What You Need to Know
Abraham Ongenge has ascended to the role of acting CEO at Stanbic Bank Kenya after two decades of dedicated service. His journey reflects a blend of disciplined curiosity and a commitment to authenticity, shaping his leadership approach. Ongenge emphasizes the importance of trust and social impact in banking, aiming to drive growth and support local enterprises in Kenya.
Africa-Press – Kenya. When Abraham Ongenge wakes before dawn, he chooses stillness: ten minutes of reflection, then prayer. “There is an opportunity every morning to have clarity of mind,” he tells me.
In those quiet moments, he gathers energy and intention for a role that, until March, he had spent two decades preparing for quietly and methodically inside one of Kenya’s most consequential banks.
Ongenge’s path reads like a study in disciplined curiosity. The son of a teacher and an accountant, he grew up in Nakuru, a cosmopolitan town that, he says, grounded him in Kenya’s diversity and seeded an appetite for lifelong learning.
Family life, church leadership by his parents, and early responsibilities: bookkeeping for the local church, working on a farm at Rongai Agricultural and Technical High School, shaped both his values and practical skills.
“They’ll say here comes the bookworm,” he laughs, describing how his village people are likely to introduce him.
A management accounting book sits beside a photograph of him as a one-year-old. “It was almost a premonition,’’ he says. That mixture of humility, service, and number-mindedness steered him into accounting and finance.
Sausages and burgers in Joburg In 2005, Stanbic offered him his first meaningful job, a finance officer role, and his early grasp of digital tools set him apart.
“They assessed my digital proficiency. I was hired because of my digital literacy.”
That combination of technical competence and curiosity became the throughline of a 21-year relationship with the bank, punctuated by strategic moves that broadened his experience.
A three‐year stint in Johannesburg was the first major pivot. Young and unmarried, Ongenge accepted the challenge of living and working in South Africa, an experience he says expanded his view of Africa’s potential.
He remembers cultural adjustments, largely around food. He, for instance, resorted to importing Kenyan sausages in the early days. He also remembers his struggles in accepting that he can eat a burger for dinner.
On a positive note, he remembers how the country’s history and resilience reshaped his sense of what African institutions could achieve. Returning to Kenya in 2010, newly married, was a values‐driven choice that put family first.
It also placed him at the center of a defining career moment: the integration of CFC and Stanbic, an experience in merging systems, cultures and people that few bankers ever get.
Ongenge spent much of the next decade building depth in finance, culminating in eight years as chief finance officer. Then he made a conscious shift: leaving the safety of a technical role to join retail banking.
“I wanted to change lives and make lives better,” he says. The move forced him out of spreadsheets and into the messy reality of customer needs: businesses, households, teachers, and sharpened his sense of purpose.
The big leap In March this year, Stanbic Bank Kenya tapped him as acting CEO. He received the appointment with humility and ‘butterflies’, grateful for an organisation that, he says, invests in people.
The new role has recalibrated his calendar and his reach. In his first month, he logged dozens of internal and external engagements. This helped him widen the circle of relationships that matter for a bank that acts at the interface of public policy, corporate finance and everyday livelihoods.
Authenticity is Ongenge’s lodestar. “Be authentic,” he says when I ask about his core virtue. For him, authenticity is the basis of trust: the currency that allows a bank to serve.
“From that flows a three‐part leadership creed: build trust through honest connection; catalyze growth using entrusted resources; and deliver measurable social impact so people and partner organizations are better than when you found them.”
Those principles guided his stewardship of the bank’s latest results, a fiscal year that Ongenge frames as “two halves.” The first half saw margin compression and private‐sector credit hesitancy; the second showed recovery and renewed confidence.
Historic dividend The bank’s net profit for the year ending December 2025 came in at Sh13.72 billion, a figure nearly identical to the Sh13.71 billion reported the year before. Nevertheless, the company proposed a total dividend of Sh22.35 per share, representing a 7.7 percent increase from the Sh20.74 distributed in 2024.
The payout comprises a final dividend of Sh18.55 per share, to be paid to shareholders on the register by May 15, 2026, in addition to an interim dividend of Sh3.80 already issued.
The distribution totals Sh8.83 billion, equivalent to 64.4 per cent of net profit, making it the highest dividend payout in the bank’s history and more than double the Sh9 per share distributed in 2022.
The father of two says that the bank transmitted policy rate relief to customers, a deliberate choice that softened income streams but strengthened client relationships, deposits, and asset growth.
Investors, he notes, walked away with a dividend: a tangible sign that banking is also about returning value to those who have placed trust in the institution.
Looking outward, Ongenge is bullish on Kenya’s resilience. He highlights financial services, telcos, infrastructure investment, and agriculture (now buoyed by improving rains) as near‐to‐medium‐term growth drivers.
“Stanbic positions itself not just as a financier but as an adviser and accountability partner for national projects, from the Nairobi Expressway to other large infrastructure undertakings. We catalyze financing, advise government, and help ensure accountability,” he says.
Although his heart is at home, Kenya, the global environment is never far from his calculations. The ongoing war in the Middle East, he acknowledges, increases uncertainty for trade and commodity markets and heightens risk appetites.
Yet, his outlook is pragmatic rather than alarmist: good policy, diversified growth drivers, and disciplined institutions can weather external shocks.
His ambition is local and tangible: make GDP growth ‘felt in people’s pockets’ by supporting SMEs, professionals, and local enterprise owners; the small‐business backbone of everyday prosperity.
Socks in a bin At home, Ongenge’s private life keeps him grounded. He and his wife have two children: a 15‐year‐old son, and a curious four‐year‐old daughter who asks ‘three whys’ a day.
Family rhythms, making time to run, counseling young couples, and sharing knowledge are his reset buttons. “I still have to make sure the socks are in the right basket,” he says. Running, he adds, clears his head.
It’s a striking portrait: a numbers‐minded leader who prizes prayer and humility, a cosmopolitan insider who remembers farm work, and a banker who thinks in increments as much as in balance sheets.
His mentor and boss, Joshua Oigara, taught him the power of atomic habits: small, consistent improvements that compound into institutional legacy. Ongenge has taken that lesson literally: after two decades in one institution, he now steers it with a clear aim: To be a catalytic, trust‐rooted partner in Kenya’s next chapter of growth.
Abraham Ongenge’s career at Stanbic Bank spans over 21 years, during which he has held various roles that showcase his expertise in finance and leadership. His journey began as a finance officer, where he quickly distinguished himself through his digital proficiency. Over the years, he has navigated significant changes within the bank, including the integration of CFC and Stanbic, which has been pivotal in shaping his understanding of the banking landscape in Kenya. Ongenge’s leadership style is deeply influenced by his upbringing and values, emphasizing authenticity and community impact.
