Investor Engagement Associate – Apply Today!

The Investor Engagement Associate role is a mid-level position that offers an exciting opportunity for a motivated individual looking to progress their career in impact investing, particularly within gender-lens investing (GLI). Be part of a team that is helping to align high-potential African women-led/owned and feminist SMEs (WSMEs and FSMEs) and fund manager clients with the right capital providers—including development finance institutions (DFIs), impact funds, family offices, corporate funds, and philanthropists—to support their next stage of growth.

About Us:

Supivaa is a play on words. “Support” + “Vivre” (to live), thus “supporting life” in Franglais (French/English) – which are the two languages of Canada and the majority of African countries. It dawned on us…Supivaa = “Supporting the Divas in Africa” Thus, Supivaa was born.

Supivaa is an impact investment advisory firm rooted in agriculture, health, and solutions to climate change, with a strong focus on harnessing the power of gender-lens investing to advance SDG 5. With a network of global experts and African-based consultants, we offer both business development services and impact investment advisory solutions. We support business leaders through their key stages of development, whether they are first starting up or scaling out to raise impact and GLI capital. We also work with investors and programmatic partners looking to identify impactful opportunities in global growth markets and co-create solutions by supporting the design, deployment, and management of initiatives in line with their impact and GLI investment thesis.

We are a Canadian-African firm with offices in Vancouver and Nairobi. Our team operates across Africa. Supivaa’s founders and collaborators set out to support entrepreneurs in the next phase of their business growth and ensure that these businesses get the backing they need.

Role Introduction:

The Investor Engagement Associate will play a central role in identifying, selecting, preparing, and positioning high-potential African WSMEs, FSMEs, and fund manager clients for investment. The role requires a strong blend of analytical rigour, financial and investment acumen, relationship management, attention to detail, and strategic communication to ensure African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients are well-supported throughout their investment readiness and preparedness journey.

This role reports to Supivaa’s Managing Director.

This position will ideally be based in our Nairobi office with significant remote work flexibility offered through Supivaa’s hybrid (in-person and remote) working model. If based in Kenya, candidates must possess a valid authorisation to work in Kenya. 

Roles & Responsibilities:

Deal Sourcing

  • Identify and engage high-potential African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients through primary networks (e.g., existing relationships with business incubators, accelerators, innovation hubs, impact investment associations, and chambers of commerce, networking at industry events, and participation on digital platforms) and analysis of market and sector reports.
  • Evaluate alignment of prospective clients against Supivaa’s investment and impact criteria and other contextual factors. 
  • Track results in Supivaa’s internal database of prospective clients.
  • Write short briefing papers to persuade senior team members why Supivaa should take on a new African WSME, FSME, or fund manager client.

Investor Outreach

  • Identify and research prospective funders (DFIs, impact funds, family offices, corporate funds, philanthropists, etc.) with a high focus on investors aligned with African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients’ financing and impact needs.
  • Build and maintain a centralised funder database, capturing funders’ details, such as sector focus, ticket size, mandate, geographic scope, and past investment activity.
  • Prepare concise funder briefings and summary notes to support client readiness for outreach and engagement, while guiding and reviewing inputs from junior team members to ensure accuracy, quality, and consistency.
  • Draft and send outreach communications to targeted funders on behalf of clients, ensuring messages are tailored, timely, and professional.
  • Schedule and coordinate meetings between clients and potential funders, managing pre-reads, agendas, and follow-up actions.
  • Track and report on outreach progress, conversion rates, and investor engagement outcomes to inform strategy adjustments.

Relationship Management

  • Maintain accurate tracking systems to provide transparency on African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients’ and funders’ engagement levels.
  • Communicate regularly with African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients on their fundraising progress, blockers, and next steps with shortlisted prospective funders. Brief senior team members about clients’ updates.
  • Keep funders updated on African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients’ status and manage their expectations about recent performance changes.
  • Facilitate effective communication between African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients and funders to ensure smooth due diligence processes.

Due Diligence

  • Conduct financial and impact assessments (i.e. ESG, gender, and climate factors) to understand prospective African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients’ level of investment preparedness and readiness.
  • Support internal junior team members (Interns and Analysts)  in contributing to the underlying due diligence processes. 
  • Prepare evidence-based briefs to demonstrate the potential value of prospective clients to the senior team members.
  • Work with internal senior team members to define and finalise contracting terms for African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients.

