Kemi Okusanya, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Zest Payments Limited, Stanbic IBTC’s fintech subsidiary and a member of the Standard Bank Group, brings a formidable track record of leadership and innovation to one of Nigeria’s most promising fintech platforms.
With a distinguished career spanning banking, payments, and cross-border financial services, Okusanya is uniquely positioned to accelerate Zest’s growth, leveraging deep industry expertise to deliver transformative financial solutions across Nigeria and beyond.
Pioneering Fintech Leadership and Operational Excellence
As the founding team member and former CEO of Hydrogen Payment Services, Okusanya orchestrated the company’s rise as a major player in Nigeria’s payments landscape. She drove strategic direction, business growth, operational efficiency, and technology advancement while ensuring robust risk management and regulatory compliance.
Her ability to build high-performing teams and create sustainable value has consistently delivered results, making her a natural fit to lead Zest’s next phase of innovation and market expansion.
Scaling Regional Payments and Strategic Partnerships
Okusanya’s impact extends across West and Anglophone Africa through senior roles at Visa and MoneyGram International. As Vice President and General Manager for West Africa at Visa, she managed extensive operations with partner banks and fintechs, overseeing payment acceptance across hundreds of thousands of merchant locations and leading large matrix teams.
At MoneyGram, she served as Head of Anglophone Africa, overseeing multi-country operations, agent networks, and P&L performance. These experiences have equipped her with exceptional skills in forging strategic alliances, expanding market reach, and optimizing large-scale payment ecosystems- capabilities she is now deploying to strengthen Zest’s position in the competitive fintech space.
Building Resilient Foundations in Financial Services
Her journey began at Zenith Bank Plc, where she rose through key leadership positions in sales, customer service, and business development, consistently delivering revenue growth, operational efficiency, and exceptional customer experiences.
Early roles at ExxonMobil further sharpened her analytical and business planning acumen. This strong commercial foundation enables Okusanya to blend traditional banking rigor with modern fintech agility, ensuring Zest delivers secure, customer-centric, and scalable financial services.
Kemi Okusanya’s career exemplifies how deep domain expertise, visionary leadership, and a passion for African financial inclusion can drive meaningful impact. At Zest Payments, she is poised to redefine payments innovation, foster sustainable growth, and solidify the company’s role as a trusted leader in Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem.
