Growth Manager – SME Segment

NCBA Bank Kenya Plc is a financial institution founded in 2019, offering banking and financial services. It collaborates with LOOP DFS to provide a comprehensive suite of financial services, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This role focuses on expanding the LOOPBIZ platform by collaborating with established financial institutions and mobile network operators to provide a full range of financial services. The position integrates payments, credit, product monetization, distribution, and marketing, with accountability for retention and growth strategies that ensure consistent revenue growth and customer loyalty within the SME segment. The successful candidate will collaborate with internal teams to understand SME behavior, including payment acceptance, collections, supplier and payroll payments, invoicing, receivables, working capital cycles, and multi-branch operations. They will develop retention-focused cross-selling models, revenue management plans, customer information management tools, loyalty programs, and Customer Value Proposition (CVP) enhancements specifically for SMEs. The role involves leading a team of SME Growth Officers to execute retention campaigns and credit qualification throughout the SME customer journey. Key objectives include increasing monthly active SME merchants and recurring revenue, optimizing customer lifetime value, reducing revenue churn, driving credit qualification (Overdraft, Term Loans), and expanding revenue within the SME portfolio. Additionally, the role oversees partnerships with banks and financial institutions utilizing LOOP Merchant as a platform, tracking and reporting on SME portfolio performance, and providing strategic insights to senior leadership.

1. Build the LOOP SME business to achieve revenue and positive gross margins according to the business plan, covering payment acceptance, collections, business payments, and credit.
2. Increase monthly recurring revenue and SME lifetime value by promoting the use of PDQ/POS and LOOP Till, encouraging feature adoption, transaction frequency, payment volumes, and average transaction values.
3. Boost expansion revenue through cross-selling LOOPBIZ products such as Overdrafts, Term Loans, stock and invoice financing, Kilimax, e-commerce, digital invoicing, and supplier and bulk payments.
4. Develop pricing and monetization strategies to optimize SME unit economics across high-volume goods and variable, recurring service-fee models.
5. Manage the cost of goods sold for all SME product lines to ensure efficiency.
6. Provide accurate weekly and monthly SME revenue reports.
7. Collaborate with the commercial analyst, ecosystems, product team, and Head of Payments to launch new SME products and revenue streams, including multi-branch merchant capabilities, supplier and distributor settlement, recurring billing, and working capital solutions.
8. Implement an SME retention framework that includes cross-sell models, revenue management plans, customer information tools, loyalty and rewards programs, and CVP enhancements.
9. Segment the SME market by business type (goods, services), size, turnover, transaction profile, product penetration, and lifecycle stage to target retention and growth initiatives effectively.
10. Execute SME business development activities, including forming partnerships with industry associations, distributors, supply chains, retail and hospitality chains, and healthcare and education networks.
11. Work with marketing and product teams to research SME needs (collections, supplier and payroll payments, invoicing, receivables, inventory, working capital) and co-own the SME product roadmap.
12. Manage relationships with SME-linked partners and suppliers, including ecosystem partners, aggregators, and partner financial institutions.
13. Collaborate with the Grow/Credit team to offer SMEs existing and new credit products (Overdraft, Term Loans, stock and invoice financing) that drive collections into the LOOP wallet, meet working capital needs, and improve retention.
14. Drive the adoption and utilization of PDQ/POS and LOOP Till across SME outlets and branches for high-frequency digital acceptance.
15. Implement churn-reduction strategies addressing seasonal demand, cash-flow gaps, delayed receivables, supplier payment delays, and multi-branch reconciliation.
16. Monitor competitor activities in SME acquiring and business banking across banks, FinTechs, POS providers, and payment aggregators.
17. Establish engines, structures, and procedures to support SME growth throughout the customer journey: acquisition, activation, engagement, credit qualification, and retention.
18. Implement, review, and achieve SME customer satisfaction indices.
19. Ensure compliance with audit, compliance, and risk standards across the SME business and related FinTech and partner-bank arrangements.
20. Champion continuous improvement for efficient SME engagement and accurate service delivery, and participate in relevant organizational projects.
21. Maintain high performance and engagement within the SME Growth Officers team.
22. Prevent business disruption from staff shortages through sound resourcing and succession planning.
23. Keep competency assessments and development plans current and actioned, enhancing understanding of SME business models, credit and cash-flow dynamics, and goods and services ecosystems.

1. University Degree in Business, Commerce, Finance, Economics, Computer Science, or a related field.
2. An MBA or Master’s degree in a business field is desirable.
3. Customer Growth Management Nano Degree Certification is an added advantage.
4. Digital Marketing Nano Degree Certification is desirable.
5. At least 8 years of work experience, with a minimum of three years in a senior commercial management role within a Fintech, Bank, or Telecommunications organization.
6. Direct experience in Merchant lending, digital credit, or retail financial services growth.