Country Manager at BFA Global

The Country Manager has a deep understanding of the Ghanaian tech ecosystem and a rich network of companies, entrepreneurs, investors, and other players. The candidate brings strong e-commerce and product/tech expertise from the startup or innovation field to implement and drive the success of the Catalyst Fund program in Ghana. The country manager’s responsibilities will focus on these three core areas, which are likely to develop and evolve over time.

Startup Support

• Contribute to defining the sourcing strategy for the cohorts of companies to be admitted to the accelerator program and inform the investment thesis of the program
• Support the due diligence and selection of Ghanaian inclusive digital commerce companies
• Lead venture acceleration projects with cohort companies on issues varying from product management, value proposition design, customer insights, business modeling, scaling, partnerships development, and fundraising
• Build community among the companies in Ghana and act as the connective force to the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem, while also coordinating with other country managers in Mexico, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and India and the global Catalyst Fund team

Local Operations 

• Drive and oversee program operations on the ground in Ghana
• Manage relationship and collaborate with local implementation partners in Ghana
• Contribute to market research to understand the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses and the local e-commerce ecosystem
• Set up key partnerships with investors, banks and other stakeholders that can support the cohort companies
• Set up and manage the relationships with local partners and other key players in the local ecosystem
• Participate in local meetings with the funder of the program as necessary

Learning & Influence

• Author briefs, blogs or reports on e-commerce market trends and share insights as part of Catalyst Fund’s learning and comms strategy
• Lead the organization of local events with support from the global events team
• Support dissemination activities in the country through local media/PR

Country Manager Requirements:

• 8+ years of experience in entrepreneurship, venture capital, technology, corporate innovation, or consulting
• Experience working in the e-commerce sector in Ghana and Africa, ideally at key e-commerce companies in the region. Experience in e-commerce operations is preferable
• Experience managing a venture fund, accelerator or other initiative working with startups  in emerging markets is preferred
• Strong project management experience
• Excellent networking skills
• Experience mentoring or working with startups on product design, business strategy, growth hacking and scaling, or product development in emerging markets is preferred
• Self-starter and team player with lots of energy to juggle multiple responsibilities
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to communicate effectively with a distributed team across several countries and to represent Catalyst Fund with local partners
• Strong organizational and management skills, excellent punctuality, and professionalism.
• Fluency in English, any other local language will be an advantage