Amrin Noor: How I broke cultural and career barriers

Amrin Noor, 41, never envisioned she would have achieved her goals in life given the cultural barriers that hinder women in her Lohar community from living their dreams.

Growing up in Mombasa, her culture demanded that women take care of their families while depending on their husbands for everything. However, Ms Noor, a mother of four, decided to go against the grain and sought. Twenty years later, the results have paid off. 

Ms Noor is among the women in managerial positions at East Africa’s largest indigenous logistics company Siginon Group and has continued to nurture many women by empowering them to seek greener pastures and advance their profession through education. 

“We share experiences, assist each other professionally and encourage each other to achieve their goals. At Siginon Group, we also have female truck drivers who are breaking barriers in the perceived male-dominated fields,” she says.

Ms Noor adds that they intend to recruit more women and encourages them to attend training. 

Siginon Group drivers transport goods from Kenya to other East African states, including Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Zambia. 

She says a container freight station (CFS) is an extended arm of the port, where, when vessels dock, they handle containerised, break-bulk and motor vehicles, thus when there is a break bulk vessel she is always at the port in the ship. 

Customer-oriented service

Having worked at Siginon Group for five years, Ms Noor ensures she achieves turnover by engaging customers to grow the business and maintaining relationships with team members to ensure a smooth work flow to the satisfaction of the customer and business targets.

During an interview at the Siginon Group office in Mombasa, Ms Noor’s phone keeps being interrupted by numerous CFS clients who want to know whether their vehicles have arrived at the Port of Mombasa and at times she has had to physically go to the port to ensure a smooth operation and assure the customer on service quality.

“I am very busy juggling between family, work and pursuing a bachelor degree in marketing. My role as CFS sales manager at Siginon Group is to develop and implement sales strategies to meet the company’s goals both financially and through customer experience,” says Ms Noor. 

She heads a team of CFS sales executives who help her in scoping the market for opportunities to link Siginon products to specific customer needs and ultimately achieve sales targets. Ms Noor, unlike some women, looks up to her husband who encouraged and paid for her college education.

She describes him as a great listener and communicator who always supports and informs her of the importance of education. 

“He encourages strong work ethics and urges continuous learning as a means to stay relevant in this field that keeps changing. He respects everyone regardless of their background and position in life,” says Ms Noor. 

She said that in their 22-year-old marriage, her husband has been a great father, husband and friend. They got married when she was 20 and soon after he sponsored her tertiary education.  

“Indian culture is very different, once you are married, you take care of the family. However, he took me to school. If it was not for him, I would not be here as he paid my college fees and helped in my associate of business executive (ABE) course to a higher level,” she says, praising her husband who is a tea taster in a multinational. 

She says they have set the pace for their children, aged 22, 19, 14, and nine, and they are now free to pursue any career they choose. 

Ms Noor has been giving motivational talks to members of her Lohar community, urging women, most of whom work in family businesses, to follow their dreams. 

“When I started working, people would ask my mother-in-law and husband why they had allowed me to even drive.

“I am happy I’m changing the mindset of my community through these talks with women,” says Ms Noor. 

She says her community has more than 1,500 women but none has achieved what she has achieved in her 20-year period in the logistics sector. Ms Noor is a counsellor within the Lohar women's community and has been linking them up with opportunities to increase their numbers across different sectors.  

She previously worked for a local security firm as a manager and an international company before relocating to Dubai with her family for five years.  

“In our culture, if a man says stay at home and take care of the children, no education, there’s nothing you can do. However, the world is changing. We must stop stereotyping and allow women to pursue their dreams. When I got my first distinction in ICM in 2000, my husband knew I was serious and had potential.”

Ms Noor’s daughter is also pursuing an ABE course as she aspires to work in the logistics sector. She says women have taken up leadership roles around the world – leading nations, heading multinational companies and being drivers. 

“The perception of the past is that the logistics sector is associated with masculinity. At Siginon Group, women are valued, appreciated and recognised, they are treated equally to their male counterparts by the leadership,” Ms Noor says.

She notes that logistics is one of the fastest-growing industries, boosted by the government’s focus on infrastructure development and digitalisation. 

She was recently appointed to the transport and logistics sub-committee in the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and aspires to give strategic, specific, actionable and timely advice on logistics issues that will have a positive impact on members’ businesses. 

Ms Noor says she balances family, career and ambitions by prioritising each demand and participating accordingly. 

“I have a task list to ensure I meet deadlines. My husband and I are employed on a full-time basis; we have instilled the importance of education in our four children. My 22-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter take over the responsibilities of parenting when we travel for work to ensure there is no gap. God has been gracious so far.”

In her free time, Ms Noor travels a lot abroad to unwind – either with friends or alone – and listens to music, swims, reads books and prays.  She started working at a security firm aged 21, then ventured into the oil and gas sector before joining Siginon. 

“The Oil and Gas was a multi-national company that involved a lot of travelling globally, including India, Dubai, Yemen and Ethiopia. I was their regional head of sales and marketing. I left the job to join my husband in Dubai after he got a new position. I sacrificed for him because he did the same for me.”

Family life

Ms Noor said that life and marriage are about sacrifices. “I was at the peak of my career at 33, young, energetic and with my family on my side. You should not be selfish as a wife or husband, we must all sacrifice, that’s love and my husband appreciates me,” she says, urging women to be patient, do better, and be positive and thankful. 

“Listen to your customer, anticipate their needs and respond quickly, deliver beyond expectation either for yourself or the company you work for, be consistent and eliminate dissatisfaction so that you can focus. Integrity is core.” 

Ms Noor wakes up at 5.30am for prayers, prepares breakfast, packs lunch for her two school-going children, reports to work at 8.30am, leaves by 5pm and goes back home to prepare meals for her family. 

“If you want to succeed even in marriage, do not give people reasons to find excuses. For instance, because you are working, you cannot cook for your children, attend their graduation ceremonies or swimming galas. I balance [roles] with my husband. As a mother, I have always put my family first.”