--- title: 'Retail Manager at M-KOPA' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/retail-manager-m-kopa-uganda-p9kgxwn55z0n' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-07' --- # Retail Manager at M-KOPA - **Company:** [M-KOPA](https://feeny.ai/companies/m-kopa) - **Location:** Uganda - **Employment:** full-time - **Posted:** 2026-08-21 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/m-kopa/1b511d53-8be9-49f7-893f-e6dff72cc147 ## Job description [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/5ac97b31-49cd-4012-8bb0-5caf15e33c69/B25.png] WE ARE LOOKING FOR A RETAIL MANAGER TO JOIN OUR RETAIL GROUP AS WE SCALE UP AND DRIVE DIGITAL AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION ACROSS OUR MARKETS. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/2c6957b4-39d2-40b3-8eb6-7e380a0c2f9c/B13.png] ## OWNING THE RETAIL ENGINE BEHIND M-KOPA M-KOPA has reached 10 million customers across Africa, unlocking more than $2 billion in credit — with 86% of customers reporting a real improvement in their quality of life, and 55% accessing a formal financial product for the first time. That scale runs on physical retail infrastructure that has to work every day, in every location. The Retail Manager leads M-KOPA Uganda's day-to-day retail operations — service centres, stocking points, depots, partner and telco outlets, zones, and repair centres — across multiple locations and sales channels. This is an ownership role: setting the standards the network runs on, not just monitoring them. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/5e9f3448-2fed-4b66-b1ee-9474279a7947/B13.png] ## WHAT THIS ROLE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR The Retail Manager leads the day-to-day operations of M-KOPA Uganda's retail function — service centres, stocking points, depots, partner and telco outlets, zones, and repair centres — across multiple locations and multiple sales channels. It is a role built around ownership rather than oversight: the person in this seat sets the standards for how the network runs, and is accountable when it doesn't. That ownership spans several distinct areas. Multi-channel stock operations need to be governed end to end, from device aging and rebalancing to preventing losses across dozens of physical sites. Retail network strategy has to translate into governance — decisions about openings, relocations, and closures need to be compliant and well executed, not just made. Retail systems and tools (M-KOPAnet warehouse setup, AMT outlet management, Freshdesk logging, trackers and dashboards) need to be correctly configured and consistently used, because a retail network this size cannot be run on memory and spreadsheets alone. Third-party and partner performance sits inside this role too — setting operating standards, managing depot and landlord relationships, and using operational data to trace root causes rather than just symptoms when something goes wrong. Device swaps, repairs, and servicing coordination require close alignment with Care Center, Repair, QA, and Training teams, since a customer's experience of a repair often shapes their view of M-KOPA more than the original sale did. This is also, unavoidably, an escalation role. When a stock discrepancy, an outlet conduct issue, or a process blocker can't be resolved at the front line, it lands here. The Retail Manager is expected to resolve it — working across Sales, BI, Audit, Warehouse, Finance, HR, Marketing, Admin, Procurement, Legal, and Fraud as needed — while also owning the budgets, cost reporting, and EHS/security compliance that keep the network safe and financially accountable. People leadership runs through all of it. This role coaches, mentors, and manages the performance of retail teams, and acts as the HRBP point of contact for the function — which means the quality of the retail network is, in practice, inseparable from the quality of people leadership in this seat. ## WHAT THE ROLE ACTUALLY DEMANDS This is a field-facing, high-accountability role. It requires managing both desk-based resources and operational teams spread across multiple physical locations, often reacting to issues — a stock shortfall, an outlet security incident, a partner dispute — that don't wait for a convenient time. Anyone taking this on should expect genuine pressure at points: multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, and direct accountability for loss prevention and compliance across a retail footprint that keeps growing as M-KOPA scales. It suits someone who finds that kind of operational complexity engaging rather than draining. