Business Development Manager: SOLV Ghana - Standard Chartered Bank

SOLV’s vision is to build a business to business (B2B) Marketplace for Financing and Business Support solutions to simplify and accelerate growth for Ghanaian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by leveraging technology and data in a trusted environment.

MSMEs are the heartbeat of Ghana’s economy and SOLV, in collaboration with multiple financial institutions and business service providers, is working to transform the way MSMEs do business. Come and help us positively and sustainably impact the MSME business ecosystem for good.

Operating out of our base office in Ridge, Accra; we are 100% owned by Standard Chartered Plc., UK and are incubated by SC Ventures (SCV), the innovation investment unit of the Standard Chartered Group. If you are looking to build a Ghana-first digital Marketplace that delivers simplified sustainable growth to MSMEs across Ghana and impacts millions of lives, let’s talk!

Our Values

At SOLV we believe that strong core values, listed below, are the foundation of an inspirational business model.

• Customer First
• Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast
• Win or Lose Together
• Focused Execution
• Value Creation
• Frugality
• Emotional Intelligence & Diversity
• Respect, Humility, and Integrity
• Keeping it Real
• Having Fun

Our people and customers are at the centre of everything we do. In our endeavour to ensure that we prioritize them, our values act as our beacon. Our values are interwoven throughout the cultural tapestry of SOLV and constantly evolves with the contributions each person makes. Internalizing our values has resulted in a powerful team, immensely dedicated to simplifying the growth of our clients.

Job Summary

Based in Accra and reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, the ideal Business Development Manager candidate will be a highly driven and collaborative leader in the area of business development, responsible for leading the client acquisition and partnership strategy for SOLV.

We look forward to bringing on board a colleague who is passionate about uplifting MSME participation in the Ghanaian economy by enabling their access to efficient and suitable financial and business support services.

Key Responsibilities

• Accountable for client acquisition vision, translating the vision into tangible business development strategy, and ensuring its successful implementation to impact business KPIs.
• Nurture and grow the existing partnerships to ensure they are fulfilling relativity and partner’s commercial, product, and strategic goals.
• Research and identify overall pipeline of potential clients and partners.
• Make and give presentations to prospective clients, partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Enable partner deal support, cross functional planning, relationship management, and analytical insights.
• Negotiate contract terms with partners, who will be helping the platform scale rapidly.
• Monitor project teams to ensure contracts are executed as agreed.
• Develop customer acquisition processes to drive maximum commercial results through operational excellence.
• Develop an understanding of the competitor landscape.
• Manage relationship with relevant authorities, corporates, foundations, and community partners to ensure effective management of partnership programmes.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on experience with leading client growth via business development, sales and managing commercial partnerships.
• Cross domain/ category experience preferred – fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), food and beverage, fashion, retail, telecommunication, advertising agency, technology, etc.
• Prior experience in negotiating and executing channel partnership agreements to acquire clients will be an advantage.
• Possessing an existing network within the MSME and/or startup ecosystems and having experience forming partnerships with startups will be an advantage.
• Demonstrable record of success in digital marketing in a fast-paced, high-growth business-to-business (B2B) Tech environment.
• Strong understanding of marketing technologies and tools, including digital marketing, social media, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems
• Highly adaptable, quick learner, self-starter with a structured mindset to approaching problem solving.
• Excellent verbal and written English communication skills; knowledge of other Ghanaian languages is a plus.