South African financial technology company Ozow has announced the appointment of Catherine Korsten as its new Chief Growth Officer (CGO), with the role taking effect from January 2026.
Korsten joins the executive team at a key stage in the company’s growth, bringing close to 20 years of experience across traditional finance, portfolio management and high-volume payments. In her new position, she will be responsible for leading Ozow’s expansion strategy, with a particular focus on strengthening its presence in South Africa and developing value-driven solutions for merchants.
Her remit includes deepening relationships with merchants, refining customer-centric offerings and supporting Ozow’s broader ambition to improve access to digital payments across the country.
Korsten began her professional career in stockbroking and hedge fund management before moving into the payments sector. That transition came through Flash, a subsidiary of the Pepkor group, which proved to be a defining chapter in her career.
During more than 11 years at Flash, she developed first-hand insight into the scale and complexity of South Africa’s commerce ecosystem. The role exposed her to the importance of micro-transactions, the realities of high-volume payment environments and the need for reliable, resilient technology infrastructure to support everyday economic activity.
She later joined EFT Corporation as Chief Commercial Officer, where her focus expanded beyond South Africa into the wider African market. In that role, she oversaw technology provision across several countries, including Rwanda and Ethiopia, further strengthening her experience in cross-border and emerging market payments.
Now, Korsten is returning her attention to South Africa, where she says there is still significant work to be done in the payments space.
“I wanted to come back to having an impact in the South African payments landscape,” says Korsten.
“There is so much work still to be done here. I am deeply passionate about the small and micro-business sector. This sector is the engine of our economy, yet it remains underserved. My goal is to ensure we aren’t just solving problems the same old way but going to the grassroots to understand what is required for true financial inclusion.”
At Ozow, Korsten plans to challenge existing perceptions of what constitutes “best-in-class” service in the payments industry. Her approach centres on a merchant-first and consumer-first mindset, with an emphasis on using technology to support behavioural change and sustainable economic participation.
Alongside her commercial priorities, she is also a vocal supporter of servant leadership and increased gender diversity within the technology and payments sectors.
“It is a privilege to be a woman in leadership in payments, but there are still far too few of us,” she says. “I take mentorship incredibly seriously. My job as a leader is to build the people that work around me to be the next generation of leadership, to employ people who are better than I am, and to empower them to take the industry forward.”
Korsten’s appointment follows a period of sustained growth and product development at Ozow, as the company continues to work towards closing the gap between banked and unbanked South Africans. Her leadership is expected to play a key role in strengthening merchant partnerships and ensuring high service standards as the business scales.
Commenting on the appointment, Rachel Cowan, interim CEO of Ozow, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Catherine to Ozow; her appointment builds on Ozow’s strong track record of empowering female leaders, and her unique blend of deep technical payment expertise and her genuine passion for the South African merchant community makes her the perfect fit for this role. Catherine’s leadership style and her commitment to fostering talent will be invaluable as we continue to innovate and provide world-class payment solutions that drive financial inclusion across the country.”