Data Room Management

  • Support African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients in compiling and developing funders’ required documentation.
  • Organise data rooms to meet funders’ specifications.
  • Supervise internal junior team members supporting file preparation, navigation, and management.

Funder Marketing Collateral

  • Oversee the development of African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients’ marketing materials, including pitch decks, teasers, and social media assets. Manage relations with external and internal junior team members supporting such efforts. 
  • Ensure all marketing collateral communicates African WSME, FSME, and fund manager clients’ updated financial and impact narratives.

Team Development

  • Indirectly manage a team of external and junior team members on all phases of business development. 
  • Oversee junior team members’ enhancement of core research, analysis, written communications, and presentation skills. Help them prepare for an internal weekly investor pitch competition. 
  • Support senior team members on proposal development and other business development activities within Supivaa’s Advisory division.

Desired Values & Experiences:

We are looking for a motivated and dedicated individual who is deeply committed to advancing a gender equality and social inclusion agenda and has many of the following attributes:

  • Interest and knowledge of impact investing, GLI, and/or development finance in global growth markets, with on-ground experience in African geographies.
  • Established networks with diverse funders (i.e. development finance institutions (DFIs), impact funds, family offices, corporate funds, philanthropists, etc.) with a preference for existing relationships with North American and/or European-based investors. Skilled in managing multiple funder relationships across all lifestyle stages, from outreach to pitching to due diligence to close. 
  • Demonstrated ability to research and synthesise large volumes of financial information into clear, actionable insights, with experience working with financial statements and models.
  • Familiarity with leading impact frameworks, particularly those incorporating GLI metrics, and experience applying them in African WSME, FSME, and/or fund manager settings.
  • Ability to translate complex investment or impact concepts into compelling narratives for diverse audiences (African WSMEs, FSMEs, fund managers, and other ecosystem partners).
  • Curious and adaptable, with a track record of embracing and applying diversity, equity, and inclusion principles across diverse cultural and working environments.
  • High degree of professionalism and discretion when representing clients in external settings.
  • Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills, with demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in small, entrepreneurial teams.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders professionally and effectively across multiple channels. Proficiency in English required. Proficiencies in other languages (i.e. French, Kiswahili, and other local languages) would be an asset. 
  • Strong project management skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple workstreams, oversee junior team members, and deliver results under tight timelines.
  • Great time management skills, with the ability to prioritise and also reshuffle tasks as needed to meet deadlines.
  • Willingness to go the extra mile to ensure that Supivaa delivers high value for its African WSMEs, FSMEs, fund manager clients and ecosystem partners.
  • An entrepreneurial mindset that sees challenges or limitations as opportunities and is keen to grow both their position and the team that will support them. 
  • Ability to work independently in a hybrid and trust-based environment.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office products, G-Suite for Business, Slack, Trello, Asana, and familiarity with CRM and data management tools (e.g., Salesforce, Airtable, or similar platforms).

We especially welcome all candidates who are passionate about impact investing, GLI and development finance and want to play a role in connecting transformative African businesses with the capital and networks they need to thrive.

Salary

We offer compensation that reflects experience and is benchmarked to Kenyan industry standard salary levels, complemented by performance-based bonuses and opportunities for growth as responsibilities expand.

To Apply:

  • Interested candidates should send their CVs and cover letters to careers@supivaa.com with “Investor Engagement Associate_First Name_Last Name” in the email subject line.
  • We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis. Interested and qualified applicants are encouraged to apply early and in advance of the application deadline of 11:59pm EAT on 5th September 2025.
  • A 1-page cover letter should directly address how your skills and experiences make you a good fit for the position, as well as identify the main challenges and opportunities faced by African WSMEs, SMEs and fund managers in their journey to gain access to finance. 
  • Please also indicate where you saw the job posting in your cover letter and salary expectations.

Applications without a cover letter will not be considered

Research suggests that individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, including women candidates, may hesitate to apply unless they meet every listed criterion. If you believe you can contribute meaningfully to the work outlined, Supivaa encourages you to apply—even if your background does not align with every requirement. 

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