James Kimani is a seasoned software engineer and fintech expert with over a decade of experience driving innovation in the financial services sector across East Africa. He currently serves as the Head of Information Technology at Octagon Africa, a leading pensions administration and employee benefits consulting firm with operations in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia.
James began his career as a junior software developer at SoftAge Adept Technologies, where he played a key role in digitizing core operations for Housing Finance, one of Kenya’s largest mortgage lenders. He later joined EastPesa, a mobile money remittance company, where he was instrumental in scaling the platform to support over 200,000 users and thousands of cross-border transactions daily.
Since joining Octagon Africa, James has led the organization’s digital transformation efforts, rising through the ranks over seven years to become the Group Head of IT. Under his leadership, the company developed and deployed an award-winning pension administration system that is now central to its service delivery across the region. He manages a team of software developers and IT professionals dedicated to building secure, efficient, and scalable technology solutions for the pensions and benefits industry.
James holds a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Programming from Kenyatta University. He is also a certified Google Cloud Architect and has earned a DevOps Engineering certification from Moringa School. His work reflects a deep commitment to leveraging technology for operational excellence, client service, and industry compliance.
