Presales Executive – Francophone Africa

The Presales Executive for Francophone Africa is a key bilingual commercial position, providing essential support to Marezi's sales teams throughout French-speaking African regions. This individual will be responsible for crafting bids, proposals, and tender responses in both English and French. A core part of the role involves conducting product demonstrations for prospective clients in Francophone territories and overseeing Proof-of-Concept (POC) engagements in markets such as the DRC, Senegal, and Ivory Coast. The ideal candidate must be fluent in French, possess strong commercial acumen, be confident in client interactions, and have a deep understanding of how enterprise technology decisions are made in Francophone African markets.

1. Identify and monitor tender opportunities across various procurement portals, government listings, banking and healthcare institutions, and donor-funded platforms in target Francophone markets.
2. Prepare and submit comprehensive RFPs, RFQs, RFIs, EOIs, and formal tender responses in both English and French, ensuring compliance with OHADA frameworks and local procurement regulations.
3. Develop bilingual technical and commercial proposals, including cost estimates, solution descriptions, scope of work, and capability statements, specifically tailored for Francophone market requirements.
4. Conduct product demonstrations of the entire Marezi suite (QMS, VQMS, Self-Service Kiosks, Digital Signage, Appointment Booking, CX CRM, CX Portal) for potential clients in the banking, healthcare, and enterprise sectors across Francophone markets.
5. Plan, coordinate, and manage Proof-of-Concept (POC) engagements from initial scoping through to execution, including bilingual documentation, gathering client feedback, and ensuring commercial follow-through.
6. Support client discovery and needs analysis sessions to effectively position the most suitable Marezi solution for each Francophone prospect.
7. Prepare accurate bilingual quotations in collaboration with country sales representatives, adhering to approved pricing and commercial frameworks.
8. Maintain a tender calendar and compliance matrix to ensure all deadlines are met for concurrent multi-market submissions.
9. Manage and update CRM records in Zoho, ensuring accurate deal stages, proposal statuses, and activity logs for all Francophone accounts.
10. Produce regular reports in English detailing bid activity, demo pipeline, POC status, and win/loss analysis for leadership review.

1. Fluency in French (C1 minimum) for both written and spoken communication, as daily tasks involve drafting proposals, leading demonstrations, and client communication in French.
2. Strong English communication skills are essential for internal reporting, leadership updates, and cross-team coordination.
3. Proven experience in preparing bids, tenders, RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs, with direct ownership of the entire submission process.
4. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel for pricing models and trackers, Word for bilingual proposal formatting, and PowerPoint for presentations and demonstrations.
5. Hands-on experience with a CRM system for pipeline and activity management, with Zoho CRM experience being highly preferred.
6. Confidence and strong presence in client-facing settings, including leading demonstrations, presentations, and POC reviews in both English and French.
7. Bachelor’s degree in Business, IT, Engineering, Telecommunications, Commerce, or a related field.
8. Minimum of 2 years of experience in a presales, bids, or commercial coordination role, preferably within an ICT, technology, or enterprise solutions environment.
9. Experience conducting product demonstrations or supporting POC engagements in a technology context is a significant advantage.
10. Familiarity with Francophone African procurement environments, including OHADA legal frameworks, donor-funded processes (e.g., World Bank, UNDP), or government tendering in countries like DRC, Senegal, or Ivory Coast.
11. A background in sales or account management is a meaningful advantage.
12. Must be outspoken, confident, and commercially energetic, comfortable leading client meetings and demonstrations in French independently.
13. Culturally aware and adaptable to different Francophone markets, understanding varied commercial approaches required across countries like DRC, Senegal, and Ivory Coast.
14. Highly organized and deadline-driven, capable of managing multiple concurrent bids across various markets.
15. A proactive self-starter who can identify opportunities and drive engagement independently within a remote, distributed team.
16. Collaborative and dependable, as sales representatives in Francophone markets rely on this role for professional, accurate bilingual output delivered on time.
17. Direct lived or professional experience in DRC, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, or another Francophone African market is advantageous.
18. Existing relationships with enterprise banking or healthcare clients in Francophone Africa are a plus.
19. Familiarity with donor-funded procurement processes (World Bank, UNDP, USAID, AFD) is also an advantage.