Managing Director at MTN Uganda

Job Description

Job Summary

To lead and transform MoMo Uganda into a scaled, trusted, and innovative digital financial platform that delivers inclusive financial services to Uganda’s unbanked and underbanked communities—while achieving commercial excellence. The MD is accountable for the Uganda P&L, strategic alignment to the MTN Fintech 2030 agenda, regulatory stewardship, and building a culture of trust, agility, and customer obsession. Managing Director open role.

The MD acts as the principal executive accountable for MoMo Uganda strategy development and execution, providing mentorship and stewardship to the senior management and ensuring the integration of both operational and financial measures to drive the business health for MoMo Uganda.

Injects best practices across all domains and aligns MoMo Uganda business with the strategy set forth by Group Fintech. Undertakes strategic planning of the various functions in the group and ensures the developed strategy is executed seamlessly by all functions. Liaises with external stakeholders (banks, corporates, regulatory bodies etc) and remains up to date on all trends in the sector and within the region.

The role also importantly acts as a spokesperson for MTN, communicating the vision, mission and overall direction of the Group and responding to strategic queries from external stakeholders.

The role leads teams across the following functions:

• Products & Services
• Commercial Operations
• Finance
• Technology & Security
• BI Analytics and reporting
• Ethics, risk and compliance
• Legal and regulatory affairs
• HR
• Internal audit and forensics
• Company Secretarial

The role entails working under the guidance of Group Fintech CEO, liaising with various Group teams as and when required. The MD reports to the Board and is supported by a team of General Managers, Senior Managers and Managers.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Strategy Development and Implementation

• Build a compelling and innovative MoMo Uganda strategy that reinforces the current patron base and attracts a wider variety of new patrons; to ensure a sustained economic value driven business 
• Leverage the scale to deliver future commercial benefits with a view to rapidly improve commercial performance within the next 2 years 
• Build the wallet & merchant ecosystem scale by expanding the active wallet base (consumer and merchant). Deepen usage frequency, retention, and revenue per user. Personally review funnel and conversion metrics with marketing and product teams.
• Lead the Product Diversification & Monetisation strategy by scaling lending, savings, insurance, and merchant payment solutions. Oversee roadmap, pricing, distribution, and risk-return ratios. Launch differentiated B2B and SME offerings. 
• Develop and monetise an open fintech API layer. Integrate and partner with developers, banks, and ecosystem players. Champion embedded finance and third-party service   
• Oversee implementation of the strategy by means of providing business-wide direction, structure, frameworks, models, plans and roadmaps
• Lead regular review of the MoMo Uganda strategy and roadmap to ensure its alignment with the changing dynamics of the internal and external ecosystem. Ensure that the same is cascaded to the functional leads
• Execute in AI-Enabled operations for MoMo Uganda to drive automation, data-led decisioning, and AI deployment in KYC, fraud, collections, customer service, and marketing.
• As the overall P&L owner and business growth driver, own and grow MoMo Uganda’s full P&L. Achieve annual targets in revenue, EBITDA, float efficiency, and product-level profitability. Build forecasts that blend financial discipline with ambition.

Staff Leadership and Management

• Build and retain a high-performance Exco. Be visible across operations—from frontline agent activations to boardroom presentations. Role-model speed, ethics, and humility. Coach succession candidates.
• Lead the sourcing, induction and managing talent in accordance with legislative guidelines. Continually develop a culture of strong collaboration and effective team working
• Ensure open communication channels with staff and implement change management interventions where necessary. Provide definition of roles, responsibilities, individual goals and performance objectives for the team
• Lead the KPIs setting process and provide regular performance feedback through a well-defined and implemented performance review program
• Encourage knowledge transfer through the implementation of a knowledge transfer plan and drive continuous improvement philosophy through the knowledge transfer plan
• Actively participate in leadership team and develop skills of own team. Promote a ‘Fintech centric’ and ‘partnership approach’ to develop strong relationships with other working groups and ensure adherence to Group governance
• Ensure adequate succession planning and that succession plans that are in place and are achieved. Ensure that coaching / mentoring programs and personal development plans are in place for all staff members
• Ensure effective management of diversity among personnel in the function

Governance and Risk Management

• Serve as lead interface with central bank, regulators and relevant bodies. Ensure zero audit red flags, proactive compliance, and thought partnership in policy. Build regulator trust through visible leadership.
• Manage the risk, liquidity & Operational resilience of the business by overseeing real-time risk dashboards. Lead quarterly reviews on AML, cyber, float management, liquidity forecasting, and operational loss metrics. Respond to incidents personally if reputational or systemic
• Strengthen MoMo’s national profile through advocacy, partnerships, and impact storytelling. Represent the brand to investors, boards, media, and government. Anchor financial inclusion and gender equity goals.
• Lead strategic meetings, ensure relevant participation and provide guidance and input in the various discussions 
• Lead strategy development and implementation of adequate risk mitigation and controls across all functions. Oversee evaluation baseline of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and KPIs
• Partner with risk & compliance and legal & regulatory functions to ensure that the company is protected from any risk emanating from non-compliance to legal statutes, attack from malicious practices etc
• Ensure governance standards are adhered to in approving new initiatives, delegating relevant budget for internal projects and approving proposals on change initiatives SLA, policies and procedures where required
• Responsible for MoMo Uganda Governance and compliance to national regulations and internal best practices. Oversee infusion of the same within each functional area
• Directly oversee all Corporate Secretarial activities, ensuring that the OpCo maintains the highest standards of Corporate governance and regular business heath is reported to shareholders and internal stakeholders

