Absa Group has announced a series of high-level executive appointments aimed at deepening leadership bench strength and driving customer-led growth. Chief among these changes is the appointment of Sitoyo Lopokoiyit as the new Chief Executive: Personal and Private Banking, effective April 1, 2026.
Lopokoiyit will officially exit Safaricom on March 31, 2026, concluding a 15-year tenure within the Safaricom and Vodacom ecosystems. As the Managing Director of M-PESA Africa, he was a primary architect in scaling the platform into a continental powerhouse that currently serves over 60 million customers and 5 million businesses across eight countries.
During his career, Sitoyo led the launch of major innovations, including:
- The M-PESA Super App.
- Fuliza, a pioneering mobile overdraft facility.
- Global strategic partnerships with PayPal, AliPay, Visa, and Microsoft.
His contributions to the industry were globally recognized with his induction into the 11:FS Hall of Fame, honouring his role in advancing financial inclusion and the digital payment ecosystem.
Lopokoiyit’s move to Absa is part of a broader executive restructuring designed to reinforce the bank’s governance and strategic capability.
Other key appointments include:
- Prabashni Naidoo: Transitions from Group Chief Internal Audit Executive to the newly reconstituted role of Group Chief Governance Officer, overseeing Legal, Compliance, and Group Secretariat.
- Rushdi Solomons: Promoted to Group Chief Internal Audit Officer from his previous role as Managing Executive: Compliance Strategy.
- Fatima Newman: Joins as Chief Compliance Officer, bringing 28 years of experience from roles at EOH and MTN South Africa.
Absa Group CEO Kenny Fihla noted that the appointment of Lopokoiyit is a vital step in delivering integrated solutions across the bank’s franchise. “These appointments reflect both the depth of talent within Absa and the strength of our succession planning,” Fihla stated, emphasizing the bank’s ambition to close gaps in key capability areas through world-class expertise.