Head Of Product Lending Platform

Johannesburg, GP, ZA, South Africa

Job Description

HEAD OF PRODUCT, LENDING PLATFORM | M-KOPA


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Creating the Financial Infrastructure Transforming Lives Across Africa


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Turn Your Product Leadership into Financial Inclusion at Scale


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What happens when sophisticated lending technology meets deep customer empathy? At M-KOPA, the answer is transformation--for both our customers and our business. We've originated over 6 million loans, unlocking $1.5 billion in credit across five African markets. Now, we need a visionary Head of Product to take our lending platform to the next level.

Your Impact Goes Beyond Technology


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As Head of Product for our Lending Platform, you'll be the driving force behind the systems that enable financial inclusion for millions. This isn't about building incremental features--it's about creating the infrastructure that powers life-changing financial services for people traditionally excluded from banking systems.


Your product leadership will translate into real-world outcomes: A small business securing its first significant inventory loan. A family financing their first smartphone and gaining digital access. A student funding their education through accessible credit. Your work directly empowers these journeys.

What Makes This Role Unique


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You'll sit at a fascinating intersection of technology and finance. Working alongside Engineering, Analytics, Data Science, Credit, and Finance teams, you'll tackle complex challenges that require both technical depth and business acumen. You'll lead the evolution of our loan management, billing, and accounting systems while ensuring they meet international financial reporting standards.


The platform you oversee will leverage machine learning models to make smart predictions across fraud detection, customer repayment forecasting, and debt funding requirements. Your ability to make the complex simple will shine as you transform raw financial data into actionable insights that drive business decisions.

Whats needed from you:


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8+ years of product management experience with platform or infrastructure products, with demonstrated analytical excellence Plus at least 2 years managing multiple product managers across agile teams, driving both strategy and execution Strong communication skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across finance, credit, and treasury functions

Your Day-to-Day Impact


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You'll lead multiple product managers working on agile teams, each tackling different aspects of our lending infrastructure. One day, you might be collaborating with data scientists to refine credit prediction algorithms. The next, you could be working with finance leaders to ensure our systems provide the insights needed for strategic portfolio management.


Your responsibilities will span from shaping product vision to driving execution. You'll make data-driven decisions that balance technical feasibility, business requirements, and customer needs. You'll hire, develop, and coach product managers who share your passion for making complex systems elegant and impactful.


You'll cultivate a culture of innovation, psychological safety, and accountability across your teams. The collaborative, low-ego environment we've built will give you the space to take calculated risks and learn quickly. And you'll have a high degree of ownership over your domain, with the authority to make decisions that drive significant business outcomes.

How Your Experience Will Find Purpose


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If you've developed platform products, managed cross-functional teams, or worked in financial services, your experience will find new meaning at M-KOPA. Your analytical skills will directly influence how we extend credit to those who need it most. Your leadership abilities will empower teams building solutions that matter. And your communication skills will help bridge technical and financial worlds.


Those with experience in B2B or enterprise products will find this role especially rewarding. You'll be translating complex requirements from internal stakeholders into clearly defined product roadmaps. Your ability to influence without authority will help you navigate collaborations with senior functional leaders across the organization.

Your Growth Journey With Us


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At M-KOPA, we empower our people to own their careers. You'll have access to diverse development programs, coaching partnerships, and on-the-job training tailored to your goals. We support individual journeys with family-friendly policies, prioritize well-being, and embrace true flexibility.


This hybrid role allows you to work remotely while connecting regularly with our markets in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, or Uganda. You'll experience the impact of your work firsthand through field visits and collaboration across diverse teams.

Join Us in Redefining Financial Access


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If you're ready to apply your product leadership skills to create meaningful change, we want to hear from you. At M-KOPA, your career advancement comes with the satisfaction of knowing your work creates lasting positive impact every day.


Ready to build the financial infrastructure that changes lives? Apply now and join us in our mission of creating transformative lifetime financial partnerships with our customers

Why M-KOPA?


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At M-KOPA, we empower our people to own their careers through diverse development programs, coaching partnerships, and on-the-job training. We support individual journeys with family-friendly policies, prioritize well-being, and embrace flexibility.


Join us in shaping the future of M-KOPA as we grow together. Explore more at

m-kopa.com

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Recognized thrice by the Financial Times as one Africa's fastest growing companies (2022, 2023 and 2024) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 5 million customers, unlocking $1.5 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa.

Important Notice



M-KOPA is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

M-KOPA explicitly prohibits the use of Forced or Child Labour and respects the rights of its employees to agree to terms and conditions of employment voluntarily, without coercion, and freely terminate their employment on appropriate notice. M-KOPA shall ensure that its Employees are of legal working age and shall comply with local laws for youth employment or student work, such as internships or apprenticeships.

M-KOPA does not collect/charge any money as a pre-employment or post-employment requirement. This means that we never ask for 'recruitment fees', 'processing fees', 'interview fees', or any other kind of money in exchange for offer letters or interviews at any time during the hiring process.

Beware of fraud agents! do not pay money to get a job

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Job Detail

  • Job Id
    JD1418778
  • Industry
    Not mentioned
  • Total Positions
    1
  • Job Type:
    Contract
  • Salary:
    Not mentioned
  • Employment Status
    Permanent
  • Job Location
    Johannesburg, GP, ZA, South Africa
  • Education
    Not mentioned