Next Gen Fintech Lead

Role Information

The Next Gen Fintech Lead is a senior leadership position at Safaricom responsible for defining the strategy and long-term vision for next-generation fintech solutions in alignment with Financial Services objectives. The role involves owning the end-to-end portfolio performance across digital savings, investments, and emerging fintech propositions, driving innovation through platform-led and agile delivery models.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision Leadership

• Define the end-to-end strategy and long-term vision for next-generation fintech solutions and insurance.
• Translate enterprise strategy into executable roadmaps, identifying new growth opportunities in digital savings, insurance, investments, and emerging fintech.
• Prioritize investments based on value, risk, and scalability to drive market leadership.

Fintech Portfolio Management

• Own the performance of the fintech portfolio (wealth, digital savings, investments, digital assets, and insurance) including P&L, pricing, and value proposition design.
• Drive profitability and growth while monitoring adoption, usage, and customer lifetime value (CLV).
• Optimize product mix and bundling, taking corrective actions on underperforming products.

Product Innovation & Digital Enablement

• Lead development of next-gen wealth, insurance, and digital solutions; incubate new fintech models.
• Leverage emerging technologies to enhance customer experiences and drive rapid innovation via agile development.
• Transition successful pilots into scalable, production-grade offerings.

Digital Products & Platforms Leadership

• Own the digital product roadmap and platform architecture, ensuring scalable, API-led capabilities.
• Partner with Fintech Platforms Product & Innovation Lead to deliver reusable infrastructure.
• Embed UX excellence and reliability standards across all digital touchpoints.

Risk, Compliance & Governance

• Own the governance framework for fintech innovations, ensuring regulatory compliance and risk controls are embedded by design.
• Define risk appetite thresholds and manage operational, financial, and conduct risks.
• Proactively engage with regulators to balance innovation with control.

Customer-Centricity & Data

• Champion customer-first design with personalization, segmentation, and contextual engagement.
• Use advanced analytics and predictive insights to optimize product performance and refinement.

Ecosystem Partnerships

• Manage strategic relationships with fintechs, platforms, and third-party providers.
• Enable integrated delivery across tribes and squads.

People Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead and inspire multidisciplinary teams and develop future leaders through coaching.
• Foster a culture of innovation, agility, and ownership.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Next Gen Fintech revenue growth: >20% YoY growth.
• Assets Under Management (AUM): grow by 15% YOY.
• Customer activation: 30% monthly activation rate for digital savings/investment products.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): 10% uplift YoY.
• Time-to-market: Concept to MVP within 90 days; full production within 180 days.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Technology, or a related discipline.
• Postgraduate qualification (MBA or Master’s) in Finance, Strategy, or Innovation is strongly preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in financial services, fintech, digital banking, or investment products.
• Proven track record of designing and scaling digital and platform-led financial solutions.
• Demonstrated senior leadership experience managing complex, multidisciplinary teams.