Sophie Kafuti is currently Visa’s General Manager for the Democratic Republic of Congo in the West and Central Africa cluster since October 2021. With 24 years of experience in the banking and Fintech sector, she is a key figure in the field of digital payment technologies in the DRC, Central and West Africa.

Mrs. Kafuti holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance with honors from York University in Toronto and an Executive MBA from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, and holds a certification from the Harvard School of Business in Sustainable Business Strategy. 

She started her career in Canada, where she worked for more than 7 years at Citi, MasterCard and Moneris Solutions, a Fintech specializing in payment processing. In 2008, she returned to the DRC to join Banque Congolaise as Operations Manager for 4 years, before joining Citi. During her 9 years at Citi, she held a variety of key positions ranging from Business Development to Vice President, Head of Products Cash Management and Trade, CEO ad interim and member of the Central Bank approved Executive Committee. 

Subsequently, she joined the FinTech Flash as Chief Financial Officer and served as Interim Chief Executive Officer, before taking the reins of Visa in the DRC. Under Sophie’s leadership, Visa continues to strengthen its position as a global leader in digital payment technology.

Sophie is also an active advocate for Financial inclusion and literacy for all, as well as entrepreneurship. She was named one of the 60 most influential African women in Fintech by African Shapers magazine and served as a member of the jury of the Orange Social Entrepreneurship Award (POESAM) in the DRC for the 2023 edition and the Startupper Challenge of the year 100th edition by TotalEnergies in 2024.

Apart from her professional career, Sophie Kafuti is married and the mother of two children. She is dedicated to women’s empowerment and initiatives that have a positive impact on people’s lives in her community

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