Background

Safaricom is the leading provider of converged communication solutions in Kenya. In addition to providing a broad range of first-class products and services for Telephony, Broadband Internet and Financial services, Safaricom seeks to uplift the welfare of Kenyans through value-added services and support for community projects.

Role Context

Reporting to the Group Chief Corporate & External Affairs Officer, the Lead Fintech Oversight & Governance is accountable for leading Safaricom’s regulatory strategy and institutional engagement framework across its digital financial services and fintech ecosystem, ensuring sustainable innovation, regulatory resilience, and long-term license to operate within an increasingly complex financial services landscape.

Responsibilities

• The role shapes and executes a forward-looking regulatory agenda covering digital payments, credit, savings, interoperability, open banking, data governance, AI-enabled financial services, and emerging fintech models.
• It drives proactive, structured engagement with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and other domestic, regional, and global financial regulators to secure timely approvals, influence policy direction, and manage systemic regulatory risk.
• The role embeds regulatory foresight into product design, commercial strategy, and platform expansion by partnering closely with M-Pesa, Financial Services, Technology, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Strategy, and Innovation teams.
• It ensures that regulatory considerations are integrated early in innovation cycles, accelerating time-to-market while safeguarding prudential integrity and consumer protection standards.
• Through disciplined horizon scanning, regulatory scenario planning, and fintech intelligence capability, the role anticipates shifts in prudential regulation, financial inclusion policy, digital identity, cross-border payments, embedded finance, and platform governance.
• It translates early signals into structured engagement strategies that protect revenue continuity, unlock new growth opportunities, and strengthen Safaricom’s credibility as a trusted financial ecosystem player.
• The Lead Fintech Oversight & Governance safeguards Safaricom’s financial services license to operate while enabling strategic growth ambitions, positioning Safaricom as a responsible fintech leader within Kenya and across its subsidiary markets.
• The Lead Fintech Oversight & Governance is accountable for shaping Safaricom’s external regulatory strategy, influencing policy direction and maintaining strategic relationships with financial regulators to secure and sustain the Group’s licence to operate.
• The role anticipates regulatory change, secures regulatory approvals, influences policy outcomes and provides regulatory guidance to the Financial Services business and regulated subsidiaries.
• It does not own operational execution of regulatory requirements within Financial Services.
• Therefore, the Lead Fintech Oversight & Governance is strategically accountable for:
• Fintech Regulatory Strategy & Framework: Lead the development and execution of Safaricom’s end-to-end fintech regulatory strategy, ensuring alignment with commercial ambitions, evolving financial sector policy, and prudential requirements across digital financial services.
• Regulatory & Central Bank Engagement: Drive structured, senior-level engagement with the Central Bank of Kenya and other financial regulators to secure approvals, shape regulatory interpretation, and proactively manage systemic regulatory risk.
• License to Operate & Prudential Governance: Safeguard Safaricom’s financial services license to operate by ensuring robust compliance positioning, regulatory readiness, and alignment with consumer protection, capital, and operational risk expectations.
• Fintech Policy Shaping & Industry Influence: Influence national and regional fintech policy development through evidence-based submissions, coalition building, and structured stakeholder engagement to enable innovation and financial inclusion.
• Product & Innovation Regulatory Enablement: Embed regulatory foresight into product design, commercial planning, and new fintech initiatives to accelerate time-to-market while mitigating regulatory exposure.
• Horizon Scanning & Regulatory Intelligence: Establish forward-looking regulatory intelligence capability to anticipate shifts in digital finance, open banking, interoperability, AI-driven services, and cross-border financial models.
• Cross-Functional Regulatory Integration: Partner with M-Pesa, Financial Services, Technology, Risk, Legal, Compliance, and Strategy teams to ensure regulatory considerations are integrated into enterprise decision-making and transformation initiatives.
• Subsidiary Oversight, Governance & Enablement: Provide structured oversight and strategic support to subsidiaries, ensuring alignment to Group standards while enabling effective local execution within market context.
• Risk, Governance & Control Ownership: Embed and maintain effective risk, governance, compliance, and control practices within the function by proactively identifying and mitigating operational, regulatory, financial, people, technology, and reputational risks. Ensure adherence to internal policies, regulatory requirements, audit actions, and enterprise governance frameworks while driving accountability, ethical practices, and a strong controls environment across all areas of responsibility.
• Anchored in Safaricom’s ambition to lead Africa’s digital financial services evolution, the role ensures Safaricom engages regulators from a position of credibility, preparedness, and strategic influence, enabling growth with regulatory confidence rather than constraint.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Finance, Economics, Public Policy, Banking, Business Administration, or related field from a recognised institution.
• Master’s degree in Finance, Banking, Public Policy, Business Administration, Law, or related discipline (strongly preferred).
• 10–15 years’ progressive experience in financial services regulation, digital financial services, fintech policy, banking supervision, or regulatory advisory roles.
• Minimum 5 years operating at senior management level within a regulated financial institution, fintech, central bank, regulatory authority, or advisory environment.
• Strong understanding of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) regulatory frameworks, including payments systems, prudential standards, consumer protection, AML/CFT, and digital finance supervision.
• Demonstrated experience managing regulatory approvals for new financial products, partnerships, or operating model changes.
• Deep understanding of digital financial services ecosystems including mobile money, open banking, APIs, interoperability, lending, data governance, and AI-driven financial models.
• Proven ability to analyse regulatory frameworks and translate supervisory expectations into commercially viable solutions.
• Experience engaging senior regulatory officials and participating in structured supervisory discussions.
• Strong commercial acumen, ability to balance regulatory compliance with growth enablement and product scalability.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with high discretion, judgment, and political sensitivity in high-stakes regulatory environments.
• Excellent analytical, drafting, and executive communication capability.

