Strategic Partnerships Lead

Summary

Kuda is a money app for Africans on a mission to make financial services accessible, affordable and rewarding for every African on the planet.
We’re a tribe of passionate and diverse people who dreamed of building an inclusive money app that Africans would love so it’s only right that we ended up with the name ‘Kuda’ which means ‘love’ in Shona, a language spoken in the southern part of Africa.
We’re giving Africans around the world a better alternative to traditional finance by delivering money transfers, smart budgeting and instant access to credit through digital devices.
We’ve raised over $90 million from some of the world's most respected institutional investors, and we’re rolling out our game-changing services globally from our offices in Nigeria, South Africa, and the UK.
Role Overview
We are looking for a skilled Strategic Partnerships Lead to drive the growth of Kuda Premium by negotiating and closing high-impact, mutually beneficial partnerships. This role is critical in expanding our network of merchant partners and delivering exclusive value to our premium customers.

The ideal candidate will be a strategic dealmaker with a proven ability to identify, negotiate, and execute partnerships that enhance customer engagement and revenue growth. They will be responsible for sourcing and structuring partnerships, optimizing incentive-driven programs such as cashback and rewards, and ensuring seamless integrations that maximize value for both Kuda and its partners.

Success in this role requires a strong commercial mindset, deep experience in strategic partnerships, and the ability to navigate complex negotiations to secure long-term, profitable collaborations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic partnership initiatives to drive business growth, with a primary focus on securing and managing merchant partnerships in the retail, entertainment, and lifestyle sectors.
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize new partnership opportunities by leveraging market research, industry trends, competitive analysis, and customer insights.
• Lead negotiations and structure commercially viable deals with both new and existing partners, ensuring the creation of mutually beneficial co-branding, cashback, and incentive-driven initiatives to enhance customer engagement and loyalty.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with internal teams, including product, marketing, technology, legal, and finance, to ensure smooth execution and integration of partnerships.
• Build and maintain relationships with key decision-makers within partner organizations to foster long-term strategic alliances and ensure seamless ongoing operations.
• Monitor and analyze the competitive landscape, using insights to refine partnership strategies and drive continuous business growth.
• Oversee the design and execution of contracts, service-level agreements (SLAs), and performance metrics to ensure partnerships deliver maximum value.
• Track and report on partnership performance, providing data-driven recommendations to optimize results and scale initiatives effectively.
• Lead and scale the partnership function by recruiting, mentoring, and managing a team of business development and account management professionals to support the teams expansion efforts.

• Minimum of 8 years in strategic partnerships, with at least 3 years in a managerial role, focusing on high-value deals in retail, entertainment, and lifestyle sectors.
• Proven ability to negotiate and execute commercially viable partnerships, including co-branding, cashback, and incentive-driven programs.
• Skilled in tracking partnership performance, leveraging key metrics, market research, and industry trends to optimise strategies and enhance customer engagement.
• Strong capability to lead, mentor, and scale business development and account management teams, driving the expansion of Kuda Premium’s partnerships.
• Prior experience in Tech, Fintech, Financial Services, Entertainment, Lifestyle on Retail industry

At Kuda, our people are the heart of our business, so we prioritize your welfare. We offer a wide range of competitive benefits in areas including but not limited to:

💜A great and upbeat work environment populated by a multinational team

👴Pension

📈Career development & growth

😁Competitive annual leave plus bank holidays

🎁Competitive paid time off (Parental, Moving day, Birthday, Study leave etc)

💯Group life insurance

💖Medical insurance

🎁Well-fare package (Wedding, Compassionate and etc)

✅Perkbox

🏃‍♀️Goalr - employee wellness app

🥇Award winning L&D training

💒 We are advocates of work-life balance, working in a hybrid in office schedule

Kuda is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Kuda is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent.

We don’t regard colour, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.