The Role
The COO will architect and execute Sabi's operating model, ensuring strategic alignment across business lines while leading multi-market operations. Responsibilities include enhancing business performance, managing operational frameworks, and establishing KPIs across teams and countries.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Sabi
Sabi exists to transform the way the world sources African commodities. We unlock the full potential of African trade by empowering informal merchants with the infrastructure, technology, financing, and services they need to scale and meet global demand.
Our mission is to bring transparency, reliability, and efficiency to fragmented commodity supply chains — connecting global buyers directly with the most qualified commodity producers on the continent.
We do this by offering an end-to-end operating system for trade — built for Africa’s realities but designed to meet or exceed global standards. Sabi helps merchants, traders, and buyers move goods faster, finance growth, ensure quality, and unlock opportunity—even amid political or market uncertainty.
Our mission is to bring transparency, reliability, and efficiency to fragmented commodity supply chains — connecting global buyers directly with the most qualified commodity producers on the continent.
We do this by offering an end-to-end operating system for trade — built for Africa’s realities but designed to meet or exceed global standards. Sabi helps merchants, traders, and buyers move goods faster, finance growth, ensure quality, and unlock opportunity—even amid political or market uncertainty.
Job
Summary
Do you lead with operational rigor, strategic clarity, and a bias for scale? As Chief Operating Officer (COO), you’ll be the architect and executor of Sabi’s operating model across all business lines, geographies, and products. You’ll work side-by-side with the CEO to align growth, execution, and infrastructure—ensuring every part of the business delivers measurable impact at scale.
Do you lead with operational rigor, strategic clarity, and a bias for scale? As Chief Operating Officer (COO), you’ll be the architect and executor of Sabi’s operating model across all business lines, geographies, and products. You’ll work side-by-side with the CEO to align growth, execution, and infrastructure—ensuring every part of the business delivers measurable impact at scale.
This is a defining executive role for a systems thinker who thrives in complexity, leads with excellence, and builds for the long term.
What
you will be doing
- Lead Sabi’s multi-product operating model, ensuring cohesion between strategy and execution across all functions
- Drive day-to-day business performance across the entire value chain—from field operations and logistics to partner onboarding, data, and compliance
- Design and implement operational frameworks that support high-growth scale while managing cost, quality, and risk
- Oversee Sabi’s local market operations teams, setting operational KPIs, SLAs, and delivery cadences across verticals and countries
- Serve as executive sponsor for high-stakes initiatives across Trace, Market, and Katsu—driving cross-functional alignment and outcomes
- Lead quarterly and annual business planning cycles, including goal-setting, forecasting, and resource prioritization
- Partner with Product, Engineering, and Commercial leadership to ensure operating models are tightly integrated with platform capabilities and user needs
- Build and lead a world-class team of operational leaders, instilling a culture of excellence, accountability, and innovation
Requirements
Special Skills and Qualifications
- 12-15 years of senior leadership experience in high-growth, operationally intensive environments
- Proven track record leading multi-market operations in emerging markets, ideally in commerce, fintech, or supply chain
- Strong experience designing scalable systems, managing P&L, and leading through complexity
- Expertise in building and optimizing distributed teams, especially across Africa
- Executive-level communication skills with the ability to influence board, investor, and partner-level stakeholders
- Advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) strongly preferred
Candidate Specification
- Motivated
by the mission of Sabi
- Pragmatic
with quantitative and analytical ability and attention to
detail
- Driven,
independent thinker and leader who can juggle multiple
projects simultaneously with fast-changing
priorities
- High
level of integrity and dependability with a strong sense of
urgency.
- A
focus on execution. Willing and able to get hands
dirty.
- Flexibility
to roll up your sleeves and attack problems and projects as
they arise, where you will need to set out a clear structure,
method and outcomes yourself.
Why Join Sabi
At Sabi, we’re more than a company—we’re a movement. Join a team of bold thinkers, builders, and doers working to reshape the future of global trade. We work at the edge of innovation in technology, commerce, and sustainability—and we do it with heart. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and help build the infrastructure that powers responsible trade in Africa and beyond, we’d love to hear from you.
Our Process:
- Prescreening
with the Talent team
- Interviews
and Case Assessments with the Hiring team.
- Follow
up interviews with Sabi Leadership team.
- Hiring
Decision
Benefits
- Rapid Career Growth
- Annual Training Budget
- Robust Health Coverage,
- Paid Time Off
- Fully-funded Team Bonding Activities
Skills Required
- 12-15 years of senior leadership experience in high-growth, operationally intensive environments
- Proven track record leading multi-market operations in emerging markets
- Strong experience designing scalable systems and managing P&L
- Expertise in building and optimizing distributed teams
- Executive-level communication skills
- Advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) strongly preferred
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The Company
What We Do
Sabi is an African technology company providing infrastructure for the distribution of goods and services, focusing on supply chain management, e-commerce, and financial services. It has pivoted to specialize in traceable commodity exports, including minerals and agricultural products.
