Charles Mudiwa, the former Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic Bank Kenya is tipped to become the next Chief Executive Officer of dfcu Bank in Uganda, CEO East Africa Magazine can exclusively reveal.
Dfcu Bank’s CEO Mathias Katamba, resigned from the bank this month and is set to leave at the end of January 2023. In his place, William Sekabembe, the Executive Director and Chief Commercial Officer has been designated by the board, as Ag. Chief Executive Officer.
“The board was looking for someone who has run a large bank with a solid and demonstrable results record. They found that in Charles Mudiwa,” said a highly-placed industry source.
“His name has been submitted to Bank of Uganda for approval,” added the source.
Dfcu Bank was at the end of 2021, Uganda’s 5th largest bank by assets (UGX3.1 trillion); 4th largest by lending (UGX1.5 trillion); 6th largest by deposits (UGX2.3 trillion). It was however the 13th by profitability (UGX9.3 billion).
dfcu Bank is 58.7% owned by Arise B.V- an investment and development company that was established by Norfund, FMO and Rabobank, under joint ownership. Arise B.V currently has a direct or indirect ownership in 18 financial institutions in Subsaharan Africa and presence in 38 countries.
Charles Mudiwa retired from Stanbic Bank Kenya at the end of November 2022 and was replaced by Mr. Joshua Oigara as Chief Executive. Mr. Oigara was the former KCB Bank CEO.
I&M Select Banking Sapphire Club wins “Best Innovation of the Year” at UMEAS 2025At Stanbic Kenya, Mr. Mudiwa is remembered for transforming the bank, leading to a 225% growth in profitability from KShs4 billion to KShs9 billion.
During his exit last year, Standard Bank, other than his solid performance record, described him as a “diversity champion” who among others led the launch of Standard Bank’s women’s banking propositions, Anakazi in Zambia, and DADA (Dare to Aspire, Dare to Achieve) in Kenya. He also steered the formation of the Stanbic Kenya Foundation which has positively impacted thousands of lives across Kenya and South Sudan.
Mudiwa has over three decades of experience in the financial and banking sector across various African markets in various capacities.
Before Stanbic Bank Kenya, he headed Stanbic Zambia as CEO from September 2013 to December 2017. He was also CEO of Standard Bank Malawi from December 2007 to August 2013. Before that, he was a Director at Standard Bank South Africa (January 2004 to December 2007) and Executive Director, at Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe (January 2002 to December 2003). Before joining the Standard Bank Group, he worked for Agribank Zimbabwe from March 1993 to March 2002.
On his LinkedIn page, he describes himself as an “experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry” who “has earned a strong reputation as a leader and coach to inspire the delivery of products and services that economically empower the customer and drive financial inclusion”.
He also describes himself as being “Skilled in Business Planning, Financial Risk, Risk Management, Corporate Finance, and Strategic Planning, Charles is a strong business development “.
