Former Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has been appointed the new Chairman of Sidian Bank. Sidian Bank has named James Macharia as its new chairman. Macharia will succeed Centum Investments CEO James Mworia, who has led the bank’s board since 2014. The announcement, made on Wednesday, October 22, marks a major leadership change for the mid-tier lender. Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner 😉 James Mworia hands over Mworia oversaw Sidian’s transformation from K-Rep Bank, a microfinance institution into a fast-growing commercial bank with nearly KSh100 billion in assets.
He will remain a board member. “It has been my great honor and privilege to hand over the chairmanship of the Board of Sidian Bank to Mr. James Macharia. Please join me in congratulating James Macharia and wishing him every success and God’s blessings as he stewards Sidian Bank to the next level of growth,” Mworia said during the handover ceremony. Macharia’s appointment brings a wealth of experience in both the private and public sectors. Mworia described Macharia as a seasoned financial executive with over 30 years of experience spanning commercial banking, accountancy, and public service. “The bank could not ask for a more capable leader to guide it into its next phase of growth,” he added, noting that under his leadership, Sidian’s asset base had grown sixfold over the last decade. Who is James Macharia? He began his career in the Tax Consultancy Division at Deloitte in London before joining Standard Chartered Bank Kenya in 1989, where he rose to Financial Controller.
He later served as Managing Director of African Banking Corporation in Zambia and Tanzania before becoming Group Managing Director at NIC Bank (now part of NCBA Group) in 2005. During his eight-year tenure at NIC Bank, Macharia oversaw the bank’s regional expansion, establishing subsidiaries in Tanzania and Uganda. His transition to public service came in 2013 when he was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health, and later, Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport. As Transport CS, Macharia supervised landmark infrastructure projects, including the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and the KSh64 billion Nairobi Expressway. He also played a key role in advancing the LAPSSET Corridor, dam construction, and the rehabilitation of Kenya’s meter-gauge railway network. Sidian Bank is majority-owned by Centum Investments and it has positioned itself as a leading SME-focused lender in Kenya’s financial sector.
By Elijah Ntongai
