Job #: | 121270 |
Title: | Investment Officer - Microfinance |
Job Stream: | Investment |
Location: | Nairobi, Kenya |
Closing Date: | 06/17/2012 |
Background / General description: | |
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries as a way to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. In addition to its investment work, IFC provides a number of advisory services funded through different donors as well as its own income-generating activities, by developing targeted programs and projects to strengthen financial institutions and markets. IFC & Microfinance: Financial inclusion encompasses the range, quality and availability of financial services to the underserved and the financially excluded. Some 2.7 billion adults – almost 70 percent of the population in developing countries – have no access to formal financial services. IFC’s financial inclusion efforts focus not only on the financially excluded but also on the underserved micro-and small enterprises amd low-income populations in developing countries. Since pioneering commercial microfinance in the early 1990s, IFC has continued to lead innovation in microfinance, using developments in technology, financial products, and policy to help financial institutions reach a greater number of people in a more cost-effective way. IFC’s goal for microfinance is to scale up access to a range of high quality financial services for underserved populations, maximizing development impact and ensuring institutional sustainability. IFC achieves this goal by effectively combining investment and advisory services to a range of financial intermediaries. IFC is the World Bank Group’s lead investor in microfinance, and is one of the leading multilateral investors in terms of outreach to microfinance institutions, working with more than 100 institutions in over 60 countries. As of June 2011, IFC’s investee clients had an outstanding portfolio of nearly 8 million micro loans, worth nearly $12.6 billion. IFC is also leading global investors in terms of volume. In FY11, IFC committed $382 million in 42 projects with financial institutions. As of June 2011, IFC had a committed microfinance portfolio worth of $1.2 billion. A central piece of IFC’s strategy for Africa involves the creation of microfinance capacity in countries where there is little or no supply of microfinance services. To this end, IFC has set up a program to provide investment resources and advisory services to support the creation and expansion of early stage specialized microfinance institutions throughout the region. It also support the transformation of microfinance institutions into banks and the efforts of commercial banks to develop microfinance product lines. The Job: IFC is looking for an investment officer to support its microfinance program in Africa, with an emphasis on East Africa. The person will be part of IFC’s microfinance team in the region, which currently consists of 8 staff (3 investment and 5 advisory), and will spend most of his/her time originating, appraising, structuring and supervising individual microfinance investments. | |
Duties and Accountabilities: | |
The investment officer will primarily focus on East Africa but should be able and willing to work throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. As part of his/her responsibilities, the investment officer will: Identify, appraise, negotiate and structure microfinance investments that combine financial return and development impact. Review, analyze and monitor the financial and operating performance of microfinance clients; handle disbursements, shareholder decisions, waivers and other client interactions. Build and maintain strong relationships with sponsors, clients, co-investors and multilateral partners involved in microfinance. Ensure close integration with IFC’s microfinance advisory services in East Africa. Actively contribute to microfinance strategy formulation and pipeline planning in SSA. Actively support knowledge sharing and building of microfinance expertise in IFC. | |
Selection Criteria: | |
6+ years of relevant work experience that includes: ▫ Substantial experience in identifying, analyzing, negotiating, structuring and presenting investments, preferably both debt and equity. ▫ Substantial experience in analyzing and evaluating microfinance institutions that are built on microenterprise lending to individuals and/or groups. Solid understanding of the operational dimensions of microfinance institutions; good understanding of related topics a plus (for example mobile banking, regulatory frameworks, etc). Substantial knowledge of microfinance sectors in East African countries as well as global trends and developments. Substantial awareness of advisory interventions in financial/microfinance institutions. Excellent written and verbal English; proficiency in French a plus. A Masters degree in business administration, finance, economics or international affairs, with strong emphasis on finance related topics. Demonstrated motivatation to confront the opportunities and challenges of working in Sub Saharan Africa to achieve sustainable development. The position is likely to require frequent travel across Sub-Saharan Africa. | |
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Investment Officer - Microfinance- Nairobi, Kenya-
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