NAIROBI, July 31 – Visa has appointed former Airtel Money Kenya Managing Director Anne Kinuthia Otieno as its new Vice President and Head of East Africa, with her appointment taking effect on August 4.
Based in Nairobi, Kinuthia Otieno will oversee Visa’s operations across seven East African markets. The company said she will lead efforts to grow digital payments, strengthen partnerships with financial institutions and other partners, and support financial inclusion across the region.
Her appointment comes less than a week after Visa announced her move from Airtel Money Kenya, where she led the mobile money business during a period of strong growth.
Kinuthia Otieno joined Airtel Money Kenya in 2021 after more than 10 years in banking. Before then, she held senior leadership positions at Absa Group and also spent more than seven years at Barclays Bank. During her time at Airtel Money Kenya, the company’s share of Kenya’s mobile money market grew from 3.1% in September 2021 to 10.9% by March 2026. Over the same period, M-PESA’s market share fell from 96.8% to 89.1%.
Following her departure, Airtel Money Kenya named Bonke Michael as acting managing director.
The appointment also comes as Visa continues to expand its presence across Africa. The company is in the fourth year of its five-year $1 billion investment programme aimed at supporting more resilient and inclusive economies on the continent. It is also investing in local operations, including its first African data centre in Johannesburg, while exploring stablecoin-based settlement services.
Commenting on her new role, Kinuthia Otieno said East Africa remains one of the world’s fastest-growing digital payments markets and that she looks forward to working with Visa’s clients, partners and teams to support the next stage of growth and financial inclusion across the region.
