Back Investment Principal, Ventures, East Africa

Ventures (MCV):

Mercy Corps Ventures is a family of funds with a thesis focused on climate adaptation and resilience solutions for underserved individuals and communities in emerging markets. We are focused on tech-enabled startups in Climate Tech, AgTech and Inclusive FinTech (read our full thesis here).

Since 2015, we’ve backed over 50 early-stage ventures to scale and raise over $460 million in follow-on capital and reach nearly 20 million end users with impactful products and services. Our portfolio is 44% female-founded and we have invested in numerous category leaders (Pula, Wasoko, Meridia, LiftIt, Vasham). Learn more at www.mercycorpsventures.vc

The Position (General Position Summary)Join an active, global, early-stage impact venture firm with significant dry powder to deploy, and help us find and back the most disruptive founders in Climate Tech, AgTech and FinTech.This is the role for you if:

• You are excited to advance your journey into VC as the lead on East Africa pipeline and portfolio management with a top-tier investor that is actively deploying and will give you significant transaction exposure
• You are passionate about entrepreneurs and share the belief that high-impact startups are the best engines for driving sustainable, equitable, and resilient impact at scale
• Eager to join a growing global family of funds spanning the capital spectrum with ample opportunity to leave your imprint and take on leadershipYou might be:
  • A rockstar Associate or Senior Associate at a VC fund who is looking to advance in your career with a more senior role in an agile fund focused on climate resilience;
  • An investment professional with a strong track record investing in startups, who is eager to apply your skills to a new asset class, sector and/or stage; or
  • A recovering Entrepreneur, Investment Banker, Strategy Consultant, or Incubator/Accelerator Manager with unparalleled networks and experience in East Africa, who has a growth mindset and is excited to drive the startup ecosystem from an investor perspective.The Investment Principal will join Mercy Corps Ventures’ growing investment team. They will lead building out our investment portfolio in East Africa according to our Resilient Future Thesis. The Investment Principal will be an integral member of the investment team and will lead all aspects of the investment process in East Africa in close collaboration with the Managing Partner and other senior investment team members. They will be involved in the full investment lifecycle, from sourcing, due diligence, negotiations, and closing of seed and early stage direct investments. They will have the opportunity to take an active role on company boards and work closely with portfolio companies. They will be a proactive and natural networker, able to build a deep pipeline of investable opportunities, identify promising deals, and collaborate with our team and extensive roster of advisors to successfully close investments.

    This is an opportunity to work in a highly entrepreneurial environment with team members who are passionate about identifying and collaborating with talented entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into reality. Individuals who thrive in our environment demonstrate a strong work ethic, self-motivation, intellectual curiosity, emotional intelligence, and humility. They also take their work seriously but know how to have fun along the way. Moreover, they will have an unparalleled opportunity to co-create, foster, and scale the next generation of deeply impactful startups in some of the world’s most dynamic frontier markets.We are growing significantly over the next 24 months, so there will be a variety of career growth paths for the Principal within our family of funds.

    The application process will include the following steps, and the interview process will be completed by mid-September:

    • Indication of interest via Jobvite
    • Supplemental Information: we will ask shortlisted candidates to submit a short Google Form for our team to better understand your profile. We strongly encourage you to prepare and provide a deal sheet at this stage.
    • Initial Interview: we will conduct a video interview with the shortlisted candidates to discuss fit and experience, as well as to give candidates an opportunity to ask questions about the role
    • Offline Case Exercise: you will complete an offline case exercise which helps us to better determine your suitability for the position along with a video interview to review your case
    • Final Interview: MCV leadership team will conduct a video interview with the finalists to make a final decision

      Essential Responsibilities INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (70%)

      • Lead all Mercy Corps Ventures workstreams in East and Southern Africa
      • Foster strong relationships and strategic partnerships with incubators, accelerators, peer investors and other ecosystem actors throughout MCV target geographies in East Africa according to our thesis and criteria
      • Build an unparalleled network of founders, co-investors, and advisors in target MCV investment markets
      • Develop a deep and broad pipeline of potential investments that meet the MCV’s investment theses and criteria (>300 annually)
      • Leverage MCV advisors, Mercy Corps experts & partners, and your own network to conduct diligence on potential investments
      • In collaboration with the Managing Partner and Partner, lead investment structuring, negotiation, documentation, and execution
      • Present investment opportunities to the Investment Committee for debate and approval
      • Lead deal closing processes, including local legal due diligence, definitive document development, and any other regulatory requirements
      • Support other investment team members in due diligence and investment opportunity decision making

        PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP (30%)

        📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐

        ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

        • Work with the Managing Partner and Partner to oversee and manage future portfolio companies. This entails strategic advisory, attending board meetings, and guiding MCV on how it can engage portfolio companies.
        • Provide strategic support to portfolio companies, such as input on strategic initiatives and strategies to grow and scale operations and clients
        • Ensure all portfolio data is collected, analyzed and reported internally and externally
        • Actively participate in MCV’s investment strategy setting meetings and analysis of portfolio composition and structuring throughout the year
        • Represent MCV at industry events, write 2-3 articles annually and in general, build your brand as a thought leader in East Africa

          Supervisory ResponsibilityThe Principal will manage an Analyst. In the future, they may also manage additional junior staff, interns and fellows. They are expected to maintain close working relationships with leaders in the Ventures team, and other senior level leaders within Mercy Corps and partner organizations. They may also take on board roles and responsibilities for MCV portfolio companies.

          Accountability Reports Directly To: Managing Partner, Mercy Corps VenturesWorks Directly With: Mercy Corps Ventures team members; Mercy Corps field leadership and staff, partner organizations. Represents the agency to external audiences at events, meetings, and through written public pieces.

          Accountability to Participants and StakeholdersMercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

          Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

          • Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field; MBA or equivalent a plus
          • 7+ years of business experience with a proven track record in either:
            • Venture capital investing in East Africa
            • Other investment (e.g., private equity, impact investing, investment-banking or other fund investing) or management consulting experience, with experience in preferred equity, SAFE, and convertible note instruments preferred, but not required
            • Entrepreneurship, incubation/acceleration, or strategy consulting with strong networks and experience in East Africa focused on MCV thematic areas
            • Strong analytical mindset and toolkit, including fluidity navigating excel and evaluating financial statements, financial projections and valuations, term sheets, and unit economics
            • Unmatched network of contacts (investors, angels, accelerators, talent, startups)
            • Primary domain expertise in one of MCV’s key thesis themes (AgTech, FinTech, Climate Tech)
            • Hands-on operational experience as a founder or executive team member of a startup in an emerging market or challenging context a plus
            • A team-oriented, “low-ego” individual who works collaboratively in a high-performance environment; just as comfortable strategizing in a boardroom with the C-level team of a startup as chatting with a smallholder farmer customer in Karamoja
            • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills - able to articulately craft an argument and defend a position
            • Fluent in written and spoken English

              Success Factors The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in impact investing/venture capital and must be able to lead all aspects of new investments across Africa. A strong networker, this person will have well-established relationships with entrepreneurs, management teams, industry analysts, other investors and advisors / experts that they utilize to proactively identify and leverage for diligence on investment opportunities. They will have the desire and ability to play an impactful role in a highly collaborative, dynamic, mission-driven, and team-oriented culture.A superb communicator, this person is adept at synthesizing complex information and concepts and expressing them in approachable ways. The ideal candidate has a demonstrated passion in supporting impactful founders.

              Living Conditions / Environmental ConditionsThe position can be based in the locations listed below and may require up to 50% travel across East Africa. This position is expected to travel unaccompanied often, which may include some weekends. Constant communication is important where infrastructure allows.Candidates must hold authorization to work in Kenya and this cannot be provided or facilitated by Mercy Corps. We will not consider remote candidates based outside of Nairobi.

              Ongoing LearningIn support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

              Diversity, Equity & InclusionAchieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

              We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

              Equal Employment OpportunityMercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

              Safeguarding & EthicsMercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

              As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. This is done following the conclusion of recruitment and prior to assuming full employment. Our screening process is designed to be transparent and completed in partnership with new Team Members. You will have the opportunity to disclose any prior convictions at the conclusion of the recruitment process before the check is initiated. We ask that you do not disclose any prior convictions in your application materials or during the recruitment process.