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 780+ staff in 45 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.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY & RESPONSIBILITIES
The Head of Product & Innovation will lead the development and execution of Inkomoko’s product strategy, ensuring that our offerings meet client needs, drive growth, and position the organization as a leader in innovative solutions. This role requires a visionary leader who can balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution, fostering a culture of creativity and continuous improvement.
The Head of Products & Innovation will lead the end-to-end product strategy and execution for Inkomoko’s digital portfolio (lending platforms, ERP modules, client-facing apps, and internal tools), ensuring every solution delivers measurable impact for entrepreneurs and staff while remaining compliant, scalable, and mission-aligned. The role is open to candidates based in Addis, Kigali, Juba, Nairobi or N'Djamena.
Key Responsibilities:
Product Strategy & Portfolio Leadership
- Translate the 5-year roadmap into prioritized annual plans and quarterly OKRs.
- Own product vision, prioritization framework, and go-to-market strategy across markets.
- Align product initiatives with organizational goals and market needs.
- Chair product governance: PRD sign-off, roadmap reviews, release governance.
- Lead cross-functional teams in defining, designing, and launching products.
- Manage the product lifecycle from ideation, piloting, refinement, to scaling.
Product Lifecycle & Delivery
- Oversee product design, development sprints, testing, and iteration cycles.
- Ensure clear product requirements (PRDs), prototypes, and MVPs.
- Work closely with technology teams to ensure timely and quality delivery
- Implement strong product governance and documentation standards.
Innovation Management
- Establish and run an innovation framework (rapid prototyping, pilots).
- Identify emerging trends, technologies, and opportunities relevant to the organization.
- Foster a culture of creativity, experimentation, and continuous improvement.
- Build partnerships with innovators, startups, academia, accelerators, and advisors.
Client, User and Market Insights
- Lead market research, user research, and product testing.
- Drive discovery, user research, prototyping, MVP testing, and iterative launches.
- Translate user/client insights into product features, business cases, and go-to-market strategiesEnsure high-quality PRDs, user stories, acceptance criteria, and cross-team alignment.
- Track product health through adoption metrics, NPS, and impact KPIs.
- Ensure all products are human-centered and grounded in real user problems.
Team & Culture
- Build and mentor a high-performing, user-centric product and innovation team.
- Build capacity of staff in product management, design thinking, and innovation.
- Facilitate cross-department collaboration and ensure shared ownership of products.
- Embed agile, design-thinking, and inclusive design practices.
Risk & Compliance
- Enforce Inkomoko’s Intellectual Property Policy and data-privacy regulations (GDPR, local laws, donor rules).
- Ensure accessibility and inclusion for diverse African user groups.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
- 10+ years in product management; minimum 5 years leading product teams.
- Proven success shipping multi-product portfolios in fintech, financial inclusion, or enterprise SaaS.
- Deep expertise in agile, UX principles, and multi-country rollouts.
- Exceptional stakeholder management across technical, business, and executive audiences.
- Proven track record of developing and launching successful products.
- Strong understanding of market research, user experience, and agile methodologies.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Preferred Skills:
- Experience in digital product development and technology-driven solutions.
- Familiarity with design thinking and lean innovation principles.
- Ability to translate complex ideas into actionable strategies.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Key Competencies:
We are looking for someone who:
- Synthesizes Data - Leverages key information, data, and insights to enhance both client and team member experiences.
- Adapts Approach to Situations - Adjusts the team's approach to meet the shifting demands of impact; able to quickly adapt to suit the context and drive to positive outcomes for their department.
- Enhances Competitive Advantage - Creates new and better ways to drive organizational success, with a future-focused mindset (at least 2 years ahead), through innovation and leveraging external relationships and opportunities.
- Uses his/her Technical expertise to coach and guide staff to meet and exceed expectations.
WHAT YOU'LL GET
This role is inside a high-growth, mission-driven social enterprise. By joining, you’ll access:
- A leadership role with regional influence and the opportunity to shape Inkomoko’s financial future.
- Meaningful work that directly contributes to sustainable livelihoods and job creation across East and Central Africa.
- Competitive salary, and potential 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
- A dynamic and entrepreneurial team environment committed to innovation and social impact
- 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.
HOW 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: 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.
