Investment Manager
Location: Remote within ±3 hours of the EAT time zone. Preference for candidates in Africa or countries where Pula has an office (Ethiopia, Maputo, Uganda, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Lusaka, Kenya).
Reports to: President & Co-Founder
About Pula Xcelerator
The Pula Xcelerator is Pula’s internal M&A and strategic investment vehicle, responsible for identifying, evaluating, and accelerating high-potential businesses across Africa. We enable selected companies to scale using our distribution, data, and partnership networks.
We focus on enterprises generating at least $500K in annual revenue in agriculture, insurance, financial services, or technology. Through structured acceleration, funding pathways, and hands-on operational support, the Xcelerator helps ambitious teams turn proven solutions into continent-wide scale.
About the Role
This role is for someone who thrives in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment. You will identify and evaluate high-potential businesses, engage with founders, and play a key role in shaping the systems that define the Xcelerator.
As an Investment Manager, you will take ownership of the investment process, from sourcing opportunities through to evaluation and execution.
What matters most is your commercial insight and entrepreneurial experience, rather than a purely formal finance background. You will scout opportunities, perform due diligence, and lead investment recommendations.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead evaluation of prospective companies, focusing on commercial potential, scalability, and strategic fit
- Conduct end-to-end due diligence across financials, operations, and business fundamentals
- Engage directly with founders and senior management to test assumptions and assess capability
- Reconstruct financials where needed and lead preparation of investment memos for decision-making
- Build, own, and actively manage a pipeline of high-potential companies
- Take ownership of deal execution, including structuring and closing
- Operate as a hands-on execution lead, personally driving outputs
- Contribute to designing and refining internal systems to track and accelerate portfolio companies
Candidate Profile
- 10+ years’ experience with a strong entrepreneurial or commercial investment background:
- Venture capital, private equity, or corporate M&A experience
- Strategic investment or corporate development experience
- Former co-founder/startup operator
- Demonstrated experience in investment transactions (sourcing, diligence, negotiation and execution)
- Skilled at evaluating business models, unit economics, and growth potential
- Comfortable engaging directly with founders and senior stakeholders
- Experienced in small, high-trust teams, taking full ownership of projects
- Hands-on, execution-focused; not purely advisory
- Formal finance qualifications helpful, but practical experience prioritized
Personal Attributes
- Entrepreneurial and commercially curious
- High ownership and accountability
- Comfortable with ambiguity and able to create structure
- Clear thinker, able to explain insights without jargon
What Pula Will Bring to the Table
Growth Potential:
At Pula, we are building the systems that enable farmers worldwide to access insurance, using technology to insure the previously uninsured. We operate across multiple markets and continue to scale rapidly.
Market Leader:
Pula is a leading player in its category with significant reach and impact.
Strong Backing:
Backed by leading venture capital investors and global institutions, with a strong track record.
Impact & Opportunity:
A high-impact role with the opportunity to shape investment strategy and scale businesses across the continent.
Leadership & Culture:
A culture of transparency, respect, execution, and continuous development.
Purpose:
A rare opportunity to combine professional growth with meaningful impact in emerging markets.
Remuneration:
Competitive base salary aligned to seniority, with performance-based upside and long-term incentives.
To learn more about Pula:
TED Talk: Crop Insurance, an Idea Worth Seeding
New York Times: He Grew up on a Farm. Now, He Helps Protect Them
The Economist: The Poor, Who Most Need Insurance, Are Least Likely to Have It
Skills Required
- 5 - 7 years' work experience
- Strong commercial background in private equity, corporate M&A, transaction advisory, or strategic finance
- Formal education or professional qualifications (e.g. Finance, Accounting, Economics, CFA, ACA, ACCA)
- Experience working in internal M&A, investments, or corporate development team
- Advanced ability to interpret, rebuild, and interrogate financial statements
- Experience operating in small, high-trust teams
What We Do
Reimagining agricultural insurance to protect smallholders worldwide. At Pula, we are radically restructuring insurance, using technology and parametric insurance to insure the previously unbanked, uninsured, untapped market of 1.5 billion smallholders worldwide. We work across Africa and Asia, and in 2019 alone, we facilitated crop and livestock insurance cover to 1.1mln farmers and have offered our products in 11 markets . Since starting in 2015, our products have impacted over 4.9 Million smallholder farmers. Our Founders work in insurance has been recognized by several international awards including the Financial Times/IFC Award for Sustainable Finance, the Singapore Fintech Festival, Womens World Banking, Credit Suisse, and InsureTech3.0. We partner with organisations across multiple value chains, from agriculture to renewable energy including Fortune 500 Companies, Global NGO’s, Microfinance Instructions, Research Institutions, and Governments to help provide households the protection they need in an increasingly unpredictable climate.
