Kenyan fintech Cellulant has appointed Darren Makarem as its new chief financial officer, bringing onboard a seasoned payments executive as it accelerates expansion across Africa.
Makarem joins from Agoda, where he served as global CFO and oversaw a payments network processing more than $12 billion annually. His experience in managing multi-currency systems and high-volume payment operations is expected to play a key role in strengthening Cellulant’s financial infrastructure.
The appointment completes a broader leadership restructuring at the fintech firm, which has been rebuilding its executive team following several high-level exits. It comes shortly after Michael Muriuki was named chief product and technology officer, filling another critical leadership gap.
Cellulant currently processes over 4.5 million transactions daily and operates in more than 20 African markets. The company returned to profitability in 2024 and is now positioning itself for further growth as digital payments adoption continues to surge across the continent.
Chief executive Peter O’Toole said Makarem’s appointment goes beyond financial oversight, highlighting his customer-centric approach to building financial systems.
“Darren Makarem doesn’t just understand the numbers; he understands the customer. He will help build a finance centre of excellence that matches the innovation and agility of our products,” O’Toole said.
Before Agoda, Makarem served as regional CFO at Binance for Asia-Pacific and Latin America, and later as CEO of OnRamp, gaining exposure to digital assets and emerging payment ecosystems.
At Cellulant, he is expected to focus on strengthening financial discipline while supporting the company’s push into cross-border payments — a segment seeing increasing demand as African businesses expand regionally.
“What excites me about Cellulant is the strong foundation already in place,” Makarem said. “My priority is to ensure the business has the financial discipline, insight, and operational support to scale quickly while staying bold.”
Cellulant is targeting a larger share of Africa’s fast-growing digital payments market, projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, amid rising competition from fintech startups and traditional banks building enterprise-focused payment solutions.