Fintech Frontiers Lead
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Industry ICT / Telecommunication Founded 1993 Type Private Website https://www.safaricom.co.ke/ Address Safaricom Limited P.O Box 66827, 00800 Nairobi
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Responsibilities
Key accountabilities and decision ownership:
- Emerging Trends and Innovation Scouting
- Identify global fintech trends and disruptions
- Monitor advancements in AI, blockchain, and open banking
- Analyze competitive and startup ecosystems
- Engage with innovation hubs and research bodies
- Evaluate relevance of new technologies to business
- Track regulatory developments impacting innovation
- Provide insights to shape innovation strategy
Innovation Strategy Development
- Define fintech frontier strategy aligned to business goals
- Prioritize innovation themes and focus areas
- Develop long-term innovation roadmaps
- Align initiatives with customer and market needs
- Balance experimentation with commercial viability
- Secure leadership alignment on innovation agenda
- Continuously refine strategy based on outcomes
Experimentation and Pilot Execution
- Design and run proofs of concept (POCs)
- Lead pilot programs for new technologies
- Apply agile and rapid prototyping approaches
- Test use cases in controlled environments
- Measure pilot success against defined KPIs
- Iterate solutions based on learnings
- Scale successful pilots into full products
Ecosystem and Partnership Development
- Build relationships with startups and fintechs
- Collaborate with technology providers and platforms
- Explore partnerships for co-innovation opportunities
- Engage venture capital and innovation networks
- Identify investment or acquisition opportunities
- Facilitate joint product development initiatives
- Strengthen ecosystem positioning and reach
Product and Platform Integration
- Integrate new technologies into existing platforms
- Collaborate with product and tech teams
- Ensure interoperability within ecosystem solutions
- Support API and platform-based development
- Align innovation with customer experience goals
- Ensure scalability and performance of solutions
- Drive adoption of frontier capabilities
Commercialization and Value Realization
- Translate innovation into revenue-generating solutions
- Develop business cases for new initiatives
- Define monetization and pricing strategies
- Support go-to-market for new innovations
- Track ROI and commercial impact
- Align innovation with growth objectives
- Scale solutions across markets and segments
Governance, Risk, and Compliance
- Ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks
- Assess risks associated with new technologies
- Collaborate with legal, risk, and compliance teams
- Establish governance for innovation initiatives
- Ensure data privacy and security standards
- Monitor ethical implications of emerging tech
- Balance innovation speed with risk management
Qualifications
Must have technical / professional qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance, Technology, Business, Innovation, or related field (MBA preferred)
- 8–12 years’ experience in fintech, banking, innovation, or digital transformation roles
- Strong knowledge of emerging technologies (AI, blockchain, APIs, open banking, embedded finance)
- Proven experience in innovation strategy, product incubation, or new venture development
- Experience working with fintech startups, ecosystems, and partnership models
- Solid understanding of financial services regulations, risk, and compliance frameworks
- Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and ability to translate trends into business opportunities
- Experience in leading cross-functional teams and driving complex innovation programs
- Proficiency in data analysis, business case development, and ROI evaluation
- Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and executive influencing skills