Expansion & Market Development Manager at M-KOPA

• We are looking for an Expansion & Market Development Manager to join our Business and Operations department as we scale up and drive digital and financial inclusion across our markets.

The Role in Brief

• Own M-KOPA's strategic market expansion and growth across Nigeria. Lead new market entry from assessment through launch execution (50% of role) while simultaneously driving penetration and optimization in existing markets (40% of role). Work as a strategic leader and hands-on operator - 60-80% field time during launch phases, managing regulatory engagement, operational setup, partnership development, and commercial growth. Reports to Head of Business Management. Requires 5+ years in market expansion/business development with proven track record across multiple Nigerian states.

About Us

• We're not just another fintech talking about financial inclusion - we're actually doing it. 7 million customers across Africa. $2 billion in credit unlocked. 86% report improved quality of life. We've moved from 5 million to 7 million customers, building toward 10 million.
• Here's what matters: 55% of our customers are accessing products and services for the first time. 70% use what we finance to generate income. Nigeria is central to that next chapter.
• This is a hybrid role, you would be working from our offices in Nigeria, partnering with a diverse group of employees from our different markets and locations across the UK, Europe and Africa. You will be reporting to the Head of Business Management.
• Why This Role Is Different
• At a major FMCG or Telco, expansion is usually one layer of a much larger machine. Your recommendations feed into regional committees. Your launches follow playbooks designed elsewhere. The impact is real, but it's diffuse; hard to trace from your desk to a customer.
• Here, you own the full arc. You'll conduct the market assessment. You'll build the business case with the unit economics. You'll design the state-specific launch playbook. You'll engage regulators directly. You'll be in the field 60–80% of the time during active launches not managing from afar but leading the execution.
• And the outcomes you're driving aren't just distribution metrics. When a customer in a new state gets financed for the first time through M-KOPA, that's a direct result of the market you opened.

What You'll Do

• About half your time goes to new market expansion: rigorous assessment of which states represent genuine opportunity, feasibility cases with real unit economics, building launch playbooks tailored to local dynamics, regulatory engagement, and on-the-ground setup — temporary hubs, partner relationships, commercial infrastructure.
• The other half is market development in existing states: identifying underserved segments, expanding into new LGAs and rural regions, building partnerships with retail chains and telcos, tracking activation and repayment metrics to catch issues early, and turning competitor intelligence into strategic moves.
• You'll work across Sales, Operations, Finance, Logistics, and Marketing — and you'll own the numbers: launch timelines, acquisition targets, portfolio health, channel expansion, revenue growth.

What You'll Need

• Proven track record in market expansion, business development, or commercial operations in FMCG, Telco, fintech, or mobility — with demonstrable experience launching or scaling across multiple Nigerian states.
• Strong capability in market research and financial modelling, with experience building feasibility cases from scratch and navigating regulatory and government stakeholder relationships.
• Entrepreneurial operating style — comfortable in ambiguous environments, willing to spend extended time in new markets, and able to solve problems resourcefully without waiting for infrastructure to be perfect.