Investment Manager

About Pharo Foundation

Pharo Foundation is a privately funded organisation working towards a vibrant, productive, and self-reliant Africa. We invest in economic development programmes and ventures to deliver sustainable impact—outcomes that continue long after the initial investment, rather than gains that require constant external funding to maintain.

Our model links two engines together: ventures create jobs and economic activity, while their profits help fund the development programmes that strengthen the conditions for future growth. Our work spans education, water, and productivity across Ethiopia, Somaliland, Kenya, and Rwanda, employing more than 800 people.

In Ethiopia, Pharo Ventures is building impact-oriented businesses in edible oil processing and health diagnostics, supported by an out grower programme engaging hundreds of smallholder farmers. On the development side, the Foundation runs education and water programmes across multiple regions, with a strong commitment to local impact and economic empowerment.

Position Summary

This is a high-impact role that will serve as the analytical engine for Pharo Foundation’s investment activities in Ethiopia. As part of the Impact Team — and reporting to the Head of Research and Evaluation, Ethiopia — you will lead the end-to-end lifecycle of venture opportunities, from initial ideation and financial modelling through to business proposal development and investment committee submission.

You will serve as the bridge between the Impact Team’s analytical rigor and Pharo Ventures’ execution focus, ensuring that every investment decision in Ethiopia is grounded in evidence, commercial rigor, and a clear view of what will work.

You will work with a high degree of autonomy, owning your workstreams from initial framing through to final recommendation. You will present your work directly to senior leadership and the Investment Committee, defend your assumptions, and be expected to push back when the evidence warrants it.

For the right person, this is an accelerant. You will build an analytical track record across investment, strategy, and impact, with real decisions depending on your work.

Financial modelling and investment analysis

• Build and maintain detailed financial models for new and existing ventures, covering unit economics, multi-year P&Ls, break-even analysis, working capital, and scenario planning.
• Translate modelling assumptions into clear commercial judgements. The core question you answer: does this business work, under what conditions, and what does Pharo need to believe?
• Conduct valuation analysis and sensitivity testing to support Investment Committee submissions.

Ideation

• Lead the ideation process for new venture opportunities in Ethiopia, working collaboratively with programme teams, sector experts, and field staff to generate and refine high-impact business concepts.
• Facilitate workshops and design sessions to translate the Foundation’s mission goals into viable, investable business models.Market sizing and commercial due diligence
• Conduct rapid, structured assessments of new business opportunities, including market sizing (TAM/SAM/SOM), competitor and supply chain analysis, regulatory assessment, and identification of key value drivers and risks.
• Lead due diligence processes, including financial, operational, and impact due diligence.

Business proposal development and investment committee submission

• Develop comprehensive business proposals from the ground up, including market analysis, operational models, detailed financial projections, risk assessments, and impact case studies.
• Prepare and present high-quality investment memoranda to the Investment Committee, articulating strategic rationale, risk mitigation plans, and alignment with the Foundation’s missions.
• Manage the end-to-end proposal development timeline from initial concept through final submission, coordinating internal and external stakeholders to meet submission deadlines.
• Support the structuring, negotiation, and closing of investments and strategic partnerships, ensuring all legal, financial, and regulatory compliance is documented for committee approval.

Flexible contribution to team priorities

• As part of the Impact Team, you pitch in where needed.
• This may include supporting the design of development programmes that relate to ventures, contributing analytical support to research and evaluation workstreams, or helping with urgent priorities, across the Foundation, as they arise.
• You respond quickly to evolving needs while maintaining focus on your core investment responsibilities.

Stakeholder engagement

• Build and maintain strong relationships with co-investors, development partners, regulators, entrepreneurs, and other key stakeholders in Ethiopia.
• Represent Pharo Foundation at conferences, investor forums, and industry events.
• Travel frequently to field locations across Ethiopia and, when required, to other country portfolios. Being present where the work happens is part of the role.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, business administration, or a quantitative discipline. Strong academic record required.
• Master’s degree in a relevant field (MBA, MSc Finance, Economics) or CFA designation highly desirable.

Professional experience

• 6–8 years of progressive experience in management consulting, investment analysis, private equity, venture capital, corporate finance, or venture building/corporate innovation.
• Proven track record of taking early-stage ideas or concepts and developing them into fully structured, investable business proposals that have been presented to and approved by an Investment Committee or equivalent governance body.
• Candidates from Africa-focused advisory or consulting firms, impact investors, or DFIs are particularly well-suited.

Ethiopia-specific requirements

• Deep understanding of the Ethiopian business and regulatory landscape. Fluency in Amharic and English required.
• Established networks in Ethiopia’s private sector, government, or financial institutions.
• Proven experience working in sub-Saharan Africa.

Technical skills

• Exceptional financial modelling and valuation skills. You build models from first principles, understand what drives a business, and can model it cleanly and transparently.
• Strong analytical and data skills (Excel proficiency is required; familiarity with financial databases a plus).
• Exceptional business writing and presentation skills, with ability to craft compelling narratives for senior committee audiences.