporate brands and receiving rejections. After a while, you begin to question whether there is actually a place for you within the system you are trying so hard to enter. I had to decide whether I was going to keep trying to fit myself into a traditional corporate career or create something around the combination of skills and interests I already had.

That was when I started developing what I would describe as a hybrid professional path. I didn't abandon supply chains. Instead, I began connecting them with research, commentary, governance and media. It gave me room to explore the questions that interested me while still using the skills I had developed through my original field of study.

Your work increasingly brings economics, politics and geopolitics together. What are you trying to understand when you research these subjects?

I am interested in how decisions made at one level affect what happens somewhere else. Supply chains are a good example. You cannot really understand transport, financing or trade without considering politics and geopolitics. The movement of goods is connected to infrastructure, currencies, international relationships and the strategic interests of different countries.

A lot of my research therefore looks at the East African Community, the Belt and Road Initiative, South-South trade and investment, and the changing relationship between the Global South and the wider international system.

I am particularly interested in the role of the RMB, for example, and what alternatives to dollar dominance could mean for countries in the Global South. I don't just want to observe these developments. I want to understand where they might lead.

You describe yourself as being in the business of information and predicting economic outlooks. What does that look like in practice?

A large part of it is paying attention to what is happening before it becomes obvious. Politics can have enormous economic consequences, and geopolitical shifts can change markets, trade routes, investment decisions and institutional priorities. Through my research and the work we do on The East African Perspective, I try to examine those connections and consider what might happen next.

We are particularly interested in making those conversations accessible to younger Africans. Millennials and younger generations need to understand not just what is happening today, but what current decisions could mean five or ten years from now.

Of course, forecasting is not about pretending you can predict everything. It is about recognising patterns, understanding the variables and asking better questions about what could happen next.

Benjamin Watch has become an important part of that work. What did you want to create when you first started writing?

Initially, I simply wanted somewhere to watch and write about the world. Over time, writing became much more than that. It became a way of developing my own voice and exploring subjects that I cared about.

Benjamin Watch gave me the freedom to write from an African perspective and to approach global issues through the lens of African interests. That matters to me because I don't believe Africa should only be the subject of analysis produced elsewhere. We should also be producing the analysis, asking the questions and contributing to the conversations shaping our future.

You have also built a strong connection with African digital communities through Afrobloggers and other platforms. What have you learned from being part of that wider ecosystem?

The biggest lesson has probably been how much knowledge and creativity already exists across Africa.

Through Afrobloggers, particularly the #WinterABC challenge, I have had the opportunity to connect with African writers and creators from different countries and backgrounds. People are thinking deeply about politics, culture, identity, economics, technology and everyday life, but those perspectives don't always get the visibility they deserve.

Digital platforms can help change that. They allow people to tell their own stories, build communities and create conversations that don't necessarily require permission from traditional institutions.