Research Scientist – Financial Inclusion and Financial Services

IBM Research - Africa develops innovations that are market appropriate in the African context in areas such as financial inclusion, healthcare, water, energy, education, human mobility and e-government. In our work on financial inclusion our goal is to develop original and novel solutions to propagate access to financial services by employing data driven approaches on non-traditional data sources. We are focused on innovations that help the unbanked and under-banked gain access to formal financial services such as payments, savings, credit, insurance, and investments. Our approach to this challenge is to develop technologies that tackle the hurdles that prevent access to these financial services. Examples of these hurdles include the dearth of digital financial data, high transaction costs, documentation requirements for opening an account and distance to points of service. Members of the Financial Inclusion team have backgrounds in Computer Science, software engineering, analytics, banking, and consulting. In addition, the group leverages the expertise from other IBM scientists in sister research labs such as Watson, Zurich, Almaden, and Shanghai.

IBM Research – Africa is IBM’s 12th global research lab and the first industrial research facility on the continent of Africa. With facilities in Kenya and South Africa, IBM Research – Africa is driving innovation and socio-economic development by developing commercially-viable solutions to transform lives and enable new business opportunities in key areas such as water, agriculture, transportation, healthcare, financial inclusion, education, energy, security and e-government.

IBM Research – Africa is actively engaging with Africa’s innovation ecosystem to kick start new business opportunities and ensure the full commercial viability of its solutions and services. Entrepreneurs, developers and business partners are a key part of IBM’s research programs and go-to-market strategy in Africa.
Employing some of the best scientists from around the world, many from the African diaspora, IBM Research is a key investor in skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Africa and is partnering with universities across the continent to develop and hire top talent.

Required

• Master's Degree
• At least 1 year experience in Data Science or Statistics
• At least 1 year experience in Banking Product Development
• English: Fluen

Preferred

• At least 2 years experience in Data Science or Statistics
• At least 2 years experience in Banking Product Development

IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

Research Scientist – Financial Inclusion and Financial Services