- Mastercard has appointed Folasade Femi-Lawal as its Country Manager and Area Business Head for West Africa, succeeding Ebehijie Momoh, who has held the position since 2019.
- Her responsibilities as Country Manager include driving the company's agenda and mission for innovation and growth and working with private and public stakeholders to advance in West Africa.
Femi-Lawal has over 25 years of combined experience in financial services, management consulting, telecommunications, and business advisory.
She previously led the Cards and Messaging Business at First Bank in Nigeria, where she contributed to the bank's Mobile Financial Services and Digital Banking Strategy.
Before joining First Bank, she was the Head of the Loan Monitoring Unit at United Bank of Africa. In addition to her experience in banking, she managed the Regional Balanced Scorecard for eight regions while employed by Airtel in the telecommunications sector.
Following the appointment, Femi-Lawal expressed her excitement and commitment to working with the MasterCard team, saying she is eager to "support the Nigerian government's agenda for developing a powerful, inclusive, and secure digital economy, and welcome the opportunity to further elevate [Mastercard's] presence and deliver unparalleled value to clients and customers."
Mastercard is the card payment enabler for many financial institutions, and it has also collaborated with businesses across industries to provide digital payment solutions. The company recently announced plans to acquire a minority stake in MoMo, MTN's fintech business, for $200 million (R3.8 billion).
The transaction will value MTN Group Fintech at $5.2 billion (R99 billion) on a cash and debt-free basis, excluding any cash reserves or outstanding debt. It follows MTN Group’s intention of selling a 30% stake in the fintech firm.
Previously, it partnered with another telco, Airtel Africa, to launch a new cross-border remittance service to simplify money transfers for Airtel customers in the 14 countries where it serves. Mastercard committed $100 million to Airtel Africa's mobile money business in 2021. The company offers a mobile wallet, international transfers, virtual credit cards, and loans.