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/e9247ab6-31ed-4bb6-ab77-dfa6e4fef59a/M-KOPA%20Pic.jpg] ## REPORTING STRUCTURE Reports To: Head of Operations ## WHAT'S NEEDED TO DO THIS WELL - A Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations/Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrable experience. - Extensive, demonstrable experience leading operational management functions, including proven leadership of teams and multi-site operations at scale. - A strong track record in retail, inventory, and returns management, ideally including third-party or partner contract management across distributed physical locations. - Established comfort working with data and dashboards — this role requires interpreting trends, monitoring KPIs, and making cost-effective decisions from operational data rather than gut feel, across a network with dozens of moving parts. WHY M-KOPA? At M-KOPA, we empower our people to own their careers through diverse development programs, coaching partnerships, and on-the-job training. We support individual journeys with family-friendly policies, prioritize well-being, and embrace flexibility. Join us in shaping the future of M-KOPA as we grow together. Explore more at m-kopa.com http://m-kopa.com. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/369018b8-cf9c-49c7-95f1-1d414482ba57/B13.png] Recognized four times by the Financial Times as one Africa's fastest growing companies (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026), named on CNBC's World’s Top Fintech Companies 2025 & 2026 and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 10 million customers, unlocking $2 billion in cumulative credit for the everyday earners across Africa, in addition to over 10,000 e-bikes financed in Kenya. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/481f6724-8375-4f39-b514-fbe00b8fc3b5/B13.png] Important Notice M-KOPA is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. M-KOPA explicitly prohibits the use of Forced or Child Labour and respects the rights of its employees to agree to terms and conditions of employment voluntarily, without coercion, and freely terminate their employment on appropriate notice. M-KOPA shall ensure that its Employees are of legal working age and shall comply with local laws for youth employment or student work, such as internships or apprenticeships. M-KOPA does not collect/charge any money as a pre-employment or post-employment requirement. This means that we never ask for ‘recruitment fees’, ‘processing fees’, ‘interview fees’, or any other kind of money in exchange for offer letters or interviews at any time during the hiring process. Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Shortlisting and interviews will take place at any stage during the recruitment process. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is selected before the advertised closing date. If your application is successful M-KOPA undertakes pre-employment background checks as part of its recruitment process, these include; criminal records, identification verification, academic qualifications, employment dates and employer references. ## About M-KOPA ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: M-KOPA is a leading African fintech platform that provides affordable financial and digital products to cash-based earners, enabling them to finance everyday essentials through daily micropayments. - **Entity Type**: Private (Growth Stage) - **Headquarters**: Nairobi, Kenya (Global HQ with additional offices in London, UK) - **Founded**: 2010 - **Founders**: Jesse Moore (CEO & Co-Founder) and Nick Hughes ## Core Business - **Primary Industry**: Fintech / Financial Services - **Target Customers**: B2C focused on "Every Day Earners" — underserved, cash-based entrepreneurs and individuals across Sub-Saharan Africa who lack formal collateral, credit history, or a monthly salary. - **Mission/Purpose**: "To make financing for everyday essentials accessible to everyone." Their core mission is to "finance progress" for millions of unbanked and underbanked people. ## Products & Services - **Smartphone Financing**: The core entry product. Customers pay a small deposit (e.g., ~$35) followed by daily micro-instalments (~$0.50/day) via mobile money (like M-Pesa) to own a smartphone. This is the primary gateway to the digital economy. - **Digital Loans**: After building a repayment credit history, customers can access small, flexible digital loans on an instalment basis. - **Hospital Coverage (Insurance)**: Affordable health insurance packages offered via the same daily micropayment model. - **Device Protection**: Insurance for the financed smartphone. - **Affordable Data Bundles**: Digital subscriptions and data packages available on a similar instalment basis. