Business Development Manager

Job Description Business Development & Partnerships Manager Reports To Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Location Fully Remote, based in Lagos, Nigeria (Established relationships within the Lagos technology ecosystem are expected.) Role Overview The Mandate Build and run the acquisition engine that will help the Company reach 1,000 clients by December 2026. The successful candidate will simultaneously drive multiple high-volume acquisition channels, including Venture Capital (VC) portfolios, accelerator cohorts, and direct founder outreach. These channels are expected to run in parallel—not sequentially. Primary Performance Measures • Number of qualified commercial conversations generated each month. • Number of Venture Capital firms in active partnership discussions. Scope of the Role Role Boundary This role is responsible for lead generation and qualification only. The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) is responsible for closing qualified opportunities. Maintaining this distinction is essential; the role should not drift into sales closing or account management responsibilities. Candidate Profile We are looking for someone who has successfully built high-volume outbound pipelines from scratch and can demonstrate measurable results. The ideal candidate has first-hand knowledge of the African technology ecosystem and already maintains relationships within it. They understand that scaling client acquisition is driven by leverage—where one VC relationship unlocks an entire investment portfolio, or one accelerator partnership opens access to an entire cohort. Rather than focusing on one-off conversations, they think strategically in terms of channels, partnerships, and scalable acquisition systems. Key Responsibilities • The entire top-of-funnel acquisition strategy across VC portfolios, accelerator cohorts, and direct founder outreach. • Building and managing strategic VC partnerships that generate recurring referral opportunities and portfolio-wide client acquisition. • Maintaining disciplined qualification processes, ensuring every opportunity has a defined stage, documented next steps, and complete CRM visibility. • Delivering qualified, well-contextualized opportunities to the Chief Commercial Officer for closure. What Success Looks Like • Demonstrate personal relationships with founders, investors, or accelerator leaders and clearly explain how those relationships were built. • Operate from a structured, repeatable outreach methodology rather than relying on ad hoc networking. • Clearly distinguish between qualifying leads and nurturing opportunities, reflecting commercial discipline. • Be motivated by outcome-based performance expectations and accountability. Disqualifying Indicators • Have relied primarily on inbound enquiries or warm referrals without building outbound pipelines from scratch. • Describe networking activities instead of systematic client acquisition strategies. • Treat Business Development and Account Management as interchangeable functions. • Cannot demonstrate practical knowledge of the African Venture Capital and startup ecosystem, which is central to this role. Requirements Required Experience • Minimum of 5+ years of experience in Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, or Professional Services Sales, preferably within fintech, compliance, legal, advisory, or related sectors. • Proven experience generating high-volume outbound pipelines, supported by measurable performance results. • A strong track record of building relationships with fund managers, investors, or other senior decision-makers—not solely founders. • Deep familiarity with the African Venture Capital and Accelerator ecosystem, supported by genuine professional relationships.