Business Development Officer - Embu

The Business Development Officer based in Embu plays a crucial role in Tenakata's mission to empower Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Tenakata is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya as a Digital Credit Provider. Our platform is designed to empower small businesses in Africa by assisting with financial record-keeping and promoting financial literacy through business support coaching. We ensure the secure sharing of reliable financial information with financial institutions to extend services to our clients.

This role involves a blend of sales, customer relationship management, financial advising, and risk mitigation focused on micro and small enterprises.

Key Responsibilities

• MSME Recruitment and Data Collection: Facilitate recruitment processes, including collecting baseline data of the MSMEs on the TENAKATA mobile application.
• Mentorship and Advisory Services: Conduct mentoring sessions with MSMEs to ensure they receive relevant and adequate advisory services necessary to meet their business development targets.
• Access to Finance Support: Support your assigned portfolio of MSMEs with various aspects of access to finance, including loan application processes and managing funds received for business scaling purposes.
• Loan Appraisal and Monitoring: Contribute to conducting loan appraisals and monitoring disbursed loans to ensure they are used for the intended purposes and that repayments are made on time.
• Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Due Diligence: As the first point of contact, conduct proper due diligence and KYC checks to ensure the customer is viable in accordance with laid down procedures.
• Relationship Management: Collaborate with partnered Collections Officers to serve customers through a relationship management approach, gather market intelligence, and create and maintain relationships with market authorities.
• Repayment Management: Be responsible for the pair's repayment rate through consistent follow-up, maintaining accurate interactions on company systems, negotiation of repayment schedules, and setting discretionary limits on loan amounts. Employ 'soft' (non-intrusive) collection methods to secure repayments.
• General Duties: Perform other tasks and duties as directed by the branch manager or as designated by the Company.

Qualifications and Experience

• Education: University graduate degree or Diploma in Business Administration, Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Project Management, or an equivalent field.
• Experience: A minimum of one (1) year's experience in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) field is required.
• Specialized Knowledge (Advantageous): Hands-on experience or knowledge in MSME businesses, including within informal settings and micro-enterprises development.
• Training (Advantageous): Additional training or on-job training on financial management and literacy specifically in the MSME sector.
• Sales Experience (Advantageous): Prior experience in sales is an added advantage.