Growth Manager – SME Segment at LOOP DFS NCBA Group

Job Description

Job Purpose Statement

The Growth Manager – SME Segment is responsible for driving activation, engagement, retention, product penetration and revenue growth across LOOP’s small and medium enterprise (SME) merchant portfolio. This covers formal and growing businesses in both goods and services, including retailers, wholesalers and distributors, hospitality, healthcare, education, professional services, transport and logistics operators, and multi-branch businesses that have outgrown micro-merchant solutions.

To scale the LOOPBIZ platform, LOOP DFS works with established financial institutions, mobile network operators and other partners to offer a comprehensive suite of financial services. The role sits at the intersection of payments, credit, product monetisation, distribution and marketing, and is accountable for retention and growth strategies that deliver consistent revenue growth and customer loyalty within the SME segment.

The role holder partners with internal stakeholders to understand SME behaviour (payment acceptance and collections, supplier and payroll payments, invoicing and receivables, working capital cycles and multi-branch operations) and delivers retention-focused cross-selling models, revenue management plans, customer information management tools, loyalty and rewards programmes, and Customer Value Proposition (CVP) enhancements tailored to SMEs.

The role holder leads a team of SME Growth Officers who execute and scale retention campaigns and credit qualification across the SME customer journey. The main objectives are to increase monthly active SME merchants and monthly recurring revenue, optimize customer lifetime value, reduce revenue churn, drive credit qualification (OD, Term Loans) and grow expansion revenue within the SME portfolio.

The role also oversees partnerships with banks and financial institutions offering LOOP Merchant as a platform, and tracks and reports on SME portfolio performance, providing regular insight and strategic recommendations to the Head of Payments Business and senior leadership.

Key Accountabilities (Duties and Responsibilities)

Financial (30%)

• Build the LOOP SME business to deliver revenue and positive gross margins per the business plan across payment acceptance, collections, business payments and credit.
• Grow monthly recurring revenue and SME lifetime value by driving PDQ/POS and LOOP Till utilization, feature adoption, transaction frequency, payment volumes and average transaction values.
• Increase expansion revenue by cross-selling LOOPBIZ products: Overdraft, Term Loans, stock and invoice financing, Kilimax, e-commerce, digital invoicing, and supplier and bulk payments.
• Develop pricing and monetisation strategies that optimize SME unit economics across high-volume goods and variable, recurring service-fee models.
• Manage cost of goods sold for all SME product lines, ensuring efficiency.
• Deliver accurate weekly and monthly SME revenue reporting.
• With the commercial analyst, ecosystems, product team and Head of Payments, launch new SME products and revenue lines, e.g. multi-branch merchant capability, supplier and distributor settlement, recurring billing and working capital solutions.

Customer (40%)

• Implement an SME retention framework covering cross-sell models, revenue management plans, customer information tools, loyalty and rewards, and CVP enhancements.
• Segment the SME market by business type (goods, services), size and turnover, transaction profile, product penetration and lifecycle stage to target retention and growth initiatives.
• Execute SME business development, including partnerships with industry associations, distributors and supply chains, retail and hospitality chains, and healthcare and education networks.
• With marketing and product, research SME needs (collections, supplier and payroll payments, invoicing, receivables, inventory, working capital) and co-own the SME product roadmap.
• Account management: Manage relationships with SME-linked partners and suppliers, including ecosystem partners, aggregators and partner financial institutions.
• Grow: With the Grow/Credit team, offer SMEs existing and new credit products (OD, Term Loans, stock and invoice financing) that drive collections into the LOOP wallet, meet working capital needs and improve retention.
• Drive PDQ/POS and LOOP Till adoption and utilisation across SME outlets and branches for high-frequency digital acceptance.
• Execute churn-reduction strategies addressing seasonal demand, cash-flow gaps, delayed receivables, supplier payment delays and multi-branch reconciliation.

Internal Business Processes (15%)

• Manage competitor tracking on SME acquiring and business banking across banks, FinTechs, POS providers and payment aggregators.
• Implement engines, structures and procedures supporting SME growth across the journey: acquisition, activation, engagement, credit qualification and retention.
• Implement, review and achieve SME customer satisfaction indices.
• Ensure audit, compliance and risk standards are met across the SME business and related FinTech and partner-bank arrangements.
• Champion continuous improvement for efficient SME engagement and accurate service delivery, and take part in relevant organisation projects.

Learning & Growth (15%)

• Maintain high performance and engagement across the SME Growth Officers team.
• Ensure nil business disruption from staff shortages through sound resourcing and succession planning.
• Keep competency assessments and development plans current and actioned, deepening understanding of SME business models, credit and cash-flow dynamics, and goods and services ecosystems.

Job Specifications

Academic

• University Degree in Business, Commerce, Finance, Economics, Computer Science, or related field.
• MBA or Master’s degree in a business field is desirable.
• Customer Growth Management Nano Degree Certification is an added advantage.
• Digital Marketing Nano Degree Certification is desirable.

Work Experience

At least 8 years of work experience, three of which should have been in a senior commercial management role within a Fintech, Bank, or Telecommunications organisation, with direct experience in Merchant lending, digital credit, or retail financial services growth.

Job Dimensions

Stakeholder Management

Internal

• Commercial leadership and business stakeholders
• Credit, risk and compliance teams
• Product, technology, data and analytics teams
• Finance and operations / customer experience teams

External

• Customers and prospective customers
• Strategic partners and service providers
• Industry stakeholders (as applicable)