December 2nd, 2025

Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya) today announced the appointment of Rashmi Pillai as Chief executive officer (CEO), effective February 2026. Rashmi brings nearly two decades of experience driving financial sector transformation across Africa and South Asia, including serving as CEO of FSD Uganda, leading public policy for Wave Mobile Money, and advising on financial inclusion innovation through CGAP and UNCDF.

Rashmi succeeds Tamara Cook, who has served as CEO since 2019 and has been instrumental in positioning FSD Kenya as a centre of excellence for market systems development in inclusive and green finance. Both leaders will work closely to ensure a seamless transition, with Tamara continuing as CEO through January 2026.

The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for Kenya’s financial sector. While formal financial access has reached 84.8%, only 18.3% of Kenyans report being financially healthy – able to meet daily needs, absorb shocks, and pursue opportunities. This gap between access and outcomes – especially for women, youth and MSMEs – represents the core challenge FSD Kenya is uniquely positioned to address through its market systems approach and role as a trusted, neutral convener.

“I’m honoured to lead FSD Kenya as we enter this crucial next chapter,” said Rashmi Pillai. ” I am excited to continue and build on the great work that Tamara and the FSD Kenya team have achieved. Kenya has achieved remarkable progress – not just in financial access, but in driving real usage of financial services. Yet this hasn’t translated into financial health for most Kenyans. Our challenge now is ensuring that finance genuinely serves as an enabler of resilience and opportunity – particularly as we navigate climate change, economic transformation, and rapid technological advancement. FSD Kenya’s strength lies in its ability to fund and de-risk ideas and innovations, convene diverse stakeholders, generate rigorous evidence, and catalyse systemic change. I look forward to working with partners across government, the private sector, and civil society to ensure Kenya’s financial sector delivers meaningful value for people and businesses.”

Rashmi has spent nearly 20 years working at the intersection of financial inclusion, market systems development, and policy across Africa and South Asia. As CEO of FSD Uganda from 2018 to 2022, she expanded the organization’s strategic focus, strengthened its evidence base, and significantly diversified its funding partnerships. She structured and secured a $26 million facility with Mastercard Foundation focused on youth and women’s economic empowerment and oversaw the establishment of the Euro 5 million technical assistance facility with the European Union to make Ugandan businesses investment-ready for debt and equity financing.

Prior to leading FSD Uganda, Rashmi served as Anglophone Head of Public Policy for Wave Mobile Money, where she shaped regulatory and government engagements during a period of rapid expansion. Her experience also includes senior roles at CGAP at the World Bank and UNCDF. Earlier in her career, she founded India’s Sankalp Forum – the country’s first major impact investment platform – which has now expanded across Southeast Asia and East Africa.

Rashmi holds advanced degrees in public policy and spectroscopic physics, and has published extensively on financial inclusion, digital credit, merchant payments and micro-pensions. She will be based in Nairobi and will assume her role on February 2, 2026.

Anne Mutahi, Chair of FSD Kenya’s Programme Investment Committee (PIC) welcomed the appointment: “Rashmi joins us with a wealth of experience in building partnerships, mobilising resources, and driving market systems change. As FSD Kenya embarks on its new 2026-2030 strategy, we as the PIC, are confident that Rashmi will further strengthen FSD Kenya’s position as an innovative and respected thought leader able to synthesise the aspirations of Kenyans as captured in research and incisive data collection. The PIC is confident that under Rashmi’s leadership, FSD Kenya will continue strengthening Kenya’s financial sector to serve as a genuine catalyst for inclusive economic growth.”

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