Our mission
We're making Africa the first cashless continent.
In 2017, nearly 60% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa had no bank account. That's for good reason—the fees are too high, the closest branch can be miles away, and nobody takes cards. Without access to financial institutions, people are forced to keep their savings under the mattress. Small business owners rely on lenders who charge extortionate rates. Parents spend hours waiting in line to pay school fees in cash.
We're solving this problem by building financial services that just work: no account fees, instantly available, and accepted everywhere. In places where electricity, water and roads don't always work, you can still send money with Wave. In November 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. In August 2019, we expanded to Cote d'Ivoire. Now, we're enabling millions of payments a month and expanding across the continent. And that's where you come in...
How you'll help us achieve it
We’re looking for a Business Development Manager who’s resourceful, organized and proactive about getting things done.
As Business Development Manager, you are the bridge between external companies and the internal Wave teams. The business development team cultivates the relationships, establishes partnerships and executes contracts based on the needs of the product and operation teams as we rapidly scale our business in Cote d’Ivoire.
In this role, you'll:
- Build and strengthen relationships with the banks, telecom operators and businesses that Wave needs to succeed
- Develop presentations, proposals and source partnerships
- Facilitate communication between external partners and internal Wave teams (Product, Finance, Distribution)
Tasks include:
- Manage the relationship with Wave's stakeholders including banks, telecom operators and third party suppliers (eg. for bill payment) to ensure that Wave's service level agreements are met
- Provide reporting data required by Wave's mobile operator partners
- Develop and update presentations for partner meetings
- Take notes in partner meetings and share relevant information with key individuals
- Research and contact potential new partners for Wave’s products
- Accompany Wave partners on field visits to meet our users
Key details
- Location is primarily in Ivory Coast (Abidjan) with possibility of short-term relocations within Ivory Coast
- Work authorization in Ivory Coast required
Requirements
- At least 6 years' experience in business development, fintech or telecoms in Cote d'Ivoire
- Track record in preparing presentations and documents in French/English for external partners
- Fluent in French and English
- Secondary degree education in Communications, International Relations, Business Management, or a comparable field
You might be a good fit if you are:
- You have a strong network of friends and former colleagues from your work in B2B sales or work at a telecom operator that you are excited for an excuse to call, meet and work with
- You have identified and professionally engaged with strategic partners within a week's time by seizing upon mutually beneficial opportunities and being relentless in your pursuit
- You are equally at ease in a boardroom giving a presentation or preparing partner on-boarding documents in French/English
- You're enthusiastic about Wave's mission and excited to do what needs to be done to achieve it
- A clear and proactive communicator, you are able to independently follow through on tasks and can manage priorities effectively
- You like team work, but you also know how to work well independently
- Are intellectually curious, creative in the way you go about tackling problems, and embrace failure as a means to spark innovation and growth
- Demonstrate tenacity and a willingness to go the distance to get something done
Our team
- We're a team of 300+ Senegalese, 100+ Ivorian and 60+ remote people who are deeply passionate about our mission of bringing great financial services to the people who need them most.
- We foster autonomy for our employees. You'll learn to own your own projects at every stage, from understanding the problem to monitoring your solution in production.
- We’re backed by world-class investors including Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, and the cofounders of PayPal.
How to apply
Fill out the form below, and upload a resume plus a cover letter describing your interest in Wave and the role. We review applications on a rolling basis.
Wave is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.