Business Development Manager

Our Mission

We're making Africa the first cashless continent.

In 2017, over half the population 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 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 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. Now, we have millions of users across 9 countries and are growing fast.

Our goal is to make Africa the first cashless continent and that's where you come in...

Are you an exceptional networker with a great understanding of the Nigerien mobile money landscape? We are hiring a Business Development Lead. 

While our field operations teams are focused on our user growth, you will ensure other aspects of the business are addressed to ensure we can scale rapidly. 

As the bridge between external companies/partners and the internal Wave teams, you will cultivate relationships, establish partnerships, and execute contracts based on the needs of the product and operation teams. 

In This Role, You’Ll:

• Partnerships and Relationships: 
• Strategic Reporting: 
• Communication and Culture: 
• Compliance and Regulatory: 

Key Details

• Location: Burkina Faso, or other regions. Willingness to relocate to other regions for 2-3 month periods is required.
• Work authorisation in Burkina Faso is required. 
• Our salaries are competitive and calculated using a transparent formula.
• We offer generous health insurance for yourself and your dependents.
• We support working parents - we offer 26 weeks of parental leave for mothers and 4 weeks for fathers, in addition to subsidised child care when they return to work.
• Airtime reimbursement.
• Free food and a beautiful office space.

You Might Be A Good Fit If You

• Have a University degree in Communications, Telecommunications, Finance, International Relations, Business Management, or a related field.
• Have at least 5 years experience in a similar position at banks, telcos, international remittance companies or Fintechs.
• Are fluent in both French and English.
• 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
• Have identified and professionally engaged with strategic partners by seizing upon mutually beneficial opportunities, and being relentless in your pursuit.
• Have exceptional strategic thinking skills, proactive execution abilities, and a creative approach to generating leads.
• Are at ease in a boardroom giving presentations or preparing partner onboarding documents in French or English.
• Are enthusiastic about Wave's mission and excited to do what needs to be done to achieve it.
• Like teamwork, but you also know how to work well autonomously.
• Have demonstrated tenacity and a willingness to go the distance to get something done.
• Are very detail-oriented and seek to achieve excellence in everything you do.
• Have experience working at an international company. 
• Are intellectually curious, creative in the way you go about tackling problems, and embrace failure as a means to spark innovation and growth.

Our Team

• We have a rapidly growing in-country team in Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Sierra Leone, plus remote team members spread across the world. We're deeply passionate about our mission of bringing radically affordable financial services to the people who need them most.
• We foster autonomy for our employees. You'll 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 Founders Fund, Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator and Partech Africa.

Our Team

• We have a rapidly growing in-country team in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Uganda, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon plus remote team members spread across the world.
• We're deeply passionate about our mission of bringing radically affordable financial services to the people who need them most.
• We foster autonomy for our employees. You'll own your projects at every stage, from understanding the problem to monitoring your solution in production.
• We raised the largest Series A in Africa in 2021. Our world-class investors, include Founders Fund, Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator, and Partech Africa.
• We are on Y Combinator's top companies by revenue.

How To Apply

Fill out the form below, and upload a resume in English and a cover letter describing your interest in Wave and the role.

We review applications frequently and recommend that you apply to the role that most closely aligns with your skills, experience and career goals.

Wave is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.