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed. However, M-KOPA has raised substantial growth capital from top-tier global investors. - **Key Metric**: Over **$1.5 billion in cumulative credit deployed** to more than **5 million customers** across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa. [m-kopa.com](https://www.m-kopa.com/about) - **Notable Investors**: Includes **Generation Investment Management** (co-founded by Al Gore), **Sumitomo Corporation**, and other leading impact and growth investors. Board members often come from these firms. [m-kopa.com](https://www.m-kopa.com/about) - **Growth Signals**: M-KOPA now employs over **3,000 staff members** and has a direct sales force of over **30,000 agents**. The company operates one of the largest smartphone assembly factories in the region, producing over 1 million phones locally. [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Kopa) ## Competitive Advantages - **Proprietary Tech & Data Stack**: Processes over **1 million payments daily**, using AI-driven analytics to create credit records for individuals with no formal financial history. This is a deep, defensible data moat. - **Asset-Light Distribution**: A massive, managed direct sales force of 30,000 agents provides a powerful on-the-ground distribution network that is hard to replicate. - **Customer-Centric Lending**: Offers "Inclusive, Fair, and Flexible" terms. No collateral or proof of income required. Customers can return a product, get their deposit back, and be released from obligations if they cannot pay. This builds immense trust. [m-kopa.com](https://www.m-kopa.com/about) - **Vertical Integration**: From smartphone assembly to fintech lending to digital services, M-KOPA controls the entire value chain, creating a sticky ecosystem. ## Strategic Focus - **Deepening Financial Services**: Expanding beyond smartphone financing into digital loans, insurance, and health coverage to become a comprehensive financial partner. - **Geographic Expansion**: Already in 5 African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa) with potential for further market entry. - **Leveraging AI for Credit Scoring**: Constantly improving their proprietary data models to offer more products and better manage risk for a traditionally "unscoreable" population. - **M-KOPA Labs**: A research arm that deploys grants to test new technologies and extensions of their platform. [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Kopa) ## Why Work Here - **Purpose-Driven Mission**: The work directly impacts financial inclusion and poverty alleviation for millions across Africa. A deeply motivating "why." - **Rapid Growth & Scale**: Operating in a high-growth environment with a team of 3,000+, providing significant opportunities for career advancement and tackling complex, real-world problems. - **Global, Pan-African Team**: A diverse team with a "proudly Pan-African footprint" and offices in London, offering a unique cultural experience. - **Flexible Work**: Offers hybrid and remote working options that suit the demands of the role. [m-kopa.com](https://www.m-kopa.com/careers) - **Strong Benefits Package**: Includes comprehensive health plans, learning & development resources, and recognition & rewards. They emphasize a culture of "Progress, Excellence, and Humility." [m-kopa.com](https://www.m-kopa.com/careers) - **Engineering Culture**: Known for building a world-class tech stack from scratch for a unique market. ## Sources 1. [m-kopa.com/about](https://www.m-kopa.com/about) 2. [m-kopa.com/careers](https://www.m-kopa.com/careers) 3. [wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Kopa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Kopa) 4. [uk.linkedin.com/company/m-kopa](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/m-kopa) 5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/m-kopa](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/m-kopa) ## Other roles at M-KOPA - [Stock Controller - Wa](https://feeny.ai/job/stock-controller-wa-m-kopa-wa-ffn6xr433nz2) — Wa - [Head of Workplace IT](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-workplace-it-m-kopa-johannesburg-96w8c64vbqy0) — Johannesburg, South Africa - [Finance Transformation Manager — M-KOPA](https://feeny.ai/job/finance-transformation-manager-m-kopa-m-kopa-south-africa-8h4c93kfdnk0) — South Africa - [Product Technician - Mobility](https://feeny.ai/job/product-technician-mobility-m-kopa-nairobi-2haw8zjx0h47) — Nairobi, Kenya - [Senior People Partner – Product & Functions](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-people-partner-product-functions-m-kopa-london-8x83npx3gfrp) — London, United Kingdom - [Senior People Partner – Product & Functions](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-people-partner-product-functions-m-kopa-lagos-g1kk4kpjq11m) — Lagos, Nigeria - [Lead People Partner - Technology](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-people-partner-technology-m-kopa-lagos-jjtpyxy6qx3a) — Lagos, Nigeria - [Lead People Partner - Technology](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-people-partner-technology-m-kopa-london-4hwgnm2kxejh) — London, United Kingdom - [Head of Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-operations-m-kopa-uganda-4msjc2gat4e4) — Uganda - [Telesales Representative – Inbound](https://feeny.ai/job/telesales-representative-inbound-m-kopa-accra-p0bjmyhqp0vr) — Accra, Ghana