Associate Project Manager in charge of Startups Funding and Investment at Smart Africa Secretariat: (Deadline 6 November 2022)
Terms of Reference
Recruitment
Associate Project Manager in charge of Startups Funding and Investment
- Position: Associate Project Manager in charge of Startups Funding and Investment
- Duration: One (1) year, renewable
- Location: Kigali, Rwanda
- Deadline: November 6th, 2022 at 5:00 PM Kigali time (GMT+2)
About Smart Africa
The Smart Africa Alliance is a partnership among African countries adhering to the Smart Africa Manifesto (herein after referred to as “the Manifesto”), the African Union (AU Commission, AUDA, specialized institutions and Regional Economic Communities), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Private Sector, Academic and Research Institutions.
The Smart Africa Alliance (or Smart Africa) is a bold and innovative commitment from African Heads of State and Government to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent, ushering Africa into a knowledge economy through the usage of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).
On 30th-31st January 2014, the Smart Africa Manifesto was endorsed by all Heads of State and Government of the African Union at the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa. This development places the Manifesto at the heart of the ICT agenda in Africa beyond just the 7 original signatories at the Summit to all African countries. The Smart Africa Alliance has since grown to include 32 African countries that represent 815+ million people.
The Smart Africa Manifesto aims to put ICT at the center of the continental and national socio-economic development of Member States. This means increasing access to ICT solutions, improving accountability, efficiency, and openness through ICT, promoting the introduction of advanced technologies in telecommunication, strengthening the private sector, leveraging ICT to promote sustainable development.
The Smart Africa Alliance as an organization is the framework for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Manifesto, designed to make it actionable. The Smart Africa Alliance is not a profit-oriented organization.
The Africa’s Blueprint for ICT Start-ups and Innovation ecosystems
Tech Startups and innovation ecosystems development was identified in 2019 by the Smart Africa Alliance Member States as the top priority flagship project to be implemented. To meet this priority, Smart Africa has activated the “ICT Start-ups and Innovation ecosystems for Africa” flagship project championed by Tunisia.
In close cooperation with a range of key public and private sector stakeholders and partners, the Republic of Tunisia, supported by the Smart Africa Secretariat, developed the “Africa’s Blueprint for ICT start-ups and Innovation ecosystems” aiming to support African countries by giving concrete policy and strategic recommendations and creating the best ecosystems for the birth, growth and success for African tech-startups.
Based on the outputs of the blueprint and its recommendations, Smart Africa identified three (3) main areas of focus:
- Policy frameworks: support African countries with the development of policy and legal frameworks (Startup Acts) that are aiming to initiate and/or boost and accelerate the development of their startups and innovation ecosystems.
- Investment and funding: facilitate the access to sufficient, suitable, affordable investment and funding for the African startups (Bloc Smart Africa Fund as the first building bloc).
- Ecosystem support: assist with the development of the broader ecosystem including the startup support organizations (innovation hubs, incubators, accelerators, startup studios for example).
Katapult Africa
Smart Africa is partnering with Katapult, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), and Norrsken to implement the Katapult Africa Accelerator Program. The Program’s main objectives are to accelerate impact tech startups in Africa, to mobilize a surrounding ecosystem of investors, corporates, and institutions as well as to create significant positive societal and environmental impact on the continent.
The target groups are start-ups, and SMEs with high potential growth in agri-tech and climate-tech in Rwanda and the wider African region with the support of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
The targets of the Program are:
- In total an estimated 11-12,000 jobs (direct and indirect)
- Around 200 start-ups capacitated through the Katapult Africa Accelerator Program and the Angel Investor network.
- Around 300 angel investors mobilized,
- USD 13-20 million invested in the start-ups through a planned investment fund, funded by the private sector and institutional investors.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Smart Africa Secretariat would like to recruit a Project Manager in charge of Startups Funding and Investment to support the Katapult Africa program implementation and African technology driven startups with investment and funding.
Responsibilities include:
- Support assessment and identification of a pipeline of Acceleration/investment ready Startups
- Coordination of analysis and assessment study/reports to help mapping and evaluating the investment landscape in Africa. The objective is to identify relevant potential investment actors: VCs, Governments funds, angel investors networks, acceleration programs,
- Coordination and facilitation of the involvement with Smart Africa initiatives (SADA and others) in the Katapult Africa program
- Involvement and facilitation of Smart Africa networks and stakeholders (support programs, mentors/experts, Governments, investors) through workshops and thematic meetups and stakeholders outreach activities (both physical and virtual)
- Project support activities including attending project coordination meetings, project planning and documentation; assistance with implementation resources, monitoring, and reporting on project progress
- Support joint communication and dissemination activities for the project through Smart Africa communication channels and networks.
- Coordinate Smart Africa initiatives in favour of Startups capital mobilization
- Coordinate Smart Africa initiatives to support VCs and acceleration programs on the continent.
- Design and document Smart Africa evolving strategy related to startups funding, including produce relevant slides, presentations, and key messaging.
- Review and prepare analysis and research on the Startups Funding field, using regional and global resources including academia and industry.
- Any other assignments or projects, which will be assigned from time to time by the leadership of Smart Africa.
Key qualifications
Education:
- A Master’s degree in finance, business or any other related field
Professional experience:
- A minimum of seven (7) years of experience in investment, startups funding, etc.
- Experience working with successful acceleration programs and/or VCs
- Good knowledge of African Tech Startups Ecosystem dynamics, actors and challenges specifically those related to funding and investment
- Excellent critical thinking skills and the ability to exercise sound judgment and solve problems quickly and effectively
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both French and English
- Strong competence in the use of standard software productivity tools (such as Microsoft Office Suite or others).
General attributes and skills:
- Good interpersonal skills with experience in networking with partners at all levels;
- Creativity and problem-solving abilities
- Ability to work in a team;
- Strong communication skills
Languages:
- Excellent Knowledge and Fluency in French and English.
- A good working knowledge in another language (Portuguese) will be an added advantage.
Duration of the assignment
The appointment will be for one (1) year renewable subject to availability of fund and performance review.
Reporting requirements
The Project Manager will report directly to the Unit Manager in charge of Technology-driven Entrepreneurship in the Directorate of Digital Transformation and Services.
Application Instructions and Deadline
Candidates should send the following documents to the following email address: hr@smartafrica.org, with mention of “Associate PM in charge of Startups Funding and Investment” in the subject line:
- A detailed CV with 3 contacts of professional referees.
- A one-page cover letter with a motivation statement in relation to the responsibilities and requirements for this position.
- Copies of academic degree, professional certificates, and other relevant training certificates
The deadline for submitting applications is November 6th,2022 at 5:00 PM Kigali (GMT+2) time.
Only selected candidates for interview will be contacted.
Any late application will be automatically rejected.
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