Absa Ex-Products Chief To Head Airtel Money

Former head of products at Absa Bank Kenya Ann Kinuthia Otieno has been appointed as the Chief Executive of Airtel Money Kenya.

The appointment for a term of three years is seen as a bid by Airtel to tap into her wide range of experience which spans a decade in the banking sector.

“Ann is now the Chief Executive at Airtel Money Kenya. She will be instrumental in pushing the organization to new heights,” an official at the company said in an interview.

She joins the firm which was split from Airtel Networks Kenya to focus on the mobile money business as a standalone company. The new entity took over the operations of the mobile money services effective July.

The spinoff comes after London-listed Airtel Africa Plc sold a 25.77 percent stake in its local mobile money business as part of a continental deal.

The split means that Airtel Money Kenya will now be run and regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya as a standalone business, but clients’ user experience is not expected to change.

Airtel has split its mobile money business at a time Safaricom has also faced calls to separate its mobile money business.

Safaricom has however said that it does not intend to be split. Instead, the telco intends to convert into a group that will own all its businesses including a mobile money business.

Mr. Peter Ndegwa, the telco’s Chief Executive Officer earlier said that Safaricom will be converted into a holding company, that will also own the Ethiopian business and a tower company that the listed firm will create soon.

Mr. Ndegwa said that M-PESA -Safaricom’s mobile money service- is already regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).