Sitoyo Lopokoiyit is the outgoing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of M-Pesa Africa and previously served as the acting Chief Financial Services Officer (CFSO) at Safaricom. He is set to leave the the giant telco on March 31, 2026.
His exit came after Absa appointed him as the Chief Executive of the Group’s Personal and Private Banking, effective April 1, 2026.
With more than 12 years of fintech experience, Lopokoiyit Sitoyo 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.
In 1991, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit attended Alliance Boys High School and holds a strong academic foundation in engineering and business.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nairobi in 2000 and later earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
Sitoyo Lopokoiyit Career Background
Sitoyo joined Safaricom in 2011 as head of M-Pesa strategy and business development, a role he held before moving to Vodacom Tanzania as Director of M-Commerce in 2015, where he gained 10 years of experience in the Mobile Money sector.
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During his time at Vodacom, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit oversaw the delivery of several transformative products and services and led the turnaround strategy and execution for M-Pesa, resulting in accelerated growth in Tanzania.
Upon his return to Nairobi in 2018 as Safaricom’s Chief Officer of Financial Services, Sitoyo championed innovations that have since become household names.
He was instrumental in the launch and scaling of Fuliza, the world’s first contextual mobile money overdraft facility, and M-Shwari. These products fundamentally altered the credit landscape in East Africa, moving millions of users into the formal financial fold.
Sitoyo was responsible for growing M-Pesa into a fully-fledged financial platform and for overseeing New Business Ventures, Product Management, and Development for both the Consumer and Enterprise divisions.
Sitoyo Lopokoiyit also worked at Total Kenya, where he served as a diversification manager and later as head of the Total Solar business.
Additionally, he worked for Uchumi Supermarkets as a Category Manager and for Chevron Kenya Ltd as a Business Advisor and Merchandise Manager
Achievements
In Kenya, he led M-Pesa to achieve double-digit year-on-year growth, delivering over $700 million in revenue and major innovations, including the M-Pesa Super App, Fuliza, M-Shwari, M-Pesa Global, and partnerships with PayPal and AliExpress.
Also Read: Absa to Appoint M-PESA Managing Director as He Leaves Safaricom
In Tanzania, he drove the growth and adoption of M-PESA, making it the second-largest market in Africa after Kenya.
In 2022, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit was awarded the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (M.B.S.) by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
As a CEO, M-PESA ceased to be just a SIM toolkit application as he oversaw the development and aggressive rollout of the M-PESA Super App for consumers and the M-PESA Business App for merchants.
Sitoyo Lopokoiyit increased M-Pesa usage among over 1 million businesses and supported over 70,000 developers, with a significant portion of Kenya’s GDP flowing through M-Pesa.
Absa Group announced Lopokoiyit’s appointment after finalisation of its refocused Group Pan-African Strategy.
“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”, said Kenny Fihla, Group CEO of Absa Group.
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Its always good to do your research well. Mr. Sitoyo Lopokoiyit did neither study at University of Nairobi nor University of Warwick. You can find the right information on KCA University portal where he doubles as the University council chair. Kindly get your facts right before publishing. Otherwise you risk ruining your credibility as a reliable and trustworthy news source.