Website AECF (African Enterprise Challenge Fund)
About AECF (African Enterprise Challenge Fund)
The AECF (African Enterprise Challenge Fund) is an organization that aims to unlock potential in private sector innovation and investment across Africa to generate economic, social, and environmental impact. Focusing on agribusiness, renewable energy, and climate adaptation sectors, the AECF provides catalytic capital to early and growth-stage businesses. With a mission to reduce poverty, promote resilient communities, and address climate change, the fund mobilizes both private and philanthropic capital, underlining their commitment to development finance solutions in challenging markets.
About this Role
Investment Operations at AECF is the center of excellence for managing the investment portfolio. As the Head of Investment Operations, you will be responsible for building frameworks, systems, and analytical capabilities to support high-performing portfolios. This role requires applying strong investment discipline and financial analysis throughout the deal lifecycle, from marketing to decision-making. You will ensure investment decisions are consistent, timely, and of high quality, reporting to the Director of Programs and collaborating closely with Sector Leads in Agribusiness and Energy. Your leadership will steer enterprise sourcing competitions, maintaining robust and efficient processes and improving sourcing channels. The role also involves enhancing financial modeling and analytical capacity for the deal teams and managing the investment committee process to ensure submissions are decision-ready. You’ll drive automation and system digitization efforts, fostering a culture of continuous improvement across the investment lifecycle.
Responsibilities
- Lead enterprise sourcing competitions end-to-end: design, marketing, applications, scoring, and shortlisting.
- Continuously improve competition design and source pipelines through proactive outreach and ecosystem partnerships.
- Provide financial modeling and analytical support during deal due diligence and structuring.
- Serve as process owner for the Investment Committee, ensuring quality and readiness of submissions.
- Own portfolio analytics and lead systems automation for improved investment lifecycle efficiency.
- Monitor and improve cycle times across the deal lifecycle, identifying bottlenecks for operational improvement.
- Develop and maintain standards for the deal lifecycle, ensuring consistency across sectors.
- Lead and develop the Investment Operations team, instilling a collaborative and investment-led culture.
Requirements
- Master’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or similar field.
- CFA, ACCA, or equivalent professional qualification.
- Eight years of investment experience, preferably in impact or development finance.
- Expertise in management of catalytic capital instruments and design of governance frameworks.
- Experience in designing and managing structured sourcing programs and investment platforms.
- Strong financial analysis and structuring skills, with experience in a multi-stakeholder environment.
- Strong leadership and communication abilities, able to foster a performance-driven team culture.
Benefits
- The opportunity to work with a leading organization in impact investing and development finance.
- Exposure to complex, multi-stakeholder investment environments.
- Professional development through leadership and team-building roles.
- Engaging work centered on reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development across Africa.
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