Anne Kinuthia Otieno Appointed Visa VP for East Africa

Visa has appointed Anne Kinuthia Otieno, previously the managing director of Airtel Money Kenya, as its Vice President and Head of East Africa. This move comes less than a week after her departure from Airtel, signaling a significant shift in leadership at both companies.

Kinuthia-Otieno will oversee Visa’s operations across seven East African markets, focusing on digital payments growth, partnerships with financial institutions, and expanding financial inclusion initiatives. Based in Nairobi, she brings extensive experience from both the mobile money sector and banking industry.

During her tenure at Airtel Money Kenya, Kinuthia-Otieno oversaw a period of notable market share gains against dominant players like M-PESA. When she joined in September 2021, Airtel Money held just 3.1% of the country’s mobile money subscriptions; by March 2024, this had risen to 10.9%, while M-PESA’s share decreased from 96.8% to 89.1%.

Prior to Airtel Money, Kinuthia-Otieno held leadership roles at Absa Group and Barclays Bank, accumulating over a decade of experience in the financial services sector. This background positions her well to navigate Visa’s expansion across Africa.

“East Africa is one of the most dynamic payments markets globally,” said Kinuthia-Otieno in a statement. “I look forward to working with our teams to drive innovation and expand access to digital payment solutions.”

This appointment arrives as Visa accelerates its investment strategy for Africa, including data center expansions and explorations into new technologies like stablecoins – all part of a $1 billion commitment to support the continent’s digital economy.