Demand Planning Lead

M-KOPA is a fintech and digital financial services company that provides smartphones and a range of financial products to everyday earners across sub-Saharan Africa, operating in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. The company uses an asset-financing model that allows customers to make an initial deposit on a smartphone and then pay it off through affordable daily, weekly, or monthly installments, building a credit history in the process. This approach has enabled M-KOPA to serve over 10 million customers and unlock more than $2 billion in credit for individuals who are largely excluded from traditional financial systems. M-KOPA's suite of services extends beyond device ownership to include digital loans, health insurance, device protection, and affordable data bundles, all designed to expand economic opportunity for low-income populations. The company also operates a large network of over 35,000 sales agents, many of whom are themselves beneficiaries of the economic empowerment model M-KOPA promotes. M-KOPA has been recognized among the world's top fintech companies and continues to scale its impact across the African continent. While M-KOPA is primarily categorized as a fintech company, its roots are in the renewable energy and pay-as-you-go solar sector, where it pioneered off-grid solar solutions for underserved communities before expanding into smartphones and broader financial services. This evolution reflects the company's enduring mission to connect underserved populations to transformative technologies and financial tools that improve quality of life and drive sustainable economic inclusion.

We are looking for a Demand Planning Lead to join our Warehouse and Logistics group; as we scale up and drive digital and financial inclusion across our markets.

M-KOPA isn't hiring for one role in isolation. We're building out the operational backbone that supports our next phase of growth — and demand planning sits at the centre of that. Every accurate forecast means fewer stockouts in a rural agent network, less capital tied up in slow-moving inventory, and more customers who can access a product the day they need it. As we've scaled from millions to tens of millions of customers, the cost of getting this wrong has grown with us — and so has the opportunity to get it right.

What makes this role different

This isn't a forecasting role buried in a spreadsheet, disconnected from the business it serves. You'll sit at the intersection of commercial strategy, finance, and supply chain — translating sales trends, promotions, and new product launches into forecasts that directly shape how M-KOPA allocates capital and inventory across five markets. Your forecast accuracy isn't an abstract KPI; it's the difference between a customer in a rural town getting the device they ordered and one who doesn't. Few demand planning roles carry that kind of direct line to social impact.

What you'll actually do

You'll lead the monthly demand planning cycle end-to-end — forecast reviews, exception-based planning, and SKU-level submissions — and you'll own forecast accuracy as a metric, not just a report. When variances show up, you'll be the one running root-cause analysis and recommending what changes next, whether that's a safety stock adjustment or a shift in how a promotion gets planned. You'll facilitate regular forecast review meetings that bring commercial, finance, and supply chain teams to the same table, and you'll feed directly into annual budget planning with demand forecasts and trend analysis that leadership actually relies on. Beyond the process itself, you'll be trusted to improve it — tightening the tools, routines, and planning discipline that this function runs on.

Organisation Structure

Reports to the Demand Planning Manager.

Qualifications that matter

• A recognised degree in Statistics, Economics, Mathematics, Supply Chain Management, Business, or a related field, paired with demonstrable experience in demand planning, forecasting, inventory planning, or supply chain analysis.

• A proven track record of building, maintaining, and continuously improving demand forecast models — using historical data, sales trends, and market insights to drive SKU-level decisions.

• Working knowledge of ERP, integrated supply chain, or demand planning systems, with strong proficiency in Excel for data interpretation and reporting.

The honest version

This role asks for real ownership. You're the person who has to say, clearly and early, when a forecast is drifting and why — and you'll need to hold that line across teams that don't always agree on the read. Across five markets with different demand patterns, promotional calendars, and supply constraints, the volume of moving parts is real. If you're someone who's energised by bringing order to that kind of complexity rather than drained by it, this is where that shows up.

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.

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.

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.