Career Opportunities at Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)

The Role

1. Conducting research, analysis, and provision of background information on specific priority areas for the IAS unit.
2. Support in developing and updating reports, presentations, and charts.
3. Day to day administrative tasks including editing and formatting documents, preparing presentations, knowledge management and procurement activities.
4. Maintain updated trackers and dashboards of IAS activities (budgets, work plan, interventions – under procurement, on-going, closed, financial forecasts and expenses).
5. Provide logistics support for organizing meetings and trainings, coordinate translators and interpreters, conduct polls after trainings.
6. AECF is seeking to recruit a dynamic, proactive, and passionate intern for a six-month placement to provide research, data analysis, monitoring of interventions, planning and coordination of advisory service provision, information processing and procurement support.
7. You will be part of a small and highly motivated team supporting over 100 investee companies across Africa with business advisory and investment (IAS) raising support.

Key Responsibilities:

1. The Candidate Hold a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Development Finance, Development Studies, or other relevant fields of study.
2. Have excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
3. Be skilled in Ms Office Tools, (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
4. Be attentive to detail and accuracy.
5. Have good research, analytical and organizational skills.
6. Be Fluent in English and proficient in additional languages – French is preferred.
7. Be a quick learner, flexible, a strategic thinker and agile.
8. Recent graduates are encouraged to apply.
9. Suitable candidates should:
10. An agile and fast working environment and a team that is keenly interested in making a positive difference through their work and who share a collaborative, can-do spirit.

What to expect

An internship that provides insights into the growth needs of Africa’s SMEs in Agribusiness and renewable energy sectors, broad exposure, and good opportunities to learn.

go to method of application »

The Role
Provide administrative and legal support in the day to day running of the Legal department including but not limited to the following:

1. Assisting with donor compliance.
2. Assisting with Board Secretarial matters.
3. Attending to correspondence.
4. Any other tasks as may be assigned from time to time.
5. The AECF is looking to hire a talented individual to join us for an internship position. This position provides an excellent opportunity for the intern to work in a fast- paced environment that hones his/her skills and enables the individual to learn while gaining direct and practical experience.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Assisting with legislative compliance in the various countries in which AECF is registered.
2. Conducting Legal research, drafting legal opinions and and responding to legal enquiries.
3. Drafting and reviewing legal agreements.

Requirements

1. Hold a Bachelor’s degree in law.
2. Have 0-1 years of experience.
3. Have pupilage experience from a reputable firm or a not-for-profit organization.
4. Have good research, analytical and organizational skills.
5. Be able to demonstrate ability to cross and bridge different racial, cultural, or business cultures;
6. Be attentive to detail.
7. Be Proficient in Microsoft applications including Microsoft Office Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

go to method of application »

The Role

The AECF is in the first year of the 2021-2025 refreshed strategy, The Building of Resilience.

1. To operationalize the strategy, we are seeking to catalyze innovations that accelerate Africa’s path to universal access to energy, address the challenges in the agribusiness sector, and present solutions for the climate change crisis facing the globe.
2. We are looking for an entrepreneurial and experienced Innovations and Program Management expert who will be responsible for stimulating an environment for innovation and entrepreneurship while providing strategic leadership in program implementation that will see AECF increase its value proposition to its partners.
3. The individual will be accountable for the leadership and strategic direction and oversight of the operation, management, and delivery of the AECF innovation and competition functions. Further the individual will identify, lead, and manage innovative approaches to business challenges and work with teams across the AECF to deliver products and services that generate impact and revenue for purposes of realizing AECF’s purpose.

Responsibilities

1. Responsible for implementing strategic and special projects to support business growth, team effectiveness, and stakeholder satisfaction – including AECF Innovation Lab.
2. Responsible for overseeing the incubation process for AECF Innovation Lab and the establishment of a clear rhythm of business that assures the success of supported innovations and entrepreneurs.
3. The individual will ensure that insights and analysis of the environment in which the AECF currently operates and may operate in the future are brought into consideration and
4. alongside investees and employees experiences, used effectively to help shape the offer to the market by AECF.
5. The individual will also provide strategic leadership on the AECF competition process, tapping into his/her project management skills to support the program teams in the implementation of the inception phase for new programs.
6. Responsible for overseeing the inception phase of AECF programs, leading cross-functional teams to deliver on market assessment, program validation, marketing, and competition as well as conducting due diligence leading to the development of investment decision documentsfor presentation to the investment committee and finally,contracting of companies.
7. Provide leadership and oversight for all AECF competition activities, ensuring exceptional delivery to the satisfaction of all stakeholders and meeting set timelines.
8. Bring to the team a strong sense of project-management rigor, leadership, organization, and communication with the ability to accommodate frequently changing strategies and decisions proactively and reactively.

