M-PESA boss among top 50 people defining Africa’s digital path
Kenyans continue to go beyond. From record athletes to entertainers, inventors to techies. Today, we celebrate one of Kenya’s most successful financial services expert, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit.
Lopokoiyit, who has directly managed mobile money in two of the largest markets in the world — Kenya and Tanzania — made it to the list of the top 50 digital personalities across the African continent published by Jeune Afrique, a Pan-African weekly news magazine that is published in the French language.
The M-PESA Africa Managing Director ranked among the top 50 digital personalities, which was compiled from an initial list of over 300 names and published in the April issue of the magazine.
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It is not too hard to know why he made it to the top. Lopokoiyit is credited for having been responsible for managing and growing the successful mobile money services platform, which has revenues of over US$1 billion (with the service revenue growing at double digits).
This has put M-PESA at the heart of the global mobile financial services revolution while making Kenya a force to reckon with in the mobile money services global map.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought to the fore the significance of M-PESA on the Kenyan economy. Although the sector has flourished over the years, there has been notable acceleration in the uptake of services in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The criteria used ranged from the capacity for innovation through financial strength, the amount of fundraising carried out, leadership and notoriety, primarily by highlighting the events that occurred during the 2020/2021 period.
As the M-PESA Africa Managing Director, Lopokoiyit is responsible for growing the mobile phone-based money transfer service into a fully-fledged financial platform.
He is in charge of New Business Ventures, Product Management and Development for both Consumer and Enterprise.
Lopokoiyit truly captures the Kenyan spirit of going beyond #TwendeTukiuke.