Reporting & Budgets

• Report on a monthly basis to the Board and Group Fintech CEO relating to progress made within the MoMo Uganda business plan and in accordance with the measurement metrics set by the organisation
• Report on an ad hoc basis on specific projects, as required
• Develop and manage MoMo Uganda budgets in line with business objectives. Cascade the Group Fintech budget, analytics and reporting framework in the each of the functions
• Analyze and approve initiatives aiming the cost of operations are reduced, in line with a least cost operating strategy stemming from the business drivers

Operational Delivery

As the leader of all the functions across the MoMo Uganda, the role is accountable to:

• Oversee functional monitoring of true-value metrics to measure the impact and benefit of each function to the business and in turn, Group Fintech. Lead continuous improvement across all functions 
• Establish, monitor and align the direction, strategy and results of the functions, collectively and as individual work areas 
• Lead and drive an integrated solution development and problem-solving philosophy across the functions. Guide functional leads to further cascade it in their respective functions
• Oversee the Sales Regional teams to ensure that the distribution and merchant network has presence across the country and the distribution network is managed to deliver on the expected strategy
• Strategic management of the overall financial performance of each Financial Services product and commercial expenses by analysing and controlling financial reports, creating and administering commercial budgets
• Owner of partnerships and alliances for all key strategic priority areas in the business. Serve as the face of MoMo Uganda and liaise with all key external stakeholders
• Communicate and implement the Group’s vision, mission and overall direction to key stakeholders. Participate in key seminars / forums as the brand ambassador for MTN Group Fintech  and respond to strategic queries on the business
• Monitor and approve technology roadmaps for the short to long term, ensuring that standards, processes and policies set forth by the Group FintechTechnology team are duly complied with by the function

Key Deliverables 

Internal

• Strategic plan and P&L performance
• Wallet acquisition, ARPU growth, and retention
• Product launches and monetisation KPIs
• Culture index, succession pipeline, and Exco performance

External

• Central Bank engagement and license audit performance
• Market visibility in payments, lending, and savings
• Ecosystem partnerships and API integrations
• ESG and reputational leadership in Uganda’s fintech space

Educational Qualifications, Experience, & Skills Required

• Bachelor’s degree required (Finance, Technology, Business, or related fields)
• MBA or Master’s in Fintech, Strategy, or Leadership preferred
• Professional certifications in regulatory compliance, risk, or payments are a plus
• Minimum 15 years’ experience in financial services, digital platforms, or fintech
• Minimum 5 years’ experience as a CEO/MD/COO with full P&L accountability
• Proven success scaling wallets, agents, or financial products across Uganda
• Experience working directly with regulatory authorities 
• Experience launching or managing lending, insurance, or embedded finance platforms
• Familiarity with AI, platform strategy, and ecosystem monetisation models
• Successful track record as a senior management professional in delivering exceptional business growth & financial results 
• Proficient in driving company’s financial performance, business growth and platform monetization 
• Experience working in a global/multinational enterprise with a good understanding emerging markets.

Core Competencies

Leadership Traits

• Commercial Operator: Disciplined financial execution with growth stretch—can “make the numbers real” in volatile markets
• Ethical Change Leader: Challenges legacy practices and sets a values-driven tone from the top
• Regulatory Diplomat: Trusted, credible, and transparent with authorities and boards
• Hands-On Builder: Walks the floor, coaches product teams, joins sprints, and leads activations
• Inclusive Growth Advocate: Keeps underserved users, small merchants, and agents at the centre of product design
• AI & Data Fluent: Knows how to ask the right questions of tech and data teams to drive outcomes

Functional Knowledge: 

• Knowledge of Financial Services products & services
• Product Strategy & Roadmap
• Sales & Distribution
• Business Development
• Finance Operations and Controls
• Technology deployment
• Knowledge of risk & compliance 
• Knowledge of legal & regulatory
• Analytics & insights generation and implementation

Skills

• Ability to manage self and be a team player, good conflict management, ability to take and manage accountability
• Energy & Drive – Innovative, Takes initiative, result oriented and develops self consistently
• Interpersonal Skills – Leadership, customer centricity, collaborative and coaches & develops direct reports
• Personal Skills – Trustworthy, integrity and ethical in dealings
• Operating Skills – Ability to focus on priorities and plans, shares knowledge effectively 
• Organizational Positioning Skills – Good written and verbal communication, presentation skills, commitment to the organization
• Global thinker, Analytical thinking and Problem-solving abilities.
• Skill in Resource Management

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