Lead, Marketplace Development

Department: Financing and Market Linkage Solutions

Reports To: Head, AgriTech

About Kifiya:

Kifiya is an AI-powered ecosystem technology company specializing in intelligent data-driven decisioning, financial services, digital agriculture, and smart mobility infrastructure solutions. For over a decade, we have built robust technological infrastructures and implemented transformative initiatives that address market failures.
We empower MSMEs, smallholder farmers, and low- to middle-income consumers by providing access to financial services and markets. Kifiya is scaling its technology infrastructure to create a more inclusive and sustainable future in Africa.

Over the past 14 years, Kifiya has grown from a startup into a leader in digital financial services and AI-driven technology, showcasing the power of data and innovation to drive meaningful change.

Business Unit Description

Responsible for scaling ecosystem-driven financial and market access solutions, the unit oversees the national agent and merchant network, agritech and agri-financing solutions, insurance distribution, and bank growth and partnership initiatives.

FMLS enables banks, and other ecosystem partners reach MSMEs, smallholder farmers, and underserved consumers through AI-enabled decisioning, and other innovative platforms. It owns growth, monetization, and partner performance across multi-bank and multi-sector ecosystems, translating Kifiya’s technology infrastructure into scalable, sustainable and inclusive market solutions.

Position Summary

The Lead, Market Development is responsible for expanding, commercializing, and scaling AgTech solutions across priority agricultural value chains. The role focuses on market development, partnership building, and farmer adoption of digital agriculture, agri-financing, and market linkage platforms.

The position plays a critical role in translating AgTech products into viable market solutions by strengthening off-taker and supplier networks, supporting contract farming models, and enabling farmer-centric service bundling across inputs, finance, advisory, and market access.

Key Responsibilities

Market Expansion and Value Chain Development

• Identify and prioritize high-potential agricultural value chains and commodities.
• Design and execute market entry and scale-up strategies for AgTech solutions.
• Conduct market assessments, ecosystem mapping, and farmer segmentation.
• Develop farmer aggregation and supply network models.
• Identify geographic expansion opportunities aligned with national and regional priorities.

Partnership and Ecosystem Development

• Build and manage partnerships with:
o Off-takers and agro-processors
o Input suppliers and agro-dealers
o Financial institutions and MFIs
o Government agriculture offices
o Development partners and NGOs
o Negotiate commercial agreements and collaboration framework
o Strengthen private-sector participation in contract farming and structured markets.

Commercialization of AgTech Solutions

• Drive adoption and scale-up of:
o eVoucher and digital input distribution systems
o Digital farmer platforms
o Agricultural and value-chain financing products
o Market linkage and contract farming platforms
o Advisory, climate, and agronomic intelligence tools
• Develop go-to-market strategies for farmers and value chain actors
• Design bundled service offerings combining inputs, finance, advisory, and market access.

Business Growth and Revenue Development

• Build and manage commercial pipelines for AgTech solutions.
• Lead commercial negotiations with ecosystem partners.
• Identify new revenue streams and monetization opportunities.
• Support pricing strategy development and cost-recovery models.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Product and Technology teams on solution design and iteration.
• Coordinate with Agri-Finance teams on product structuring and rollout.
• Engage Data and Analytics units to inform targeting, performance tracking, and optimization.
• Align with Field Operations teams to ensure execution quality and farmer engagement.

Market Intelligence and Strategy Support

• Monitor AgTech, agriculture, and financing market trends.
• Track competitor activity and emerging ecosystem models.
• Provide structured insights to inform product roadmaps and expansion strategies.
• Support AgTech strategic planning and business case development.

Key Outputs

• Expanded AgTech services across priority agricultural value chains.
• Increased farmer onboarding, activity, and ecosystem participation.
• Signed and operational commercial partnerships across the value chain.
• Increased transaction volumes and sustainable revenue growth.
• Strengthened supply reliability and execution quality for contract farming programs.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Business Administration, Development Studies, or related fields.
• Master’s degree is an advantage.

Experience

• 8 to 12 years of experience in agricultural value chain development, agribusiness market development, AgTech, or agricultural financing.
• Hands-on experience with contract farming, farmer aggregation, or structured markets.
• Strong exposure to rural and smallholder farming systems.
• Experience within the Ethiopian agricultural ecosystem strongly preferred.

Core Competencies

Technical

• Agricultural value chain and market systems analysis
• AgTech and digital agriculture commercialization
• Contract farming and structured market models
• Understanding of agri-financing and bundled services

Business

• Market development and partnership building
• Commercial negotiation and deal structuring
• Strategic planning and opportunity identification
• Stakeholder and ecosystem management

Behavioral

• Strong field engagement capability
• Entrepreneurial and results-oriented mindset
• Problem-solving and adaptability
• Strong communication and relationship management