My Journey from an Underqualified Job Candidate to CTO | Arafat Magezi

But let me take you back to how this all began…

The Opportunity

A few years ago, I got a call for a new job opportunity from a recruiter. I was underqualified for this job. Imposter syndrome and fear kicked in.

I remember sitting there thinking, "Should I really waste my time going for something I'm not qualified for?" But a small voice in me said, Just show up. So I went in for the interviews.

And that decision changed the course of my life.

During the interview, I didn't impress them with technical knowledge. What stood out instead was my attitude—the willingness to learn. That attitude earned me the job.

I was so excited. Little did I know I was walking straight into a burning fire.

The Challenge

That's how I joined MobiKlinic, a health tech company improving last-mile healthcare using technology.

We had just received a grant from a UK organization. But the money came with strict conditions: we had to merge our app with theirs into one and use it to deliver healthcare services in the area we serve, Buikwe.

The problem? We were already weeks behind schedule. The funders were losing patience. If we failed, the consequences were brutal:

• We risked losing the grant.
• Our company's credibility would be destroyed.
• Patients were going to lose out on the medical supplies and treatment that came with the project.
• And as a small team relying on this funding, people's jobs were on the line.

The weight of all of that landed on me—the new guy—and I had just three weeks to do the merging.

The Struggle

The first week, I tried to understand how our app was built so I could have a clue of what I was dealing with. The problem? These were two different apps built differently. It felt like trying to get two people who speak different languages to hold a meaningful conversation.

In the second week, my boss asked me if I truly believed that we could pull off this app merging. Everything in me wanted to say, "No, it's impossible," but I said, "Yes, it can be done." I myself did not believe it could be done in the remaining two weeks. Then he said, "I have strong faith in you. You can do this." This gave me high motivation.

So I worked hard. I reached out to friends in the technology industry. I joined software engineer communities online. I asked questions, begged for guidance, but everyone kept saying that merger was nearly impossible.

After so many dead ends, I had just one week left. No progress. No hope. And constant pressure from the UK funders, who were asking for updates in every email.

And that brings me back to that Thursday, 2 a.m. Sitting alone in the dark corner, ready to quit, whispering to myself not to give up. I had tried everything I could that day, and there was no tangible progress. In that silent moment, I got a new idea that might just work. I decided to approach the thought process differently from what I had begun with.

The Breakthrough

That same night, I broke everything I had built and decided to start afresh with the new approach. I finally got a breakthrough that night—the apps partially merged—and at that moment, I felt like I had just won the lottery.

Thursdays were our meeting days with our funder, so at that day's meeting they asked for updates. I gave them a demo of what I had achieved, and they loved the progress. Based on this, I asked for an extra 10 days to finish up and take the solution to the field for testing.

That week, I gave it everything. Every hour. Every bit of focus. And by the end of the 10 days, we had a working solution—two merged apps working as intended.

The field team went to the field, trained community health workers on how to use this merged app, and they were able to extend medical services to patients in their respective communities in Buikwe District. Watching technology, I had created touch lives in real communities—it was beyond rewarding.

The Recognition

In my very first month at the company, I was named Employee of the Month. A few months later, I was asked to act as CTO, and eventually, I became the full company CTO.

But for me, the biggest lesson was not the promotion, not the recognition, not even the success of the project. The real lesson was this:

"Growth and leadership happen when you step into discomfort."

We Are the Ones

We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are the ones who must refuse to quit when the stakes are high. We are the ones who must create the change we want. We are the ones who must rise, not tomorrow, but today.