Airtel Money Kenya MD resigns ahead of planned London IPO in 2026
Airtel Money Kenya's managing director, Anne Kinuthia Otieno, stepped down after nearly five years, weeks after Airtel Kenya appointed a new MD and days after Safaricom's chief financial services officer announced her exit. Her departure comes months before Airtel Africa plans to list its mobile money unit in London, targeting a second-half 2026 IPO subject to regulatory approvals. In her LinkedIn post, Kinuthia Otieno cited strengthening the merchant and agent network, forging new partnerships, and overhauling the core mobile money platform. Under her leadership, Airtel Money's share of Kenya's mobile money subscriptions rose from 3.1% in September 2021 to 10.9% by March 2026, while market leader M-PESA fell from 96.8% to 89.1%. Kenya had 53.4 million active mobile money subscriptions at the end of the period, a 3.9% quarterly increase pushing penetration to 100.1%. Across Africa, Airtel Money served 56.5 million customers and generated an annualised transaction value exceeding $245 billion, according to the group's Q1 results. The leadership shake-up at both Airtel and Safaricom signals a rapidly evolving East African mobile money landscape, which could influence competition, investment flows, and regulatory approaches in West Africa's growing PSB and fintech sectors.