About Us

The AECF is a leading development finance organization that supports businesses to innovate, create jobs and leverage investments to build resilience and sustainable incomes for rural and marginalized communities in Africa.

AECF’s goal is to bridge the investment gap between early-stage enterprise and business maturity for entrepreneurs serving the poorest communities. We provide patient capital to new and innovative business models in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors across Sub-Saharan Africa through various financing instruments. To supplement finance, we also offer advisory services, investment support, and knowledge and insights.

AECF has successfully implemented programmes across 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, supporting over 400 enterprises, and impacting over 30 million lives.

AECF is headquartered in Kenya, with offices in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania.

AECF has recently started its fourth programme in the Investing in Women series, a single programme operating across two countries – Benin and Burkina Faso. This programme looks to provide investment capital and technical assistance to private sector companies and co-operatives working with women in climate-smart agriculture, as well as working with Women’s Rights Organisations and other advocates for women to identify and build the capacity of gender champions within formal and traditional institutions.

This role supports implementation of AECF’s current Gender Lens Investing Strategy through the Investing in Women Benin and Burkina Faso programme to ensure that AECF effectively targets women investors, women farmers and women in the community in both Benin and Burkina Faso.

The incumbent will be based in either Benin or Burkina Faso - with extensive travel to either country. This role will report to the Programme Manager, Benin/ Burkina Faso.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical assistance to portfolio companies that AECF invests in on gender integration and gender smart solutions for increased business value.
• Support market research into the challenges and needs faced by women entrepreneurs and gender lens enterprises in Benin and Burkina Faso in the climate-smart agribusiness sector, including secondary desk research, stakeholder consultations, and interviews.
• Support the design and implementation of gender smart solutions for portfolio companies, working closely with the portfolio and impact teams while capturing learnings.
• Support the design of gender toolkits and guides for portfolio companies in the climate-smart agribusiness sector.
• Design and supervise the delivery of support to co-operatives, women’s rights organizations, and community-based organizations in both Benin and Burkina Faso.
• Train the IIW programme team on gender integration across the investment process.
• Working with the Programme Manager – IIW Benin and Burkina Faso to support the ongoing implementation of selected gender smart solutions in portfolio companies, adjusting the approach where necessary based on new insights.
• Support the development of knowledge products and organize knowledge-sharing events on AECF’s gender lens investing insights in Benin and Burkina Faso.

Suitable candidates should possess:

• A bachelor’s degree in Gender Economics, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Economics, Development Finance, or other relevant fields of study.
• A minimum of four (4) years of post-training experience in one or more of the following areas: gender economics, social entrepreneurship, impact investing, management consulting, private sector development, renewable energy. agribusiness, SME finance, rural financial services and/or renewable energy and adaptation to combat climate change.
• Hands-on experience in the agribusiness sector is preferred.
• Strong experience/ interest in social finance and impact investing in the international development context.
• Experience working in an international team and proven ability to deliver in a complex environment with multiple, divergent stakeholder interests.
• Be fluent in English and French.