Business Development Manager — Wakaly (Activation & Agent Network)

ABOUT SMART FOUNDRY
Smart Foundry is Smart Africa Group's venture studio — built to think, validate, build, and scale. We develop in-house startup products that solve real African challenges, forming strategic partnerships to grow them beyond borders. Wakaly is one of our flagship platforms, digitising field activation across African markets.

ABOUT THE ROLE
Wakaly connects businesses with a network of agents and freelancers for last-mile distribution, merchant onboarding, and offline activation campaigns. As Business Development Manager for Wakaly, you will be responsible for signing channel partners, enterprise clients, and agent network operators — building the supply and demand that makes Wakaly the leading activation platform in the region.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Acquire commercial clients — FMCGs, telcos, banks, and retail chains — for activation campaigns.
• Build and manage agent network partnerships including recruiters and field operators.
• Negotiate activation contracts, define KPIs, payment models (per-task, commission), and SLAs.
• Design pilot programmes and rollout plans; work with Operations to ensure quality and verification standards are met.
• Manage large enterprise negotiations and referral programme structures.
• Optimise agent economics and scale activation capacity across regions.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
• 3–7 years in field sales, channel partnerships, distributor management, or B2B business development within FMCG, telco, or distribution networks.
• Comfortable with travel and hands-on field coordination.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field.

CORE COMPETENCIES
• Established relationships with FMCG distributors, telcos, or retail chains.
• Ability to design and operationalise commission and incentive structures.
• Experience in agent or field force management, or direct sales channels.
• Strong operational coordination and problem-solving skills.

PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENT (MANDATORY)
All applicants must submit a client portfolio as part of their application:
• 5–15 active or past clients/partners (brands, distributors, telco field ops, or agencies).
• Supporting evidence: signed activation contracts, POs, campaign briefs, or letters from partners.
• Examples of campaigns executed with measurable outcomes — field reach, conversions, and revenue.