Absa Group has announced the appointment of Naima Yusuf as the new Executive Head of Absa Pay. Yusuf joins Absa from Safaricom, where she spent 19 years, playing a key role in shaping the mobile money landscape across Africa. Her experience includes working in customer service, human resources, and digital financial services. Most recently, she served as Executive Head of Global Payments at M-PESA Africa and sat on the board of Safaricom Mobile Money Services Limited.
Yusuf's career at Safaricom began in 2007 as a retail center agent in Mombasa. She quickly moved through various roles, including customer service and sales, and later oversaw retail support, handling complex customer service issues and staff training. In 2015, she worked in human resources as a Learning and Development Officer, taking part in key national initiatives such as the Safe City Project.
Yusuf's experience in digital financial services began in 2017 when she joined the M-PESA product team as a Product Manager, focusing on merchant payments. She took on progressive responsibilities, contributing significantly to the development of credit strategies. By 2023, she had become Senior Product Manager for Universal Payments, and in 2024, she was appointed Executive Head of Global Payments at M-PESA Africa.
Yusuf's regional footprint deepened as she spearheaded product strategy, international expansion, and collaborative initiatives with partners across Africa to scale global payment services. Her contributions include serving on the board of Safaricom Mobile Money Services Limited and working on cross-border payment solutions. She expressed gratitude for the opportunities and relationships that defined her time at Safaricom.
Yusuf's appointment at Absa Group is part of a broader strategy to attract top-tier talent from the mobile money and telecommunications sectors. Her recruitment follows the appointment of former M-PESA Africa Chief Executive Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, who assumed leadership of Absa's Personal and Private Banking business. Yusuf will bring her expertise to head Absa Pay, steering the bank's digital payment solutions.
Yusuf holds a Bachelor of International Business Administration from the United States International University-Africa and a higher diploma in human resource management from the College of Human Resource Management. She has also sharpened her leadership and product acumen through specialized international programs, including an Innovation Leadership Bootcamp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
With Yusuf's appointment, Absa Group aims to dominate the technology-driven digital payments ecosystem. Her extensive product strategy and international payments experience will be crucial in steering the bank's digital payment solutions. Key to her role will be driving innovation and growth in Absa's digital payment services.
Key points
- Naima Yusuf has been appointed as the new Executive Head of Absa Pay.
- Yusuf brings 19 years of experience from Safaricom, where she played a key role in shaping the mobile money landscape across Africa.
- Her appointment is part of Absa Group's strategy to attract top-tier talent from the mobile money and telecommunications sectors.
