Jobs at M-KOPA

Reporting Structure: This role reports to the Head of Department

About the job

• We are looking for a Legal & Compliance Manager – West Africa to join our Legal group; as we scale up and drive digital and financial inclusion across our markets.

Job Purpose

• To serve as the primary legal and compliance resource for M-KOPA’s West Africa markets (Nigeria and Ghana), managing the full spectrum of legal, regulatory, and compliance activities across the region, with accountability for legal risk management, regulatory licensing and compliance, and also support the organization’s compliance activities in the countries we operate in.

Key Job Functions

• Ensure M-KOPA’s operations are compliant with local and national laws, contractual and shareholder obligations, and best practices. 
• Serve as the Data Privacy Officer for M-KOPA’s West Africa markets, responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with applicable data privacy legislation and best practices supported by the global privacy team. 
• Support on regulatory licensing and engagement across M-KOPA’s West Africa markets, including the Bank of Ghana and the Central Bank of Nigeria, ORC/GIPC/NCA filings in Ghana and CAC/NCC filings in Nigeria, and proactive monitoring of emerging regulatory developments affecting M-KOPA’s product and operational footprint across the region. 
• Undertake legal and regulatory research and assess and evaluate the impact of changes in applicable legislation and best international practices. 
• Coordinate a program of training and capacity building activities for employees across M-KOPA, covering all key areas of compliance policy and practice. 
• Support the development and implementation of relevant policies, processes, and procedures, and maintain an appropriate review cycle. 
• Partner with M-KOPA departments such as Legal, Internal Audit, EHS and Risk Management, to assess and ensure effectiveness of control systems in driving compliance. 
• Identify, understand, and escalate compliance risk events/issues in a timely manner and focus on fixing root causes of the issues. Monitor implementation status of agreed action points aimed towards driving compliance. 
• Manage the compliance tools such as compliance obligations register, compliance training calendar, compliance incident register and compliance risk register. 
• Support investor compliance, including implementation of ESMS, and participate in investor reporting on ESG aspects. 
• Support in regulatory compliance, including the timely preparation and submission of regulatory filings such as annual returns or timely response to regulator circulars 
• Work flexibly and collaboratively across all teams in the organisation to ensure the greatest impact and effectiveness of the Compliance Team’s day-to-day work 
• Undertake all other reasonable and related tasks associated with this role. 
• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial agreements including vendor contracts, service agreements, partnership arrangements, and technology licences; provide practical legal guidance to business teams on contract risk, product and deal structuring as applicable. 
• Manage corporate governance and secretarial matters for M-KOPA’s West Africa entities (Nigeria and Ghana), including board resolutions, statutory filings, maintenance of corporate records, and ensuring compliance with the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) of Ghana, the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA) of Nigeria, and applicable regulatory requirements. 
• Manage the external counsel panel for M-KOPA’s West Africa markets (Nigeria and Ghana), including matter instruction, scope and fee management, quality review of external legal work product, and maintenance of an up-to-date panel roster aligned to M-KOPA’s external counsel management framework. 

Requirements

• Undergraduate LLB Degree.
• 5+ years post-call-to-bar working experience in a legal/compliance function. Experience in banking and finance is an added advantage. 
•  Working knowledge of compliance standards and regulations. 
• Experience in risk management. 
• Experience in contract negotiation and regulatory engagement; prior exposure to structured finance or capital markets transactions is an added advantage. 
• Strong attention to detail. 
• Communicate and collaborate with diverse team members. 
• Generally structured and organized. 

go to method of application »

Reporting Structure: This role reports to the Director of Compliance

Job Purpose

• To provide group-wide leadership on financial services regulatory strategy and external affairs in West Africa, ensuring M-KOPA obtains and maintains required licences and meets supervisory expectations, while overseeing West Africa regulatory engagement and compliance execution.

Key Job Functions

• Own and drive M-KOPA’s group-wide financial services regulatory strategy, providing senior leadership on regulatory risk, supervisory expectations, regulatory engagement, and governance requirements across all markets.
• Lead regulatory approvals and ongoing supervisory engagement for key licences and regulated activities, including the Digital Credit Service Provider (DCSP) licence in Ghana, financial services licenses in Nigeria, and other relevant licensing/authorisation processes (e.g., MFI licensing, payments, lending, consumer finance).
• Monitor changes in financial services regulation and supervisory priorities, assess impact on M-KOPA’s business model, and translate requirements into actionable guidance, controls, and governance enhancements to manage enforcement and conduct risk.
• Partner with Product, Credit, Operations, Risk, and Legal to embed “regulatory-by-design” into new product development and market expansion, including advising on licensing scope, disclosures, customer outcomes, and regulator expectations.
• Set the regulatory compliance tone for financial services, driving training and awareness programmes and strengthening first-line ownership of regulatory obligations across markets.
• Provide senior support on regulatory reporting, assurance, and due diligence requirements, including engagement with investors, auditors, and development finance partners on financial services regulatory matters.
• Lead external affairs for financial services regulation, representing M-KOPA in industry bodies, regulatory consultations, and policy discussions; and drive senior-level regulatory engagement strategy for West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana).
• Develop, maintain, and oversee the implementation of financial services compliance policies, procedures, and regulatory playbooks, including an appropriate review cycle aligned to supervisory frameworks.
• Partner with Risk, Internal Audit, Legal, Data Protection, and Operations to design and test regulatory controls, track remediation, and provide confidence in the effectiveness of the compliance framework for regulated activities.
• Oversee responses to regulatory inquiries, examinations, and information requests; ensure timely, accurate high-stakes submissions and position papers; and provide escalation and direction to in-country compliance leads on regulatory filings and inspections.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with regulators and key external stakeholders, ensuring appropriate regulator accessibility, effective communication, and proactive management of supervisory expectations.
• Work flexibly and collaboratively across all teams in the organisation to ensure the greatest impact and effectiveness of the Compliance Team’s day-to-day work
• Undertake all other reasonable and related tasks associated with this role.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Law, Compliance, Finance, Business, or a related field; a relevant professional qualification (e.g., bar admission, CAMS/ICA, or similar) is an advantage.
• 8+ years’ experience in financial services compliance, regulatory affairs, or in-house legal/regulatory roles within a regulated environment (digital credit, lending, payments, consumer finance, fintech, or banking).
• Demonstrated experience leading licensing/authorisation processes and managing ongoing supervisory engagement, examinations, and regulatory reporting.
• Strong knowledge of financial services regulatory frameworks and conduct risk, including consumer protection, AML/CFT, and (where applicable) data protection.
• Proven ability to engage credibly with regulators, investors, auditors, and senior internal stakeholders, translating requirements into pragmatic, implementable controls.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills; strong policy drafting, regulatory writing, and attention to detail.
• Strong planning and execution skills, with the ability to operate strategically while driving delivery through country teams.