Role Overview
The Lead API & Developer Marketplace is strategically accountable for Safaricom's platform exposure strategy. This role ensures that fintech capabilities are externalized through scalable, interoperable APIs that enable ecosystem growth while aligning with the cluster roadmap. Anchored in Safaricom’s purpose of transforming lives, the lead ensures that Financial Services evolve from product-centric offerings to a scalable, ecosystem-powered platform that expands access, innovation, and sustainable revenue growth.
Key Responsibilities
Platform Strategy & API Exposure Architecture
- Define and evolve the organization-wide platform exposure strategy.
- Ensure fintech capabilities are externalized through scalable, interoperable APIs that enable ecosystem growth.
- Translate fintech roadmap priorities into scalable exposure architectures that enable ecosystem integration across payments, credit, wealth, insurance, and partner ecosystems.
- Establish scalability, interoperability, and security standards that support high transaction volumes and cross-border expansion.
- Partner with Product teams to ensure capabilities are platform-ready from inception without assuming ownership of product functionality.
- Align exposure standards with regulatory, security, and risk requirements across all API surfaces.
API Productization & Lifecycle Governance
- Lead the productization of APIs as managed platform assets, establishing lifecycle standards, version governance, security protocols, and performance benchmarks.
- Define performance benchmarks and reliability thresholds for all exposed services; embed security-by-design and compliance-by-design across API development.
- Ensure documentation, testing, sandbox environments, and support models meet enterprise-grade standards.
- Govern API portfolio rationalization: eliminate duplication, retire deprecated APIs, and optimize platform efficiency.
Developer Marketplace Growth & Ecosystem Enablement
- Build and scale the Developer Marketplace by strengthening developer experience (DX), structured onboarding, and documentation standards.
- Define clear value propositions and use cases for third-party developers, enterprises, and ecosystem integrators.
- Monitor ecosystem adoption metrics (active integrations, API call volumes, developer activation rates) and identify levers to accelerate usage.
- Establish structured feedback loops to continuously improve developer engagement and marketplace performance.
Monetization Governance
- Establish commercial guardrails for API monetization, including usage models, pricing principles, and revenue-sharing frameworks.
- Ensure revenue-sharing and partnership structures are economically viable and margin-protective.
- Track API monetization performance against defined financial targets (Revenue and EBITDA).
Agile Leadership & DevSecOps Alignment
- Align API squads with agile delivery principles and DevSecOps standards to ensure secure, high-performance, continuously deployable APIs.
- Leads empowered cross-functional squads aligned to shared OKRs, operating within clearly defined decision rights and escalation protocols.
- Champions iterative delivery and hypothesis-driven experimentation while balancing speed with regulatory and operational guardrails.
- Monitor service uptime, reliability, and incident response standards.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Revenue & Monetization: API-driven revenue contribution to grow to at least 5% of total FS revenue; Developer marketplace revenue growth > 10% YoY.
- Ecosystem Growth: Achieve 10,000+ active enterprise and third-party integrations; 15% YoY growth in total API call volume; 80%+ 90-day partner retention.
- Efficiency: Average time to onboard new developers/partners reduced to 48 hours.
- Quality: Maintain 99%+ API platform uptime; MTTR for P1/P2 incidents below 2 hours; Zero critical security vulnerabilities.
Leadership & Talent Development
- Build and lead a high-performing, multidisciplinary team embedding OKR-driven accountability and agile ways of working.
- Ensure succession readiness for critical roles through structured coaching and capability development programs.
- Champion cross-functional collaboration across M-PESA to ensure integrated, outcome-led delivery.