• Lead the development and execution of Safaricom’s end-to-end fintech regulatory strategy, ensuring alignment with commercial ambitions, evolving financial sector policy, and prudential requirements across digital financial services.
• Drive structured, senior-level engagement with the Central Bank of Kenya and other financial regulators to secure approvals, shape regulatory interpretation, and proactively manage systemic regulatory risk.
• Safeguard Safaricom’s financial services license to operate by ensuring robust compliance positioning, regulatory readiness, and alignment with consumer protection, capital, and operational risk expectations.
• Influence national and regional fintech policy development through evidence-based submissions, coalition building, and structured stakeholder engagement to enable innovation and financial inclusion.
• Embed regulatory foresight into product design, commercial planning, and new fintech initiatives to accelerate time-to-market while mitigating regulatory exposure.
• Establish forward-looking regulatory intelligence capability to anticipate shifts in digital finance, open banking, interoperability, AI-driven services, and cross-border financial models.
• Partner with M-Pesa, Financial Services, Technology, Risk, Legal, Compliance, and Strategy teams to ensure regulatory considerations are integrated into enterprise decision-making and transformation initiatives.
• Provide structured oversight and strategic support to subsidiaries, ensuring alignment to Group standards while enabling effective local execution within market context.
• Embed and maintain effective risk, governance, compliance, and control practices within the function by proactively identifying and mitigating operational, regulatory, financial, people, technology, and reputational risks. Ensure adherence to internal policies, regulatory requirements, audit actions, and enterprise governance frameworks while driving accountability, ethical practices, and a strong controls environment across all areas of responsibility.

• Strong understanding of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) regulatory frameworks, including payments systems, prudential standards, consumer protection, AML/CFT, and digital finance supervision.
• Demonstrated experience managing regulatory approvals for new financial products, partnerships, or operating model changes.
• Deep understanding of digital financial services ecosystems including mobile money, open banking, APIs, interoperability, lending, data governance, and AI-driven financial models.
• Proven ability to analyse regulatory frameworks and translate supervisory expectations into commercially viable solutions.
• Experience engaging senior regulatory officials and participating in structured supervisory discussions.
• Strong commercial acumen, ability to balance regulatory compliance with growth enablement and product scalability.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with high discretion, judgment, and political sensitivity in high-stakes regulatory environments.
• Excellent analytical, drafting, and executive communication capability.

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Finance, Economics, Public Policy, Banking, Business Administration, or related field from a recognised institution.
• Master’s degree in Finance, Banking, Public Policy, Business Administration, Law, or related discipline (strongly preferred).