Head of Growth at BFA (Bankable Frontier Associates)

Job Details

Catalyst Fund is BFA’s flagship tech accelerator. Founded in 2016 with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and JPMorgan Chase & Co, Catalyst Fund supports early-stage inclusive fintech startups focused on creating solutions emerging market underserved consumers. The program has two mandates: accelerating pre-investable inclusive fintech startups and sharing knowledge with the ecosystem to spur more innovation for financial inclusion. To date, Catalyst Fund has supported 25 companies by resolving their specific capital, talent, and skills challenges so they can deliver accessible, affordable, and appropriate (AAA) solutions more efficiently, more quickly, and with greater impact. Today, Catalyst Fund is starting its next phase of growth and aims to accelerate 30 more cutting-edge innovators over the next three years, while also expanding its ecosystem building role.

BFA is an exciting and rewarding place to work offering a range of opportunities to have an impact. The BFA and Catalyst Fund team is a curious, collaborative, agile, and risk-taking team, constantly seeking to improve to better support startups and innovation ecosystems around the world. We are a global team of highly-skilled, socially motivated hustlers working together to achieve the best value possible for our clients and partners, and ultimately improving the conditions of global poverty. We foster an entrepreneurial environment where we can learn, act autonomously, help each other and grow, while also having fun! To learn more, visit www.bfaglobal.com. 

About the Head of Growth for Catalyst Fund

We are looking for an exceptional leader with a strong commitment to supporting tech-enabled early-stage entrepreneurs in creating a lasting impact in emerging markets. Reporting to the Director of the Impact Ventures Practice and Catalyst Fund Program Director, the Head of Growth will be responsible for leading Catalyst Fund’s growth strategy across its five focus markets -- Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, India, and Mexico-- and support fintech entrepreneurs through deep technical engagements. 

Key Responsibilities:

The Head of Growth’s responsibilities will focus on these four core areas, which are likely to develop and evolve over time. 

Partnerships and Growth Strategy

• Design the partnership and engagement strategy for how to serve the “Circles” (Circle of investors, Circle of bankers, Circle of accelerators) in each market
• Establish partnerships with key stakeholders (investors, bankers, accelerators) in target countries to develop Catalyst Fund’s hubs in each market 
• Create and nurture Catalyst Fund’s “country hubs” with the country managers and align partners with Catalyst Fund’s vision and overall organizational objectives
• Support the setting of investment theses that yield the greatest impact to select new portfolio companies in each market 
• Identify areas for innovation and improvement of Catalyst Fund’s program and its sustainability strategy going forward by exploring new business models

Venture Building

• Support startup teams as a specialist venture builder on the tailored venture building (VB) projects offered by Catalyst Fund across a range of startup priorities, particularly on strategy, value proposition design, finance, product management, partnership development
• Lead the development of key components of the support package for startups, including investment readiness training and how to set corporate partnerships
• Work with other specialists to deliver support projects on data analysis, interim CTO projects, behavioral design, UX research and more; and contribute to overall activities such as diagnosing startups needs and scoping tailored VB engagements 
• Service the CF startup portfolio overall: mentor startups, work on strategic initiatives, develop meaningful and beneficial relationships across the ecosystem for CF startups

Influence 

• Be the voice of Catalyst Fund and share lessons with the fintech ecosystem
• Write blogs, briefs, and contribute to Catalyst Fund’s knowledge products to reach our audiences
• Represent Catalyst Fund at industry events, workshops, conferences, and other organized gatherings, globally and locally in each target market

Requirements:

• 10+ years of experience in entrepreneurship, venture capital, corporate innovation, and technology 
• Experience managing a venture fund, accelerator or other initiative working with startups in emerging markets
• Experience mentoring and advising on product design, business strategy, and product development in emerging market contexts
• Recognized leader in the tech entrepreneurship sector 
• Operating experience or exposure to how a startup operates 
• Self-starter and team player with lots of energy to juggle multiple responsibilities
• Excited to work in a fast-moving environment with constant learning and to travel to emerging markets frequently
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to communicate effectively with a distributed team across several countries and with mixed cultural backgrounds
• Demonstrated interest in working with early-stage entrepreneurs in emerging markets, showing empathy and a desire to create lasting economic development
• Strong organizational and management skills able to manage and collaborate with diverse teams 
• Ambitious and outspoken, able to form sharp and evidence-based insights to move forward the collective knowledge of the fintech sector in emerging markets

Anticipated Start Date: October 1, 2019

Preferred location:

The full-time position must be based in Boston, USA; Paris, France, or Nairobi, Kenya. 

Salary:

Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience. Annual Bonus eligibility. 

Benefits:

Health, dental and vision insurance, optional pension contribution, flexible holiday policy, ability to work remotely, parental leave, self-improvement and development opportunities.