Irene Kieru

Digital Transformation Specialist

Irene Kieru is a seasoned professional with over 10 years of experience in digital transformation and financial inclusion, designing and scaling digital financial solutions across Africa and the Pacific. Her expertise spans digital financial services, inclusive fintech, and digitization of the agricultural value chain.

Currently serving as a Digital Transformation Specialist at the United Nations-hosted Better Than Cash Alliance, Irene leads the digitization of wage payments in Malawi’s tea sector in partnership with the Tea Association of Malawi (TAML). This initiative is transitioning over $60 million annually from cash to digital, impacting 60,000 workers and 25,000 smallholder farmers.

A Project Management Professional (PMP), Irene has successfully delivered complex, multi-stakeholder projects across Francophone and Anglophone Africa. She has worked closely with central banks, including the BCEAO and BEAC, as well as commercial banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs), and development organizations to build responsible and inclusive digital financial ecosystems.

Previously, as Regional Business Development Manager at Eclectics International, Irene led fintech partnerships in over 20 African markets. Key achievements include the digitization of payments for 100,000 cocoa farmers in Côte d'Ivoire (with Cargill) and the launch of a national mobile money wallet in the Solomon Islands (UNCDF and M-Selen), along with the development of a complementary lending product with YouSave.

Irene is a passionate advocate for women’s economic empowerment, consistently integrating gender-sensitive design and policy into digital finance initiatives to support women-led businesses and underserved communities.

She holds an MBA from IE Business School (Spain), a Master’s in International Business Development from Université Blaise Pascal (France), and a Bachelor’s in Languages and Communication. She is fluent in English and French.