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Visa Inc., a multinational financial services company, has appointed Aida Diarra as Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). She joins the company from Western Union, also a financial services company. For more than four years, Diarra served as the Managing Director and Regional Vice President for Africa at Western Union.

In her new role, Diarra will oversee all Visa operations in 48 markets across the SSA region and join Visa’s Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) regional management team.

“Aida joins (Visa) at a pivotal moment for our business,” said Andrew Torre, Regional President – CEMEA. “Within the next several years, an additional 55 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will be new to the banking system, so continuing to invest in partnerships that connect these new consumers and merchants to connected-commerce experiences is critical for sustained and inclusive economic growth. Aida’s strong record of building great teams and strategic leadership will help us in that mission.”

Diarra is an experienced executive in the financial services industry and is well-versed in growing business and operations across the continent. Her 25-year career spans across strategy development and implementation, business development and operational management.

“I am excited to join Visa as it celebrates its 60th anniversary,” said Diarra. “With just 6 percent of consumer payments in digital forms, this region (SSA) presents an enormous and exciting opportunity for us to digitize cash, drive wider digital acceptance and support financial inclusion.”

She added that Visa is uniquely positioned to help reshape consumer experiences, lead future of commerce, grow economies and transform live across Africa.

Founded in 1958 and headquartered in the United States, Visa facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world. Through its global processing network, VisaNet, the company is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages per second, Visa provides secure and reliable payments around the world.