Former Airtel Money Kenya Chief Anne Kinuthia-Otieno Named Visa East Africa Head
Visa has appointed former Airtel Money Kenya Managing Director Anne Kinuthia-Otieno as its new Vice President and Head of East Africa, with the role taking effect on August 4, 2026, according to AllAfrica, which cited reporting from Capital FM’s Nairobi bureau.
The appointment places Kinuthia-Otieno at the helm of Visa’s East African operations at a time when the region is emerging as one of the continent’s most dynamic markets for digital payments. She previously led Airtel Money Kenya, the mobile financial services arm of Airtel Africa, one of several major operators competing in a sector that Kenya effectively pioneered.
Visa Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, is one of the world’s largest electronic payments networks, connecting consumers, merchants, banks and governments across more than 200 countries and territories. The company’s deepening focus on East Africa reflects the rapid growth of card-based and digital transactions across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and other regional markets.
Kenya’s role as a mobile money hub
Kenya has long been regarded as a global leader in mobile money adoption, driven largely by the early success of Safaricom’s M-Pesa service, which launched in 2007. That foundation has encouraged a wave of innovation in mobile wallets, agent banking and cross-border payments, drawing sustained interest from global payments companies seeking to expand their footprint on the continent.
Airtel Money, part of the Airtel Africa group listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Nairobi Securities Exchange, has been among the principal challengers to M-Pesa’s dominance in Kenya and several other African markets. Kinuthia-Otieno’s move from one of the region’s major mobile money operators to a global card network underscores the increasingly blurred lines between traditional banking, mobile wallets and international payment schemes operating across East Africa.
Capital FM first reported the appointment from Nairobi, as carried by AllAfrica. Visa has not publicly disclosed further details beyond the leadership change.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