Requirements

1. Hold a Master’s degree or an MBA in any stream.
2. Hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Social Sciences, Finance, or related fields.
3. Have eight (8) years experience and a minimum of three (3) years in a management role in strategy development, program management, change management, or project management.
4. Be an independent self-starter with the ability to handle multiple priorities and produce successful results in a fast-paced environment.
5. Be an innovator who seeks and develops ideas and handles innovation projects.
6. Be a creative person, an inventor, or a project manager.
7. Be an enabler who creates structures and processes so that innovation can happen in organizations.
8. Be a promoter, especially in the field of culture, where s/he works to persuade and disseminate the necessary knowledge of innovation.
9. In the role of an enabler, s/he can also be a service provider for innovators, for example by taking care of patents or subsidies.
10. Have an understanding and capacity for systems thinking, with the capacity to develop innovative policies, systems, and new eco-systems.
11. Be a critical thinker: can understand the entire information available, tie it all together, and speak to it clearly and concisely.
12. Have an accomplishment record of delivery in a complex environment
13. Be highly organized and detail-oriented.
14. Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to present information in differing degrees of detail and form depending on the audience.
     

go to method of application »

The Role

1. As the AECF grows its programs and portfolio, we are seeking a Head of Enterprise Development to drive the growth and scaling of our portfolio companies, bringing onboard global understanding of the triggers of growth for small and growing businesses, pathways to success, building systems, and processes to enhance competitiveness, sustainability and ensuring the resilience of their operations and revenues.
2. The Head of Enterprise Development will report to the Director of Portfolio Management and lead the enterprise development/ advisory team to support portfolio companies as well as unlock the institution’s capacity to deliver towards becoming a learning and the go-to institution for SGB development in Africa.
3. The role will have access to a wide range of resources and a team (in-house and consultants) that will look to you for leadership, coaching, mentoring, training, and support for career development.

Key Responsibilities
Enterprise Development for Portfolio Companies

1. Provide strategic leadership for AECF’s technical advisory services – both structure and model.
2. Oversee needs assessment of AECF and non-AECF portfolio companies and map out their development needs across the various stages of growth and position
3. AECF technical advisory services to address their growth and scaling challenges.
4. Design and implement technical assistance initiatives to address the development needs of companies to foster innovation and product development, increase access to new or improved inputs, identify market opportunities, improve market linkages, and access capital.
5. Develop tools, processes, and systems for efficient and effective service delivery, including curriculum or training content for self-paced courses and workshops.
6. Ensure resources available are deployed to address the most pressing needs that will best unlock the growth potential of companies through a balanced approach of in-house and outsourced capacity.
7. Coordinate technical assistance service delivery for AECF and non-AECF portfolio companies, build a system to track requests for technical assistance, deployment of services, adoption, and implementation of acquired skills and tools, effectiveness, and impact of the service and manage a healthy database of technical assistance experts/consultants aligned to the needs of companies.

Institutional Capacity Development

1. Design and lead the implementation of AECF Technical Assistance Facility for companies outside of AECF
2. Portfolio and further develop a healthy pipeline of the non-AECF portfolio in agribusiness, renewable energy, and climate adaptation and mitigation to benefit from the said facility.
3. Facilitate training or technical assistance intervention in key areas of business growth including financial management, business strategy, marketing, and sales, to reduce the risk profile of companies and increase both social and financial returns.
4. Continuously fundraise for the AECF technical assistance facility to provide access to services for
5. SMEs across sub-Saharan Africa.
6. Design and implement a capacity strengthening framework that assures AECF’s professional approach towards building the required technical skills for effective program delivery.
7. Lead the creation and oversight of active networks of organizations that are looking to build the capacity of Africa-led institutions to better deliver their mandate, including international organizations, industry partners, and academic institutions.
8. Monitor and report on institutional capacity development, embedding performance monitoring and evaluation of initiatives towards improving the efficiency and effectiveness of delivery across the institution.

Requirements

1. Have ten (10) years’ experience in enterprise development, technical assistance, management consulting, or private sector development.
2. Hold a Master’s degree in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, and/or related fields of study.
3. Demonstrate technical knowledge of SME development as evidenced by successful work delivery of technical assistance and advisory services to a range of agribusiness and renewable energy companies in sub-Saharan Africa.
4. Demonstrate technical knowledge for institutional capacity development, either as an in-house or external resource.
5. Provide evidence of technical assistance delivery and design of creative solutions for growth and financing constraints for SMEs.
6. Have sound analytical, organizational, project management, and negotiation skills and the ability to conduct training and workshops/seminars.
7. Be a visionary leader with great interpersonal skills to build an efficient delivery, impeccable integrity, and good judgement.
8. Suitable candidates should:
9. Have strong written and interpersonal communication skills in both English (French will be an added advantage) with an ability to interact with a very broad spectrum of stakeholders.