Top 5 Female Finance Experts in Africa

It’s no secret that men dominate the banking industry. However, the continent is reversing direction as the female gender is increasingly integrated into professions such as finance and banking, resulting in the emergence of experts in Africa.

In 2017, Global Gender Gap Report revealed that female talent remains one of the most untapped company resources in industries such as finance. 

Also, female representation in finance decreases as one’s career level rises. Although women make up 46% of financial services personnel, just 15% of executives are female.

Despite the system’s backlog, some women continue to make impacts. Here are some of the top female finance experts in Africa, according to a list published by Angaza Awards.

Marjorie Mayida, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Old Mutual Investment Group, Zimbabwe

According to the Angaza Award, Marjorie Mayida, managing director and chief investment officer of Old Mutual Investment Group in Zimbabwe, is Africa’s top female finance expert. She is also the Old Mutual Group’s first female managing director in Zimbabwe.

She started working in the company as an Information Technology Officer in 1999 and gradually rose through the ranks to be the managing director. Throughout her work in the organisation, she has achieved significant milestones.

Marjorie assisted the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange with implementing the country’s first electronic funds transfer (EFT) system last year. 

Also, she led numerous major deals throughout her career, including the Eastgate SME Mall in Harare, which is the largest SME Mall in Southern Africa, with 12,000m2 of the trade area.

She also successfully led Old Mutual Property’s turnaround plan, which resulted in improved financial performance, team cohesiveness, control environment, and stakeholder management.

Rina Hicks, Operations Director of Faida Investment Bank in Kenya, Rwanda & Uganda

Rina Hicks leads Faida Investment Bank’s Corporate Finance Advisory unit and is in charge of the firm’s strategic planning and processes in Kenya and Rwanda as the Operations Director.

Over the last five years, she has guided the company through various capital market transactions in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. This includes cross-listings, rights issues, fairness opinions, mergers and acquisitions, takeover transactions, and general capital raising.

Since 2017, she has steered the company’s expansion, resulting in a seven-fold rise in sales. Some of the significant transactions she has overseen are the Nation Media Group’s share repurchase, the first-ever in East Africa; I&M Bank Rwanda’s rights issue; and RH Bophelo’s cross-listing on the Rwanda Stock Exchange from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Faida acted as Independent Financial Advisors on the NIC Group PLC and CBA Group Limited merger in 2019, the most extensive banking merger in the country’s history.

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Rahel Musyoki, Immediate Past Business Development Manager, Carepay (M-TIBA), Kenya

Through CarePay’s health e-payments technology solution breakthrough, M-TIBA, Rahel Musyoki, grew the company’s revenue and portfolio.

As a result, she was able to steer the firm toward developing long-term solutions that enable individuals in vulnerable and underprivileged regions to access inexpensive healthcare and finance from a diverse network of medical service providers.

This was achieved by partnering with private and public sector entities, philanthropists, and charitable organisations.

Leveraging the market, Rahel partners with CarePay’s technical team to impact technological advancement and development on the M-TIBA platform.

Gakii Mwongera, Group Head of Internet Banking, Equity group Holdings Ltd

Since being part of the Group in 2012, Gakii Mwongera has led the bank’s digital channel portfolio, growing from USD 9 million in 2012 to over USD 10 billion in 2021.

She also recently oversaw the successful relocation and digitalisation of the bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Following its acquisition of Banque Commerciale du Congo, Equity BCDC became the second best-performing subsidiary in online banking in less than a year.

Gakii also oversaw the growth of the Equity Manufacturing Sector, which accounted for 35% of the bank’s corporate manufacturing sector asset portfolio.

She oversaw the creation of a cash flow lending product that aided manufacturers in obtaining capital and resulted in the release of more than 439,000 loans worth more than USD 200 million. This is a huge opportunity for Kenyan job creation and MSMEs growth.

Sharon Kinyanjui, Regional Director – EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa), WorldRemit Ltd

Sharon Kinyanjui is the first female CEO of WorldRemit, which operates in 70 countries, 42 in Africa. She is in charge of the company’s strategic direction, new market development, and financial performance. 

This is one of the most critical contributors to WorldRemit’s worldwide sales and gross profit.

Sharon has been the driving force behind creating an entirely new payout currency (USD payout) for people transferring money to Nigeria and the first International Money Transfer Organization (IMTO).

Thanks to her efforts, WorldRemit developed frequent market development interactions with the Central Bank of Nigeria as one of the country’s top foreign income sources.

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