Safaricom PLC has appointed Boniface Mungania as its Chief Financial Services Officer, putting a longtime company executive in charge of the division that oversees M-PESA and its expanding portfolio of digital financial products.
The appointment took effect on November 1, 2026, after the company received the necessary regulatory approvals. Safaricom announced the decision on November 6, saying Mungania would report directly to Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa.
His confirmation ends the interim leadership arrangement that followed the departure of former financial services chief Esther Masese Waititu, whose last working day was July 31, 2026.
Mungania had been serving in an acting capacity since her exit. His appointment also represents a return to a position he previously occupied in an acting capacity before Safaricom recruited Waititu in 2023.
The new role places him at the centre of one of Safaricom's most important businesses as the telecommunications company increasingly relies on financial services to drive revenue and customer growth.
M-PESA generated KSh100.07 billion in revenue in the six months to September 2026, representing a 13.6 per cent increase compared with the corresponding period.
The mobile money platform has evolved beyond person-to-person transfers into a broader financial ecosystem offering payments, savings, credit and investment services. Its products include Fuliza, M-Shwari, KCB M-PESA and the Ziidi investment platform.
Mungania brings nearly two decades of experience at Safaricom, having joined the company in 2007 as a customer care representative.
He subsequently moved through several positions, including Senior Manager for M-PESA Business Development, Head of M-PESA Products and Services Development and Payments Tribe Lead. He also worked as a Mobile Financial Services Consultant at Vodafone Qatar.
Before his appointment, he served as Director of Public Sector Digital Transformation, where he led initiatives supporting digital adoption in agriculture, healthcare, small businesses and public finance.
His work also involved the development of digital infrastructure, including application programming interfaces, digital identity and national payment systems.
Mungania holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and is pursuing a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship at the same institution. He has also received the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW), a national honour recognising his contribution to public service and national transformation programmes.
His appointment comes as Safaricom seeks to strengthen M-PESA's position in Kenya's financial services market while expanding digital products and partnerships.
The immediate challenge will be sustaining the platform's growth, deepening its financial services offering and maintaining customer confidence as competition in digital payments and financial technology intensifies.
