Away from the office, Rita Apell, CIO at Stanbic Bank Uganda, finds balance on the golf course. She began playing in 2017, drawn in by the precision and focus the sport demands, and is now the lady president of the Uganda Ladies Golf Union.
Golf has been a space for connection for Rita Apell. In fact, she landed her first board role after a conversation during a round of golf, an encounter that reinforced the sport’s power as a networking platform.
When she looks back at how her career began, she remembers the moment she realised she could no longer remain in the role of data entry clerk at Centenary Bank - with her days spent running end-of-day processes that left her feeling unchallenged.
The turning point came when she picked up the phone and called her supervisor at the head office in Kampala, a conversation that would shift the course of her career.
“I told him I think I can do more. And by just having that phone call, a month later I was transferred to the head office to work in the IT department,” she says.
That move opened the door to a world of technology. Rita joined the network team and quickly began taking on responsibilities that exposed her to the backbone of the bank’s systems.
“I joined as a network support resource from data entry to networks, and there on I moved on to manage data centre teams,” she notes.
Now, Rita leads a team of 145 people in one of the country’s most technology-driven banks. She joined in November 2024 and quickly began shaping the bank’s technology direction. Her AI strategy was approved recently, and her focus has been on building the foundation for responsible innovation.
Career trajectory
Rita’s curiosity and discipline created a momentum that defined her early years, and by the time she left Centenary Bank, she had held five roles in four years, each one expanding her technical and leadership experience. As she grew more confident, opportunities began to find her. A head-hunter approached her for a role leading an IT department at a commercial microfinance institution, a move she recognised as her first real step into leadership.
“Though I stayed only nine months, the experience cemented my belief that I could lead larger teams and larger mandates,” she says, describing a period that sharpened her ability to manage people and deliver outcomes.
Her next transition took her to Nile Bank as head of IT, and shortly after she joined, the organisation was acquired by Barclays. The merger came with a competitive selection process for technology leadership, with two heads of IT considered for the role. Rita emerged as the preferred candidate and led technology for Barclays Bank Uganda during a period of replatforming and consolidation. It was a demanding environment, and after several years she felt ready for a change of pace.
Growth and succession planning
“A role at East Africa Development Bank offered that shift, one I pursued with enthusiasm. The institution had long fascinated me, yet the experience proved less fulfilling than I expected. Though I delivered clarity on structure, strategy and core banking pathways, I felt underused and chose to leave before the end of my contract,” Rita observes.
Even that short period reinforced her readiness to move whenever growth demanded it.
That philosophy guided her next and longest chapter. Finca International recruited her as regional IT director for Africa, placing her in charge of technology across six countries. The role combined regional strategy, country oversight and cross-border execution, and she embraced it fully. Over 12 years she held three roles, from regional leadership to setting up the global programme management office and later the global data management office.
“The work ranged from governance and process design to building structures and policies from the ground up. Remote working was already the norm at Finca, long before it became a global trend, and the flexibility helped me stay there longer,” she notes.
