Fintech company JUMO ropes in Kenya’s Joe Mucheru as a new president

African fintech company has announced Kenya’s Joe Mucheru as the president and the news is publicised on Tuesday.

BusinessTech Africa has established that Mucheru is a former Cabinet secretary in the Ministry of ICT, Innovation, and Youth Affairs in Kenya. – a position he occupied from 2015 to 2022.

JUMO released a statement indicating that the new president will support the company to deliver its growth goals, navigate the regulatory landscape, and building the firm’s presence across the African continent.

Andrew Watkins-Ball, JUMO founder and CEO, commented and said they are “honoured to be able to welcome Joe to JUMO.”

“He brings an invaluable perspective given his experience as an entrepreneur, Google executive, and regulator,” said Watkins-Ball.

In addition to Mucheru’s appointment, his hiring comes after that of Nichola Pease who joined the company as non-executive chair, and Michael Ball, former CFO of World Remit, as CFO, who were hired in 2022.

Mucheru also worked as head of Sub-Saharan Africa for Google where he was based in Nairobi he led the delivery of strategy, business planning, and operations, and was key to setting up Google’s presence on the continent.

Prior to Google, he worked at Wananchi Online, the parent company of internet service provider Zuku, a company he co-founded in 1999.

“JUMO is revolutionising the lending space in Africa, connecting entrepreneurs and individuals to the financial products they need to grow and prosper,” said Mucheru.

“I am hugely excited to be joining a business that is helping capital providers make attractive returns at the same time as supporting measurable impact. I look forward to working with Andrew and the team.”

Looking at his previous roles, the Kenyan ICT guru also held several board positions such as with the M-Pesa Foundation Academy, a residential high school in Kenya.

Established in 2010, JUMO’s banking-as-a-service platform uses artificial intelligence to power financial services in emerging markets.

The company offers savings and credit products to entrepreneurs in emerging markets, as well as financial services infrastructure to its partners, mobile fintech platforms, and banks.