Investments Associate, West Africa

Acumen West Africa seeks a committed and enthusiastic Investments Associate to join its Lagos- based team; we are seeking candidates with at least 4 years of experience in impact investing to help build and manage an investment portfolio of impact-driven early-stage companies across West Africa.

 About Acumen

Acumen is a global force of entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and social innovators working together to build a world based on dignity. We were founded by Jacqueline Novogratz on the radical idea that business, when cultivated with moral imagination, can break the cycle of poverty. We invest in transformational companies, build sustainable markets, and prepare leaders with the tools they need to create a more just and inclusive future. Since 2001, we have scaled companies and shaped markets in some of the hardest-to-reach communities on the planet, impacting over half-a-billion lives. 

About Acumen West Africa

The Investments Associate will be joining a small team managing and building a portfolio of game- changing companies focused on tackling poverty in West Africa. Since 2012, Acumen West Africa has invested in 13 companies reaching over 23M lives in the region. We are committed to the principles of inclusive capital and to growing a portfolio of locally founded businesses. The team is responsible for managing investments and finding, vetting and structuring new investments in companies that serve low- income West Africans in our two sectors of focus: Energy and Agriculture.

The Role

The Investments Associate will source and evaluate new investment opportunities, conduct due diligence on high potential opportunities, and assist with structuring deal terms and presenting to the Investment Committee. The Investments Associate will use their analytical skills to evaluate the growth and return potential of companies from both a financial and social impact perspective.

The Investments Associate will support data collection, analysis and reporting related to Acumen West Africa’s investment portfolio and its performance, fundraising and strategic partnership initiatives, and management of portfolio operations. They will contribute to actively building and cultivating Acumen West Africa networks in the impact investing communities and will contribute to developing insight and communication pieces for external audiences.

The Investments Associate will support the coordination of Acumen West Africa’s impact assessments, liaising with investee companies, the Insights and Strategy team, and external impact vendors.

The role reports to the Associate Director for Investing in West Africa.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Identifying investment opportunities and due diligence

• Identifying, cultivating, and reviewing a pipeline of early-stage investment opportunities providing critical services to communities in West Africa
• Conducting due diligence and investment analysis, including financial modeling, valuation review and structuring
• Preparing investment documentation for review by the Investments team before it is presented to the Acumen West Africa Investment Committee

Operations

• Work with the Acumen West Africa team to:
  • Collect, extract and document investment-specific and general insights from Acumen’s investments.
  • Analyze metrics data to identify patterns; and
  • Channel that data to outputs for investment decisions, marketing, and fundraising

Impact Assessments

• Work as coordinator of relevant impact assessments undertaken by Acumen West Africa, liaising as needed, with relationship managers, investee companies, global Insights & Strategy team and External service providers.

Qualifications & Skills:

• Bachelor's Degree in actuarial science, business administration, economics, or any related
• At least 4 years of experience in venture capital, private equity, or investment banking; management consulting or investment management, including experience with financial and operational due diligence of early-stage
• Superior financial and business analysis
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; ability to present arguments and analysis to Acumen management, partners, and investees.
• Ability to take initiative with research and analysis and produce valuable results in conditions of
• Familiarity with the social enterprise and impact investing sectors; demonstrated commitment to tackling challenges of poverty is preferred.
• Self-reflective and aligned with Acumen
• Permanently authorized to work in Nigeria

Location:

Lagos, Nigeria