Inside Esther Waititu's journey from graduate trainee to 'Mama M-Pesa'
Esther Masese Waititu is stepping down as Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom after a three-year tenure. Known as 'Mama M-Pesa,' she was instrumental in evolving the platform into a cloud-native financial ecosystem.
Why it matters
Her departure from a major telecommunications firm marks a significant leadership transition in the African fintech landscape.
Esther Masese Waititu was just 23 when she joined the banking world as a graduate trainee.
Young, ambitious and fearless, she stunned the bank's CEO during an introductory meeting by declaring that she intended to take his job one day.
In an earlier interview, Ms Waititu recalled that, even then, she believed the best job anyone could aspire to was that of a chief executive. When the CEO invited questions from the new graduate trainees, she wasted no time.
"I want to have your job. Can you show me how?" she asked.
It was a bold declaration from a fresh graduate, but one that would come to define a career marked by steady progression through Kenya's corporate ranks.
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