Business Development Manager – Youth Banking

Equity Bank Limited is a leading financial services provider in Kenya, established in 1984, offering a wide range of banking products and services.

The Business Development Manager for Youth Banking is responsible for spearheading the creation and oversight of strategic alliances aimed at broadening the bank's presence and reinforcing its standing in the youth demographic. This position entails cultivating a robust youth ecosystem across various sectors, including educational institutions, employers, technology hubs, and creative industries. The manager will translate these relationships into tangible outcomes such as customer acquisition, increased digital banking adoption, and sustainable business expansion. Furthermore, the role is crucial in advancing youth financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion through targeted partnerships and programs.

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive youth ecosystem partnership strategy, identifying and securing relationships with universities, TVETs, technology hubs, employers, youth organizations, fintechs, and development partners.
2. Build and manage a portfolio of strategic partnerships, ensuring they align with the bank’s youth banking objectives, commercial priorities, and long-term growth ambitions.
3. Convert strategic partnerships into measurable business opportunities, focusing on customer acquisition, deposit mobilization, digital onboarding, lending, and revenue generation.
4. Drive the integration of scalable digital banking solutions through campus onboarding, embedded finance, and wallet-as-a-service partnerships, thereby expanding access and adoption of the bank’s digital channels.
5. Lead campus banking initiatives, student acquisition campaigns, back-to-school programs, internship engagements, and youth-focused events to enhance the bank’s presence in the youth market.
6. Identify and cultivate partnerships within the creative, entertainment, sports, and gig economies, collaborating with the Creative Economy Specialist to transform these ecosystem opportunities into banking relationships.
7. Champion financial literacy, digital learning, and entrepreneurship programs that foster financial inclusion and create pathways for young entrepreneurs to access the bank’s savings, transactional, and lending solutions.
8. Partner with Marketing and Group Communications to devise and execute youth-focused engagement strategies that bolster brand relevance, customer attraction, and the bank’s competitive positioning.
9. Oversee the structuring and management of partnership agreements, MoUs, commercial arrangements, and performance commitments in conjunction with Legal, Risk, and Compliance departments.
10. Establish frameworks for measuring partnership performance, including customer acquisition, onboarding conversion, active usage, deposits, revenue contribution, and overall return on partnership investments.

1. A minimum of 5 to 8 years of experience in business development, partnerships, institutional banking, fintech, or youth and education programs, with exposure to the creative or gig economy being an advantage.
2. Proven expertise in strategic partnership development, negotiation, and commercial structuring.
3. Familiarity with embedded finance, wallet-as-a-service, and digital onboarding models.
4. Strong capabilities in partnership performance measurement and return on investment analysis.
5. Demonstrated experience in campaign, program, and event delivery.
6. Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, even without direct authority.
7. Possess an entrepreneurial, relationship-driven, and results-oriented leadership style.
8. In-depth knowledge of the youth, education, creative, and gig economies.
9. A Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Management, Finance, Commerce, or a related field.
10. Relevant professional qualification(s) in banking or financial services.
11. A Master’s Degree in Business Management, Finance, Commerce, Marketing, or a related field is a plus.
12. Membership in a recognized professional body relevant to banking, insurance, or financial services is a plus.