Leadership

With 2027 in the horizon, more than 150 finance leaders from across East Africa joined the 2026 Virtual Summit to reflect on a turbulent year and speak about strategies for 2027. Panelists and attendees explored how CFOs are adapting to regulatory shifts and a changing workforce, among other shared concerns.

Tackling massive corporate moves like EABL's $2.3 billion acquisition might intimidate most executives, but Ivy Kimori thrives when stepping into the unknown. The brewer's group head of strategy takes stock of her time in executive leadership, revealing why taking bets on people and creating safe spaces for collaboration matter far more than having all the answers upfront.

Speaking at the CFO Leadership Summit in Dar es Salaam on 12 June, Sekou Tidiane, CFO of Africa Global Logistics (AGL) Tanzania, reflected on the human side of finance leadership, explaining why managing numbers is only a fraction of the executive role.

Alfred Ramosedi, FCMA, CGMA, president at The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and co-chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, who is based predominantly in Africa, and Tariro Mutizwa, FCMA, CGMA, vice president – Africa at CIMA, agree that AI will change what finance professionals do, but not who leads. They speak to CFO East Africa about the shifts changing the profession across the continent.

Mastercard Foundation finance director Winnie Waweru asks the same question in every room she enters: Where is the voice of the young people?

Car & General is entering another period of reinvention after nine decades of surviving changing markets. For CFO Sam Njenga, staying relevant necessitates remaining close to customers, investing in people, embracing technology and being willing to rethink what comes next.

At the CFO East Africa Sustainability Summit in Kampala, Stanbic Bank Uganda CEO Mumba Kalifungwa said sustainability needs to be understood across the enterprise while finance leaders connect reporting requirements with long-term value.

Transitioning from the predictive world of insurance to the heavy machinery of mining is a massive operational shift. Gabriel Msabi, chief accountant at Mantra Tanzania (Uranium One), explains how his core finance skills easily translated to support major infrastructure projects.

Every finance leader eventually comes face to face with the need for automation. The harder question is which change actually earns a permanent place once the systems are in and the old habits are gone. CRDB Bank CFO Fredrick Nshekanabo, Heritage Insurance GM finance and administration Luke Magambo, and Vodacom Tanzania finance director Hilda Bujiku share the one process they automated that changed their work for good.

In today’s business environment, leadership is increasingly measured by influence, adaptability, accountability, and the ability to shape culture in uncertain times. For senior leaders navigating economic transformation, technological disruption, and evolving stakeholder expectations, leadership has become a strategic asset rather than a functional role.

The payment operations entrepreneur speaks about the glass ceiling she refused to stay under and why Africa needs imaginative solutions built by Africans.

Dr Neema Kiure, assurance partner at EY and former Diamond Trust Bank Tanzania finance director , knows a CFO’s true influence is often revealed during moments of stress. As a judge for the 2026 CFO Awards, she is on the lookout for finance leaders who do bring clarity and disciplined recommendations to the board when tradeoffs get hard.

Jeremiah Peino Sakayion group finance lead at FMEC Group, explains why AI could not fix broken financial reporting. He notes that leaders still need humans to translate numbers into business decisions.

Speaking at the CFO East Africa Uganda Leadership Summit, former PwC Managing Partner and I&M Bank Uganda chairperson Francis Kamulegeya delivered a blunt account of how finance leaders are perceived in the boardroom and what it will take to survive the transition into one.

As the 2026 CFO Awards cycle gets underway, the judges tasked with evaluating East Africa's finest finance leaders reveal what they believe will define the next generation of outstanding CFOs. WPP Scangroup COO Miriam Kaggwa, Fintech Forensics founder Shereena Wilson, RSM Tanzania founding partner Lina Ratansi, and Africa Centre for Applied Digital Health co-founder Fiona Nuwamanya share their thoughts.

Speaking at CFO South Africa's CFO Day, Juma Kimori laid out a rigorous case for why the finance leader's job is to deploy cash with discipline and what happens when they get that wrong.

Kisima Farm group CFO Francis Ngumbi has watched the US tariff shifts land differently across flowers and crops.

Safaricom has become the first Kenyan company to post a net profit above KSh 100 billion. During the announcement, group CFO and 2025 CFO of the Year Dilip Pal explained the financial decisions that made it possible.

As automation reshapes the finance function, the pressure to build capable, adaptable teams has never been greater. Standard Chartered Tanzania CFO George Binde, Naivas CFO Jonathan Nganga, and Kioo financial controller Prashant Barik share how they are developing the people around them for what comes next.

I spent 20 years in the digital sphere, growing from systems analyst and systems administrator to the director of ICT and innovation in a Level 6 healthcare facility. This was crowned by the recognition as the 2025 CTO of the Year in public service through the Ministry of ICT and e-Government. Then, in mid-2025, came the transition to the CFO ecosystem.