Business Development Manager, Somalia and Djibouti

Role Overview

Based in Nairobi, the Business Development Manager will grow Network International’s business in Somalia and Djibouti, building relationships with financial institutions, fintechs, mobile money providers, telecom operators, government bodies and other market partners. The role spans the full sales cycle—from identifying prospects and shaping solutions to negotiating agreements—and works closely with internal teams to turn new opportunities into successful customer launches. By developing local market knowledge and expanding existing accounts, the manager will help increase revenue and strengthen the company’s reach across both countries.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and deliver growth plans for Somalia and Djibouti that support the company’s wider Africa strategy.
• Identify, assess and pursue opportunities for payment processing, card issuing and acquiring, digital payments, value-added services and other relevant solutions.
• Develop a qualified sales pipeline and manage opportunities from initial outreach through discovery, solution design, proposal, negotiation and contract completion.
• Meet agreed sales goals and maintain reliable forecasts and pipeline records in the company’s CRM.
• Build senior-level relationships with prospective and current customers, understand their priorities, and work with account teams to identify renewal, cross-selling and expansion opportunities.
• Explore partnerships that can improve market access and customer acquisition, and represent the company in customer meetings, industry events and regulatory discussions.
• Track changes in the banking, payments, fintech and regulatory environments in both markets, sharing relevant competitor and customer insights with leadership.
• Coordinate with Product, Solution Consulting, Finance, Legal, Risk, Operations and Implementation teams on business cases, proposals, pricing, contracts and the handover of new customers.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Marketing, Information Technology or a related field.
• At least 5–8 years of experience in business development, sales, partnerships or commercial roles in payments, banking, fintech, telecommunications or digital financial services.
• Demonstrated success selling complex business-to-business technology or financial services solutions and achieving or exceeding revenue targets.
• Experience engaging senior decision-makers at banks, fintech companies or other financial institutions.
• Strong commercial skills, including opportunity qualification, proposal development, negotiation, forecasting and pipeline management.
• Experience working in East Africa or the Horn of Africa is highly desirable; established relationships in Somalia’s or Djibouti’s banking and payments sectors are an advantage.
• An MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage.