ABOUT INKOMOKO
Inkomoko supports entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in order to improve livelihoods, create jobs, and help communities thrive.
In 2025, Inkomoko was listed by the Financial Times as the 8th fastest-growing company in Africa, supporting entrepreneurs across East and Central Africa to grow thriving businesses and build inclusive, resilient economies.
Founded in 2012, Inkomoko has worked with more than 100,000 entrepreneurs, including thousands of refugee entrepreneurs. Inkomoko provides a combination of training, consulting, access to finance, and market-level systems change. We are the largest investor to refugee entrepreneurs in Africa.
Inkomoko has 750+ 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. Refugees, women, and persons who reflect the diverse communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.
Position Summary
Inkomoko supports entrepreneurs in displacement-affected communities to build sustainable businesses, increase household income, and become self-reliant. This is made possible through training, market linkages, and direct investment via our revolving fund, which offers affordable conventional and Shariah-compliant financial products.
The Director of Inclusive Finance provides strategic leadership for Inkomoko’s lending operations, ensuring that financial products, loan origination, and portfolio management systems are inclusive, client-centered, and scalable across all markets. This role is accountable for setting a long-term vision for lending growth, portfolio quality, and operational compliance, while fostering strong collaboration between headquarters and country investment teams. The Director creates an enabling environment—through policies, tools, and talent development—that empowers front-line staff to deliver high-quality, Shariah-compliant and conventional credit services that align with Inkomoko’s mission and strategic goals.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Leadership & Vision
- Define a 3–5 year strategic roadmap for inclusive finance, ensuring alignment with organizational mission, financial sustainability, and market opportunities.
- Drive innovation in credit services, balancing client inclusion, portfolio growth, and risk management.
- Champion the integration of both conventional and Shariah-compliant financial products to meet diverse client needs.
2. Departmental Oversight & Accountability
- Lead implementation of the department’s Balanced Scorecard, monitoring KPIs, budgets, and overall performance.
- Oversee the rollout of standardized loan origination tools, client onboarding systems, and credit procedures across all countries.
- Ensure accountability for branch-level portfolio quality, recovery, and operational compliance.
3. Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with the Director of Risk & Analytics, Systems & Digital, and Accounting to align policies, analytics, and operational tools.
- Collaborate closely with Country Managing Directors and Heads of Investment to ensure country-specific adaptation of credit products and delivery systems.
- Work with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) team to integrate data insights into lending strategies.
4. Product Design & Innovation
- Supervise the Head of Product in designing and refining both conventional and Shariah-compliant products, informed by client needs, market trends, and risk insights.
- Ensure product development processes strengthen branch-level productivity and support sustainable portfolio growth.
- Monitor product performance and iterate based on client experience, portfolio data, and competitive intelligence.
5. Portfolio Quality & Recovery Oversight
- Oversee the Manager of Portfolio Quality & Recovery in setting strategies for portfolio monitoring, collections, and recovery.
- Strengthen early warning systems, loan monitoring tools, and recovery practices to minimize portfolio risk.
- Ensure alignment between portfolio quality initiatives and country-level operational realities.
6. Coaching & Talent Development
- Mentor direct reports (Head of Product and Manager of Portfolio Quality & Recovery) and build leadership capacity across country investment teams.
- Foster a culture of accountability, inclusion, and innovation in credit operations.
- Lead inclusive recruitment and onboarding practices, ensuring credit and product teams are equipped with the tools and skills to succeed.
7. Risk Management & Escalation
- Anticipate and identify emerging risks in loan origination, client onboarding, and portfolio performance.
- Collaborate with the Risk & Analytics function to design mitigation strategies and scenario planning tools.
- Ensure front-line compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements.
Required Qualifications
- Master’s degree in Finance, Economics, Development Finance, Business Administration, or related field.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in credit, lending, or financial services, with a strong track record in portfolio growth and quality management.
- 5+ years in a senior leadership role, preferably in multi-country or cross-functional financial operations.
- Demonstrated success in product development (conventional and/or Shariah-compliant), credit delivery systems, and inclusive finance.
- Experience managing and scaling credit operations in banks, MFIs, or fintech environments.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working in multi-country operations with diverse regulatory frameworks.
- Knowledge of digital lending, microfinance, or financial inclusion models in underserved or displacement-affected markets.
- Familiarity with Core Banking Systems, digital credit platforms, and analytics tools for portfolio monitoring.
- Fluency in English; French or Arabic proficiency is an advantage.
Core Competencies:
- Thinks and Plans Strategically - Identifies opportunities using future-focused thinking (5+ years ahead); creates a strategic path to operationalize work plans
- Coaches - Facilitates skill development by asking the right questions and providing motivational feedback; enables others and builds their confidence and self-esteem to solve problems independently.
- Manages Complexity - Making sense of information to effectively solve problems
- Leadership - Operates with commitment to values and culture, while supporting the growth and development of others.
WHAT YOU’LL GET
This role is inside a high-growth, mission-driven social enterprise. By joining, you’ll access:
- Competitive salary, and potential annual performance-based bonus
- Incredible company culture, with opportunities for learning and growth
- Diverse colleagues across the region, and policies that demonstrate commitment to equity and inclusion
- Ability to make a significant social impact to your community
- Health insurance for self and family
- Staff savings and provident fund, negotiated bank rates for long-term employees
- Generous annual leave, parental leave, and sabbatical options.
TO APPLY
If you’re excited about this role, please submit your CV, and tell us why you are the right fit for this opportunity.
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.