In Kenya, someone with too little money in their M-Pesa account can still finish a payment, because Fuliza, a mobile overdraft, covers the gap. The man credited with engineering its launch is moving to Johannesburg to work for Absa.
Eric Njagi Muriuki ran LOOP, the digital banking business of Kenya's NCBA Group. In 2007 he helped design the trust-account structure that let Safaricom issue electronic money through M-Pesa with the regulator's approval, and he later led the development of M-Shwari, the phone savings and small-loan service launched in 2012. Absa spokesperson Daniel Munslow told Business Day that the products Muriuki helped build, M-Shwari, Fuliza, M-Pawa and Mokash among them, have reached more than 75 million customers across Africa.
A new job under the former M-Pesa boss
Muriuki takes a newly created role at Absa's Johannesburg office, leading growth strategy and ventures, and starts this month. The Kenyan outlets that broke the news give it a longer title: Managing Executive for Pan-African Growth Strategy, Platforms and Digital Ventures.
He reports to Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, a fellow Kenyan, who led M-Pesa before Absa put him in charge of personal and private banking earlier this year. M-Pesa now has more than 60 million clients and processes about $1 billion a day, according to Business Day.
The retail bank Absa wants back
Absa needs the help at home. In its 2025 annual report it admitted that shareholders were unhappy with its South African retail business and with the depth of talent in its executive team. Retail used to be its biggest strength. It has since lost its lead in home loans to Standard Bank, and it no longer holds the biggest share of deposits from individuals either.
Business Day counts a reorganisation among the missteps. A few years ago the retail business was split into three clusters, a move that did not deliver, and Charles Russon put it back together in 2024 while he was interim chief executive.
In Kenya, Muriuki's products made real money. Business Today Kenya reports that M-Shwari, Fuliza and the M-Pesa trust model gave NCBA 31.9% of its pre-tax profit, and that Fuliza alone lent KSh1.24 trillion in 2025.
He leaves just as NCBA is about to fall into the hands of another South African bank: Nedbank offered in January to buy 66% of it.
What he will build at Absa has not been spelled out. Munslow spoke of a pan-African mandate covering digital ecosystems, platform-led growth and financial inclusion, which for now is a job description rather than a product.
