Who is Esther Waititu? Woman behind M-Pesa digital transformation leaves Safaricom
By William Muthama, July 20, 2026Esther Masese Waititu, the executive who helped lead M-PESA through one of its biggest periods of growth and innovation, is leaving Safaricom.
Waititu will officially leave the company on Friday, July 31, 2026, ending a tenure of more than three years at the helm of Safaricom’s financial services business.
Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said she is stepping down to pursue other opportunities.
Who Is Esther Waititu?
Waititu is one of Kenya’s best-known leaders in banking and financial technology, with more than 25 years of experience in the industry.
Before joining Safaricom in February 2023, she worked as Director of Corporate Banking at KCB Group. She also held senior positions at Standard Bank Group (Stanbic), Standard Chartered Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa (now NCBA).
She studied Business Administration at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, before earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Liverpool.
When Waititu joined Safaricom, M-PESA was already one of Africa’s biggest mobile money platforms. Her role was to help take it beyond sending and receiving money by expanding the range of digital financial services available to customers.
During her time at the company, M-PESA introduced new products and strengthened existing ones, including savings, loans, insurance and investment services.
Key achievements
One of the biggest milestones under her leadership was the launch of Ziidi Trader in February 2026, a mini-app that allows users to buy and sell shares directly from their mobile phones.
She also oversaw the rollout of M-PESA’s Fintech 2.0 platform, a major technology upgrade designed to make the service faster, more reliable and ready for future growth.
Her leadership coincided with impressive growth for M-PESA.
In 2025, the platform generated Ksh161.1 billion in revenue, a 15.1 per cent increase from the previous year, while transaction volumes rose by nearly 30 per cent.