NAIROBI, Kenya — Absa Group has appointed M-Pesa Africa Managing Director Sitoyo Lopokoiyit as its new Chief Executive for Personal and Private Banking, marking one of the most high-profile leadership shifts between Africa’s fintech and banking sectors.
The appointment takes effect on April 1, 2026, as Absa sharpens its Pan-African strategy and restructures its executive leadership team to accelerate customer-led growth and strengthen governance across its footprint.
Lopokoiyit will exit Safaricom and Vodacom Group on March 31, 2026, closing a 15-year career during which he helped transform M-Pesa into Africa’s largest fintech platform.
Absa Group CEO Kenny Fihla said the appointment signals the lender’s strategic priorities.
“This appointment demonstrates Absa’s strategic focus on delivering integrated, customer-centric solutions across our personal and private banking franchise while unlocking new growth opportunities,” Fihla said.
Fintech Architect Moves to Banking
Lopokoiyit has led M-Pesa Africa since April 2021, overseeing expansion into eight African markets and growing the platform to more than 60 million customers and over five million businesses.
Under his leadership, M-Pesa evolved from a peer-to-peer money transfer service into a broad fintech ecosystem covering payments, savings, credit, merchant services, interoperability, and global remittances.
He joined Safaricom in 2011 as Head of M-Pesa Strategy and Business Development. He played a central role in designing the agent aggregator model, now widely adopted in mobile money markets globally.
He later served as Director of M-Commerce at Vodacom Tanzania and Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom PLC. As a member of Safaricom’s executive committee, he contributed to key milestones, including the rollout of Fuliza, the M-Pesa Super App, and partnerships with Visa, PayPal, Ant Financial, Microsoft, and Huawei.
Absa said Lopokoiyit’s work in advancing financial inclusion has earned global recognition, including induction into the 11:FS Hall of Fame, which honours leaders who have reshaped financial services through innovation and resilience.
“A highly experienced industry leader, Sitoyo brings deep expertise in financial services, telecoms, customer value propositions, and large-scale business transformation,” the Group said in a statement.
Strategic Signal for Pan-African Banking
The move reflects intensifying convergence between telecom-driven fintech platforms and traditional banking institutions across Africa. Banks are increasingly seeking digital talent to compete in payments, credit, and mobile-first financial services.
Absa said the appointment aligns with its ambition to deliver more integrated, customer-centric solutions across its Personal and Private Banking franchise while unlocking growth opportunities across its continental operations.
Alongside Lopokoiyit’s appointment, Absa announced wider leadership changes. Prabashni Naidoo, currently Group Chief Internal Audit Executive, will assume a newly expanded role as Group Chief Governance Officer from March 1, overseeing legal, compliance, and group secretariat functions.
Rushdi Solomons, Managing Executive for Compliance Strategy, Regulatory Relations and Governance, has been promoted to Group Chief Internal Audit Officer. Fatima Newman has been appointed Chief Compliance Officer.
Broader Industry Implications
Lopokoiyit’s transition underscores a growing trend of fintech leaders moving into mainstream banking as lenders reposition for digital-first competition.
His experience scaling M-Pesa’s ecosystem across multiple markets could shape Absa’s retail and private banking strategy, particularly in payments innovation and customer experience.
Before joining Safaricom, Lopokoiyit worked as a Business Adviser and Merchandising Manager at Caltex under Chevron Kenya Limited, bringing cross-sector commercial experience to his new role.
As African banks face mounting pressure to digitise and deepen financial inclusion, Absa’s recruitment of one of the continent’s most prominent fintech executives signals a strategic bet on innovation-led growth.
