Business Development Manager – Commercial & Merchant Growth

Business Development Manager – Commercial & Merchant Growth Position Title: Business Development Manager Reports To: Operations Manager Location: Onsite – Nairobi, Kenya Department: Sales & Marketing Position Summary The Business Development Manager is responsible for driving revenue growth through new business acquisition, strategic partnerships, merchant growth, and market expansion for the Company's payment and software solutions. The role owns the commercial lifecycle from lead generation and deal closure through merchant onboarding, activation, transaction growth, and retention, while providing direction and support to Business Development Executives. The ideal candidate is an experienced fintech/payments business developer with strong commercial relationships, an active professional network, and a proven ability to originate and close business. Key Responsibilities Develop and execute business development strategies aligned with the Company's revenue, growth, and market expansion objectives. Own and deliver monthly and quarterly revenue targets for assigned products, markets, and accounts. Generate and convert new business through networking, referrals, partnerships, prospecting, market research, and other outbound channels. Build and maintain relationships with merchants, corporates, banks, fintechs, SACCOs, remittance companies, and other strategic partners. Manage the full sales cycle from prospecting and qualification through proposal, negotiation, contracting, onboarding, and activation. Identify and close strategic partnerships that create measurable revenue or transaction opportunities. Grow the performance of acquired merchants by driving activation, transaction volumes, retention, and reactivation of inactive merchants. Maintain a healthy and accurate sales pipeline and ensure all opportunities and activities are properly recorded in the CRM. Work closely with Operations, Compliance, Finance, and Technical teams to ensure smooth and compliant onboarding and implementation. Provide coaching and commercial direction to Business Development Executives and support achievement of team targets. Monitor sales and merchant performance, identify gaps, and take corrective action where targets are not being met. Provide weekly reports on pipeline, revenue, new business, merchant activation, transaction performance, and key risks. Ensure all business development activities comply with Company policies, regulatory requirements, and approved commercial processes. Perform any other duties reasonably assigned by management that are consistent with the role and the Company's business objectives Key Performance Indicators Revenue & New Business: Revenue achieved against target and value of new business generated. Merchant Acquisition & Growth: New merchants acquired, activation, transaction growth, retention, and reactivation. Sales Effectiveness: Qualified self-sourced opportunities and lead-to-deal conversion. Pipeline Management: Pipeline value, quality, and CRM accuracy. Strategic Partnerships: Partnerships and opportunities contributing to revenue or transaction growth. Requirements Qualifications & Experience Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, Economics, or a related field. 5+ years' experience in business development, sales, partnerships, or commercial roles. Proven experience in fintech, payments, banking, financial services, SaaS, or related technology businesses. Demonstrated track record of achieving or exceeding revenue and business development targets. Strong professional network and demonstrated ability to generate business through relationships, referrals, and networking. Existing relationships within the fintech, payments, banking, SACCO, remittance, telecommunications, or corporate sectors will be an advantage. Strong understanding of payment solutions, merchant acquisition, sales processes, and client onboarding. Excellent negotiation, presentation, communication, and relationship management skills. Experience mentoring or supervising sales/business development staff. Proficiency in CRM and sales management tools. Key Competencies Business Development & Hunter Mentality: Proactive ability to identify, pursue, and close new business opportunities. Networking & Relationship Building: Ability to build and leverage professional relationships to generate business and strengthen client partnerships. Commercial Acumen: Strong understanding of customer value, pricing, revenue drivers, and commercial negotiations. Fintech & Payments Knowledge: Practical understanding of fintech, payment solutions, merchant ecosystems, and industry dynamics. Execution & Accountability: Takes ownership of targets, pipeline, deals, merchant performance, and follows through to achieve results.