Mike Bristow, who is the current Board Chairman of the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation Limited (an organization owned by a number of Kenyan institutions), brings to the Board a wealth of experience spanning more than 30 years of executive management and Board roles in the financial sector, including being engaged in policy and innovation development.

He has worked as Managing Director/Executive Director of Barclays Bank, SSB Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa across four African countries – Kenya, Zambia, Ghana and DRC. During this time, Mr. Bristow has served various industry professional bodies in the four countries. In Kenya, he has played a significant role in the evolution of mobile money products, including M-Pesa and M-Shwari. He has also coordinated and managed various SME and micro-finance schemes partnering with donors and NGOs in Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and DRC.

Mike its on other boards including Frontier Clearing Corp. BV based in Holland, which, like FSD Africa, works to facilitate robust, efficient and inclusive financial markets and Cytonn Investments Management Limited, an investment management company in Kenya.

He has an MSC in African Politics from London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, London.