Absa Group has named M-Pesa Africa Managing Director Sitoyo Lopokoiyit as its new Chief Executive Officer for Personal and Private Banking, marking a significant leadership shift within the continent’s financial services sector. The appointment takes effect on April 1, 2026, as Absa advances its renewed Pan-African growth strategy and restructures its senior leadership team to drive customer-focused innovation, strengthen governance, and deepen executive capacity across its markets. Lopokoiyit will formally exit Safaricom and Vodacom Group on March 31, 2026, concluding a 15-year tenure during which he played a central role in building M-Pesa into Africa’s most influential mobile money and fintech platform. His transition is viewed as one of the most prominent executive moves between Africa’s telecom-fintech space and the traditional banking industry.
Transformational Leadership at M-Pesa
Since assuming leadership of M-Pesa Africa in April 2021, Lopokoiyit has overseen the platform’s growth across eight African countries, expanding its reach to more than 60 million users and over five million businesses. Under his stewardship, M-Pesa evolved from a basic peer-to-peer transfer service into a fully integrated fintech ecosystem offering payments, savings, credit services, merchant solutions, interoperability, and international remittances.
He first joined Safaricom in 2011 as Head of M-Pesa Strategy and Business Development, where he was instrumental in developing the agent aggregator model, a structure that later became a global benchmark in mobile money operations. Over the years, he held several senior leadership roles, including Director of M-Commerce at Vodacom Tanzania and Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom PLC.
His contribution to advancing financial inclusion has earned global recognition, including induction into the 11 Hall of Fame, which honours innovators who have significantly transformed financial services through technology and leadership.
Absa’s Strategic Vision
Commenting on the appointment, Absa Group CEO Kenny Fihla said Lopokoiyit’s experience aligns with the bank’s long-term growth ambitions.
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
Kenny Fihla Absa noted that Lopokoiyit brings extensive expertise spanning financial services, telecommunications, customer value innovation, and large-scale business transformation.
Role in Safaricom Milestones
As a member of Safaricom’s executive committee, Lopokoiyit contributed to several landmark innovations, including the rollout of Fuliza, the M-Pesa Super App, and partnerships with global players such as Visa, PayPal, Ant Financial, Microsoft, and Huawei. Before joining Safaricom, he worked in the energy sector as a Business Adviser and Merchandising Manager at Caltex under Chevron Kenya Limited, broadening his commercial and operational experience.
Additional Executive Changes
Alongside Lopokoiyit’s appointment, Absa announced further leadership changes within its governance structures. Prabashni Naidoo, currently Group Chief Internal Audit Executive, will assume a newly expanded role as Group Chief Governance Officer effective March 1, overseeing legal, compliance, and group secretariat functions. Rushdi Solomons, previously Managing Executive for Compliance Strategy, Regulatory Relations and Governance, has been promoted to Group Chief Internal Audit Officer, while Fatima Newman has been appointed Chief Compliance Officer.
Absa said the leadership adjustments are aimed at reinforcing governance frameworks while supporting sustainable growth across its Pan-African footprint.
