Kenyan becomes first African woman chief executive for Citibank in region

In 1989, Joyce-Ann Muthoni Wainaina joined Citibank as an intern. Little did she know that a quarter century later she would head the bank’s unit in Kenya and the East Africa region.

Before her appointment, the American multinational never had a female chief executive officer for the 40 years it has been present in Kenya. Equally, no Kenyan national had been appointed to the position.

But last month, Mrs Wainaina was appointed chief executive of Citibank Kenya and the East African region (Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia), opening a new chapter in the bank’s history.

“It is the first time we have appointed a Kenyan in this role and the first time we have appointed a woman so I feel the burden of a pioneer on my shoulders. I need to succeed in this role,” Mrs Wainaina told the Sunday Nation last week.

When she was formally absorbed in the bank as a full time employee – a relationship manager – there was only one other female holder of the position.

And the situation did not change much for more than two decades that followed. Then again in 2011, she became the first woman to head an African unit, when she was posted to run the Citibank Zambia.

Admitting that she feels the “pressure” to set a precedent as the first Kenyan holder of the position, Mrs Wainaina says that she has already identified four key focus areas, which she believes will contribute immensely towards expanding the bank’s fortunes during her tenure.

INFRASTRUCTURE, OIL AND GAS

Infrastructure, electricity, oil and gas and retail businesses dealing with fast-moving consumer goods will be where she directs the business during her tenure.

“The best way to manage this role is not to think about it. Banking, especially in Africa, has been a male dominated career. We were only two relationship managers at Citi at the time I joined. I will use this as a unique opportunity to offer different kinds of ideas,” she told the Sunday Nation in an interview.

So strategic is her choice of focus sectors that they match the current needs of the region.

For instance, Tanzania is already pumping its natural gas which creates the need for supporting infrastructure if the country is to fully benefit from the resource.

Uganda is soon expected to start pumping its crude oil which has been established to be in commercially viable quantities. Kenya, too, has discovered oil.

Both Uganda and Kenya are currently in talks to set up a crude oil pipeline that is meant to facilitate production of the resource in the two countries.

On its own, Kenya has lined up several other infrastructure projects including expansion of the port facility, building of roads, railways and airports, among others that will all require funding from financial institutions.

Being among the world’s top 10 producers of copper, Zambia’s economy is heavily dependent on the extractive sector in addition to agriculture, thus the need to set up infrastructure to service these sectors.

“Citi’s vision for Africa now is to continue playing in the corporate and investment banking space. My vision for East Africa is to look at it as more aligned in the way we approach business here. Regional alignment is our first key focus because in the eyes of ‘big’ investors, individual countries are not as big as we imagine,” she said.

Citibank is among the financial institutions that have provided funding for both public and private investors in the local electricity sector.

According to Mrs Wainaina, the bank will be keen on growing its existing portfolio in the sector with the implementation of the plan that is currently under way to increase the capacity for power generation.

Mrs Wainaina has held several other positions within Citibank including being the bank’s head of operation controls for Sub-Saharan Africa and managing transaction services for East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia) where she dealt with cash management, trade services and trade finance.