Position: Finance Strategy Associate

Reporting to: Group Finance Strategy Manager

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Role type: Full time

About SunCulture

Founded in 2012, SunCulture’s Vision is to build a world where people take control of their environment in rewarding and sustainable ways. SunCulture does this by developing and commercializing life changing technology that solves the biggest daily challenges for the world's 570 million smallholder farming households. We are the largest distributor of solar water pumps / solar irrigation for smallholder farmers in Africa and were selected by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2021. Here is a good explainer video recently made by CNBC. Over the last 5 years, the company has grown significantly and now employs 400+ people around the world.

About the role

SunCulture is seeking a Finance Strategy Associate who will primarily work with our Finance team and external stakeholders to support the Company’s fundraising and financial strategy during our ambitious growth phase. You will get first-hand experience in what it takes to scale a company in an emerging market environment. You’ll grow your financial, strategic, and operational skills by supporting executive decision-making and key strategic finance projects, relationships and workstreams.

The core determinants for this role are someone:

• who is a culture fit,

• who has a commitment to high-quality work product,

• very strong financial analysis skills,

• ability to manage multiple work streams at one time

• ability to think creatively and to be comfortable with ambiguity (often we are not only trying to come up with the answers, but work out if we are asking the rights questions)

• ability to professionally interact with a wide range of individuals from board members, to external service providers, to junior staff.

We are looking for someone who is excited to find solutions to problems that we haven’t yet solved. In addition to working with the finance team, you will have great exposure to the entire organization by working with different team members from Operations, Carbon, Software, Legal, and People & Culture.

This role will provide the opportunity to learn the skills required to strategize, plan and execute a financial strategy, from blank excel sheet, to signed documentation, inclusive of an understanding of governance, negotiation and stakeholder management.

Key Responsibilities:

• Financial Analysis:

  • Build, maintain and use financial models for use at Group and Company level for budgeting, business planning and capital raising uses

  • Build, maintain and use other tools such as short-term cash flow forecasts, unit economics & pricing analysis, elasticity of demand studies

  • In conjunction with the Financial Planning & Analysis (“FP&A”) team, undertake deep dive analysis into key components of unit economics such as credit loss and after sales

  • Collaborate with the FP&A and Business Intelligence (“BI”) team on data shaping, analytics and developing forecasting models (e.g. leveraging IoT, payment and other data sources to support strategic decision-making and provide insights to customers and external stakeholders, or utilising FP&A software solutions).
    
    

• Capital Raising:

  • Collaborate with the Group Finance Strategy Manager in updating the financing strategy

  • Coordinate and track capital raising initiatives including equity / debt / grant / technical assistance capital raising processes

  • Manage the development of key capital raise components such as financial model, investment memorandum, data rooms, market studies and DD workstreams

  • Lead and manage related financing workstreams such as FX risk management

• Business Development

  • Provide finance support to business development initiatives regarding existing product pricing, new product offerings (e.g. carbon revenues, insurance, warranty extension, refurbished sales, customer portal/marketplace platform), and new markets (e.g. formation of subsidiaries in new markets) to develop the business case for these initiatives, set pricing and raise capital.

• Reporting:

  • Prepare, in conjunction with the Financial Planning & Analysis Manager, stakeholder reports relating to the company's financial, operation and impact performance (Board, shareholders, lenders, grant providers, partners)

• Other:

  • Collaborate with CFO and Group Finance Strategy Manager in corporate governance (board management), and risk management activities

Does this sound like you?

• 4 years experience in Financial Modelling / Financial Analysis / Capital Raising either from corporate finance, private equity, venture company, or in-house

• CFA Candidate (or qualified), Accountancy qualification or MBA preferred

• Strong financial analysis skills

• Strong organizational skills

• Has commitment to high-quality work product

• Ability to manage multiple work streams at one time

• Ability to think creatively and to be comfortable at ambiguity