In a room full of chief executives, he easily stands head and shoulders above them – almost everyone is forced to look up to him. However, Mumba Kenneth Kalifungwa is way much more than just his giant frame – he is a seasoned, highly experienced and qualified banking executive. It is therefore only fitting that Stanbic Bank Uganda, the country’s largest commercial bank by assets, has snatched him from Absa Bank to join them as their new Chief Executive Officer, following a torturous search process to replace former CEO Anne Jjuuko who left on promotion to head Global Markets at the regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. “We are pleased to welcome @MumbaKalifungwa as the new Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Uganda, effective March 1, 2025, following regulatory approval,†the bank said in a tweet on its X page. Kalifungwa, a Zambian national, has been the Managing Director at Absa Bank Uganda since 2020. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University Business School, in Edinburgh, Scotland, in addition to being a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Before coming to Uganda to head Absa Bank, Kalifungwa was the chief financial officer at ABSA Bank Botswana after playing the same role at Barclays Bank Zambia. His banking career goes back to 1995. He started out at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Zambia. Later, he joined the Zambia Revenue Authority, serving there as senior accountant prior to joining Barclays Bank Zambia as CFO. He is said to be an expert in business development, risk management, and financial strategy, skills that the bank desperately needs given the current challenging environment. “We are confident that under Mumba’s leadership, the bank will continue to experience even more success as we continue to stay committed to our purpose of driving Uganda’s growth,†said a brief statement from Stanbic Uganda. An analyst who knows Kalifungwa well told this publication that joining Stanbic Bank presents the bank with a tremendous opportunity to cement its position as the undisputed banking industry market leader amidst the challenging environment. The banking sector in Uganda is highly regulated by the Central bank, as reflected in its unexplained rejection of the bank’s initial candidate to replace Jjuuko in April. Additionally, Ugandan financial instutitions are increasingly becoming vulnerable to cyber threats, including fraud and data breaches. The rise of mobile banking, online transactions, and digital payments has created opportunities for fraudsters to exploit vulnerabilities in the systems. Protecting customer data and preventing cybercrime is an ongoing challenge that requires constant investment in technology and security systems. Also, banks are increasingly facing stiff competition from fintechs such as MTN Mobile Money and other mobile-based financial platforms that have gained traction in Uganda, offering a cheaper and more accessible alternative products to traditional banking. How Kalifungwa would help Stanbic Bank Uganda to navigate these challenges and to be the one other banking CEOs would look up to as a benchmark remains to be seen. The Stanbic Bank Uganda, which is listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange, is owned by the Standard Bank Group of South Africa and is a subsidiary of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited and a sister company to Stanbic Incubator, SBG Securities Limited and FlexiPay.
