M-PESA Africa MD Lopokoiyit joins Absa after 15-year fintech run
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The architect of M-PESA’s continental growth leaves Safaricom and Vodacom in March 2026 to spearhead Absa’s digital banking push, marking a major leadership shift in Africa’s fintech landscape.
By Nhlanhla Muthe, Senior Reporter
M-PESA Africa Managing Director Sitoyo Lopokoiyit will exit the Vodacom and Safaricom ecosystem on March 31, 2026. The departure of the experienced digital banking executive closes a 15-year chapter that helped transform Kenya’s pioneering mobile money service into one of Africa’s most influential fintech platforms.
In an internal announcement confirming his departure, the company credited Lopokoiyit with steering M-PESA’s continental expansion to eight African markets, serving more than 60 million customers and over five million businesses. Under his leadership, the platform evolved from a peer-to-peer transfer tool into a broader financial ecosystem spanning payments, savings, credit, merchant services, and interoperable global transactions.
“Sitoyo’s leadership has been instrumental in positioning M-PESA as a pan-African fintech engine,” the company said. “His work expanded access to digital financial services and strengthened partnerships that placed Africa at the forefront of innovation.”
Lopokoiyit joined Safaricom in 2011 as Head of M-PESA Strategy and Business Development, later holding senior roles across the Vodacom network, including Director of M-Commerce at Vodacom Tanzania and Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom. Colleagues credit his early involvement in shaping the agent aggregator model, now widely replicated in mobile money ecosystems, as foundational to M-PESA’s growth.
During his tenure, he helped forge international partnerships with Visa, Ant Financial, PayPal, Microsoft and Huawei, moves that deepened cross-border capabilities and elevated the platform’s global relevance.
His next chapter begins immediately. Absa Group has confirmed Lopokoiyit’s appointment as Chief Executive for Personal and Private Banking, effective April 1, 2026, as part of a strategy-driven leadership reshuffle focused on accelerating digital banking growth.
“Absa is sharpening its customer-led growth strategy,” the bank said. “Sitoyo brings deep fintech expertise that aligns with our ambition to deliver integrated, digitally enabled banking across Africa.”
The transition is symbolic of Africa’s converging telecom and banking sectors, where mobile payments increasingly anchor financial inclusion strategies.
