Commercial Director, Finergi at Optasia in South Africa, South Africa

Finergi is a fintech scaling access to prepaid electricity and mobile financial services across Africa. Part of the Optasia Group (JSE: OPA), we partner with utilities, mobile network operators, banks and payment providers to put credit and power in the hands of the people who need it — Light On. Credit On. Future On.https://optasia.workable.com/backend/jobs/6013279/find-candidates

We're growing fast across multiple markets, and we're looking for a commercial leader to carry that momentum on the ground.

This is the commercial engine room of our expansion. You'll own our partner relationships across several African markets — utilities, regulators, mobile operators, banks, aggregators, municipalities and local partners — and drive them from first agreement all the way to live launch.

You'll pick up newly opened partnerships, build cadence with each counterparty, move deals through their internal approval processes, and hand anchored projects over to our delivery team while staying the commercial point of contact. It's a role for someone who thrives on ownership, keeps many relationships moving at once, and closes.

You'll report directly to the Group CEO and work closely with our delivery (PMO) and country teams.

What you'll do

• Own and grow commercial relationships with partners across multiple markets — utilities, regulators, MNOs, banks, aggregators, municipalities and local partners
• Take newly opened partnerships and drive them through to signed commercial agreements and live launches
• Keep deals moving between senior visits: hold cadence with counterparties, chase commercial paperwork, and walk agreements through partners' working levels
• Coordinate closely with the delivery/PMO team to hand over launch-ready projects, while remaining the commercial lead at counterparty level
• Escalate to leadership when a principal-to-principal intervention is needed
• Keep a clear view of the pipeline and provide regular updates on relationship and deal status
• Represent Finergi on the ground and build a durable in-country presence

What you'll bring

• Significant commercial experience (typically 10+ years) in business development, partnerships or key account management
• A track record of leading and closing complex B2B and government deals and managing senior stakeholder relationships
• Experience operating across African markets, comfortable in multi-country, multi-stakeholder environments
• A strong relationship builder who is credible and builds confidence with executives, regulators and commercial partners alike
• A self-starter who can work independently, operate at pace, own follow-through, and keep multiple deals progressing in parallel
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively across the region
• Excellent written and spoken English

Your key attributes

• French — a significant advantage for our Francophone markets
• Experience in fintech, payments, mobile money, telco/MNO, energy/utilities, or BNPL/credit products
• An existing network across African telecoms, banking or energy sectors
• Already based in South Africa, with the ability to travel extensively across African markets

Why you should apply

• A high-impact role reporting to senior leadership, with real influence over how we grow
• Backed by a listed group (Optasia, JSE: OPA) — the stability of scale with the pace of a fast-growing business
• The chance to shape commercial expansion across multiple African markets from the ground up

Finergi is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds