M-Pesa Africa CEO Sitoyo Lopokoiyit to steer Absa Group personal banking unit

• Absa Group has announces several strategic executive appointments to strengthen leadership capability across the lender, following the finalisation of its refocused Group Pan-African Strategy.
• Highly experienced multi-industry leader, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, is appointed as Chief Executive: Personal and Private Banking.
• Prabashni Naidoo transitions to Group Chief Governance Officer in a newly reconstructed role that includes Legal, Compliance and Group Secretariat.
• Rushdi Solomons is promoted to Group Chief Internal Audit Officer.

Pan-Afrcian lender Absa Group has unveiled several strategic executive appointments to firm up its leadership capability across the markets, tapping M-PESA Africa CEO Sitoyo Lopokoiyit to serve as its Chief Executive: Personal and Private Banking starting 1st April, 2026.

The Group noted that Lopokoiyit is set to bring a deep expertise in financial services, telecoms, customer value propositions and experience, and large-scale business transformation to the lender.

Additionally, his appointment is set to mark an important step in Absa Group’s ongoing focus on delivering integrated, customer centric solutions across its personal and private banking franchise, while also exploring new growth opportunities.

Until his appointment, Lopokoiyit was serving as the Managing Director of M-PESA Africa and Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom PLC, where he led the strategy and growth of Africa’s largest fintech platform on the continet.

Sitoyo Lopokoiyit role in scaling M-PESA Africa

With more than 12 years of experience in fintech, Lopokoiyit has played a central role in scaling M-PESA into a continental powerhouse, serving over 56 million customers and more than 5 million businesses. He was appointed to lead M-PESA Africa, the joint venture between Safaricom and Vodacom, with a mandate to expand the platform’s reach and relevance across African markets.

Since joining Safaricom in 2011, Lopokoiyit held several senior leadership roles, including Head of M-PESA Strategy and Business Development, and has led operations in Tanzania. He has driven the launch of major innovations such as the M-PESA Super App, Fuliza, and strategic partnerships with global platforms including PayPal and AliPay.

Lopokoiyit’s impact on financial inclusion has been recognised globally, including his induction into the 11:FS Hall of Fame, which honours industry leaders and innovators who have significantly improved the financial services ecosystem through innovation, resilience, and pioneering work. He is deeply committed to empowering small businesses, advancing inclusive financial services and accelerating the adoption of digital payments across the continent.

Unlocking new growth opportunities for Absa Group

“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,” says Kenny Fihla, Group Chief Executive Officer of Absa Group.

At the same time, the Pan-African lender has promoted Prabashni Naidoo, currently serving as Group Chief Internal Audit Executive, to serve in a new role that includes Legal, Compliance and Group Secretariat as Group Chief Governance Officer, effective 1 March 2026.

Prabashni Naidoo is a governance professional, who brings extensive experience across audit, risk, regulatory engagement, and organisational assurance. Her leadership and deep institutional knowledge will continue to strengthen governance standards across the Group.

Also gaining promotion is Rushdi Solomons who will serve as Group Chief Internal Audit Officer, starting 1st March 2026. Until his appointment, Solomons was the Managing Executive: Compliance Strategy, Regulatory Relations and Governance, a role he has held since June last year.

Prior to his current role, Rushdi served as the Chief Operating Officer in Group Internal Audit, a role he held since joining Absa in June 2020. Before joining Absa, Rushdi held roles as Partner: Deloitte Risk Advisory; Acting Business Executive: Auditor-General of SA; PwC (Advisory and Audit & Assurance) where he completed his Articles. He has extensive experience servicing various clients in the Public and Private Sectors.

A future fit leadership team

Also, Fatima Newman has been appointed Chief Compliance Officer, effective 1 March 2026. Newman is a strategically minded Executive with 28 years’ experience across a range of industries and expertise in Risk, Compliance, Regulatory and Governance, and Financial Services.

She has led with an innovation and systems thinking approach, working through complexities and implementing suitable and fit for purpose solutions including as Chief Risk Officer at EOH Group Limited (EOH). Newman has held senior roles in Absa, EasyHQ, EOH, and MTN South Africa.

“These appointments reflect both the depth of talent within Absa and the strength of our succession planning, as well as our ambition to enhance our organisational resilience by bringing onboard expertise from outside the firm to close the gaps in key capability areas. We are building a future fit leadership team, deepening our bench strength, and ensuring the right capabilities are in place to deliver on our strategic ambitions. The appointments also bring significant depth of experience across legal, regulatory, assurance, and control disciplines, supporting Absa’s commitment to a strong and resilient governance framework. I am confident that our newly appointed leaders will play a significant role in driving the Group forward,” the Group CEO noted.

Read also: Kenya: Absa, Visa launch domestic and cross-border remittance service

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