Investment Manager, Consumer and Industrials Equity (East Africa) at British International Investment

Investment Manager, Consumer and Industrials Equity (East Africa) at British International Investment… See details on how to apply for the opportunities available at British International Investment.

Descriptions;

We are a trusted investment partner to businesses in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Established in 1948, we are the UK’s development finance institution. We’ve been at the forefront of supporting companies that help to develop and emerging countries grow for the last 70 years.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Consumer & Industrials Group at BII covers equity investments in manufacturing, waste management, healthcare, education, retail & business services investments.
We are a team of 11 people. The majority of the team is based in London with the rest based in India and Egypt. We are looking to add more talented members on the ground in Africa.
Our typical equity investment is $20-200m of growth capital for the expansion of profitable companies with high quality management, although we do invest in exceptional earlier-stage companies when they are the leading players in the development of a rapidly growing new market.
Our investments are in Africa and South Asia (SAARC), and we have a particular focus on businesses that are in or expanding to the more economically challenged parts of those geographies as well as businesses with the potential for substantial job creation.
This is a unique opportunity to join a small but growing & entrepreneurial team within BII and be at the front-line of our markets.

Responsibilities

There are 5 levels in the team – Associate, Executive, Manager, Director, and Team Head. The team is flat and people at all levels are involved hands on and in real detail, and in representational work, both to Investment Committee and externally.

There are 3 parts to the job (at all levels):

Origination – sector mapping, finding & evaluating investment opportunities, and building and maintaining relationships with companies.
Execution – analysing companies in detail, conducting due diligence, navigating the Investment Committee process, agreeing legal terms.
Portfolio management – analysing companies in detail, preparing for Board meetings, helping the companies wherever we can, preparing for follow-on investments, roll-ups and/or exits.

As an Investment Manager, you will be a core member of the Team in building our consumers & industrials African portfolio. You will spend a majority of your time sourcing unique opportunities across Eastern Africa that align to our strategy (whilst looking at the wider SSA markets), meeting and maintaining relationships with stakeholders on the ground, managing and executing multiple deals. The role will also involve active portfolio management of the investments the team makes in the region.

We are looking to add an exceptional individual to our Team with excellent interpersonal skills, with high adaptability & ability to collaborate with highly driven and motivated colleagues. A core part of the role requires assisting the Team in developing our insight and knowledge of key sectors we cover within these markets. Where required, you will help facilitate introductions to the Team and help advance the Team’s pipeline.

The role will also require an ability to maintain strong relationships with functional and product teams across BII such as corporate debt, ESG, development impact etc based out of London.

The candidate

Background, skills, aptitude

Suitable relevant experience in finance / corporate finance, investment advisory from either a Private Equity or Investment Banking background; or else corporate development within industry or equivalent role. This must include a professional track record in private equity and investing
Proven deal track record especially in end-to-end deal management and leading relevant workstreams (due diligence, valuation, legal drafting, internal investment committee process etc)
Highly desirable if can demonstrate experience in portfolio management including involvement in the boards of portfolio companies, portfolio coaching, monitoring and reporting
Experience in investing in companies in African markets highly valued, especially if experience is Kenya or the region
Previous deal experience in manufacturing & consumer investments desirable but not necessary
A genuine interest and appreciation of criticality and relevance of sustainability and development impact within the investing mandate
Strong origination capacity of proprietary investments
Have existing strong local & regional network with banks, financial institutions, fund managers and investors, strategic corporate investors, companies and entrepreneurs etc
Excellent commercial judgement and financial analysis skills, including rigorous quantitative and deal structuring skills with strong mastery of financial & operational modelling
The individual must possess the following characteristics:
Highly fluent in English
Exceptional attitude and excellent communication (written and verbal) skills.
Flexible with frequent travelling
Be inquisitive, tenacious, and highly driven
To be self-motivated and work independently
Have exceptional interpersonal skills and be a great team player
Ability to build and maintain relationships & network
Very good commercial acumen and intuition
Creative and solution-finder – our markets are complex and coupled with our impact mission requires sometimes thinking out of the box