Business Associate - Market Linkage - Gambela

ABOUT INKOMOKO 

Inkomoko supports entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in order to improve livelihoods, create jobs, and help communities thrive.

Founded in 2012, Inkomoko has worked with more than 60,000 entrepreneurs across East and Central Africa, including thousands of refugee entrepreneurs. Inkomoko provides a combination of training, consulting, access to finance, and market-level systems change.  We are the largest lender to refugee entrepreneurs in Africa.  

Inkomoko has 650+ staff in 40 offices across Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Through Inkomoko’s 2030 strategic plan, we are adding 3 additional countries to serve more than 550,000 entrepreneurs and growing our $30M loan fund to impact 7M lives. 

 
INKOMOKO VALUES

All staff at Inkomoko are connected to a shared set of organizational values:

• Purpose: be solutions-oriented, produce high-quality work, and be a global leader.
• Achievement: push yourself to reach beyond what you previously thought possible. 
• Improvement: be humble, engage in continuous growth through open & accurate feedback
• Bravery: willing to take risks, create a safe space for others, be compassionate, and inclusive.
• We Eat Goat:  we celebrate success and support each other in hard times. We do this work together in the spirit of turikumwe, tuko pamoja, abren nen, Kula na sawa, On est ensemble.
  

Inkomoko is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Persons who reflect the diverse communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply. 

 

ABOUT THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Inkomoko is seeking an exceptional Business Associate to help drive our market linkages services to our more than 40,000 MSME clients.  This role will entail building strategic relationships with buyers in different industry sectors, including INGOs, public institutions, and private organizations. The BA will be responsible for interacting with the local business community, look out for market opportunities suitable for our clients, and build lasting relationships with local buyers, engaging with existing and new buyers, and connecting them with our MSME clients. S/HE will also support tender distribution service and help to integrate 50 MSMEs into value chains, with a focus on helping micro and small-scale producers acquire product certification from relevant government institutions.

Specific tasks include:

Buyer engagement (30%): 

• Identify and cultivate relationships with existing and new buyers to expand sales opportunities for our MSME clients; facilitate connections between buyers and our MSME clients.  Level of effort

Tender distribution: Support (15%):

• To pilot tender distribution service for small and medium clients. This will include providing training on bid preparation and application. Level of Effort 

MSME integration into formal value chains (15%): 

• To  support efforts to integrate MSMEs, especially micro and small-scale producers, into formal value chains; this will involve collaborating with relevant government institutions and stakeholders to facilitate the acquisition of product certification for select- MSME clients. Level of effort

Market Research (20%):

•  Research and meet potential buyers in the local and regional markets, work will involve meeting buyers in various sectors, and understanding their supply and procurement needs. This includes; undertaking data collection. Level of effort.

Collaboration with Programs Manager (20%):

•  Work closely with the Programs Manager to align market linkages activities with the overall Business Growth Services strategy; explore market system development initiatives and value/supply chains in the region; generate and share insights and recommendations to contribute to the development of meaningful market linkages services for our clients. Level of effort

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will fulfill the following requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Economics, or a related field 
• 2+ years experience in sales and marketing working with MSMEs is preferred.
• Excellent communication in local languages spoken in the town/camp in the region including but not limited to Nuer, Agnuak, Arabic,  English, Amharic etc.
• Experience working in refugee settings with different nationalities across refugee camps in Gambella region
• Past experience on Market linkages, fostering value chain integration will be an added advantage
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills
• Excellent computer skills, especially with MS Excel, Word, and ERP, project management tools (i.e. Odoo, MS Dynamics,Asana,Trello,etc…)
• Exceptional business acumen
• Good skill in digital marketing, e-commerce platforms and social media tools for business and market linkages;
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain partnerships with buyers
• Previous understanding of tender and procurement processes - bid preparation and application process would be a huge plus 
• Strong work and collaboration skills.
• Reside in Gambella town or nearby camps/towns around the refugee camps: Jewi, Terekidi, Kule, and Nguenyyiel

WHAT YOU’LL GET

• This role is inside a high-growth, mission-driven social enterprise. By joining, you’ll access:
• Competitive salary, and potential Goal-based bonus
• Incredible company culture, including deep investment in your learning and growth
• Diverse colleagues and policies that show our commitment to equity and inclusion 
• Talented, passionate, and committed team colleagues across the region
• Ability to make a significant social impact to your community
• Generous health insurance, staff savings, parental leave, sabbatical, and more benefits.

TO APPLY

If you’re excited about this role, please submit your application through the jobs portal. 

Tell us about what you’ll bring to this growing company.

DEADLINE:  8th April 2025.  Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, please apply as soon as possible!

 

Inkomoko is committed to justice, diversity, equity and inclusion.  As we seek to reflect the communities we serve, refugees and women are strongly encouraged to apply. As a company we have policies that ensure fair treatment in the application process. 

NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Employment is conditional upon successful background checks and other verification as needed.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and background screening checks. Inkomoko also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual misconduct, fraud, or abuse. By applying, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.