M-KOPA, one of Africa’s most innovative fintech companies, is inviting applications for the position of Head of Product Design based at our Nairobi, Kenya headquarters. This is an opportunity to shape the future of digital financial inclusion and lead a growing design team that impacts millions of lives across the continent.
Founded with a mission to make essential products and financial services affordable to underbanked populations, M-KOPA has expanded access to credit through a digital platform serving over 5 million customers. We are recognized by the Financial Times as one of Africa’s fastest-growing companies (2022–2024) and featured in TIME100’s most influential companies globally (2023 and 2024). As we scale to new markets and develop more customer-centric digital products, we are looking for a design leader who will be pivotal in driving business strategy and delivering life-changing user experiences.
Position: Head of Product Design
Department: Product, Design
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Job Type: Full-Time
Date Posted: May 10, 2025
Your Role at M-KOPA
As the Head of Product Design, you will lead and evolve M-KOPA’s design function, taking ownership of the product design vision, strategy, and execution. You’ll guide the team in creating seamless, accessible, and high-quality user experiences across digital products and customer touchpoints, including mobile applications, web platforms, and internal tools.
This role goes beyond typical design leadership—it places you at the nexus of business strategy and user-centric innovation, ensuring that every product interaction reflects our mission of empowering financially underserved communities.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Design Leadership
- Lead the overall design vision and strategy aligned with M-KOPA’s business and product goals.
- Advocate for design-led thinking across departments, embedding user-centered approaches into decision-making.
- Collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, Data, and Marketing leads to shape end-to-end experiences that drive customer satisfaction and product adoption.
Design Execution & Cohesion
- Own and evolve M-KOPA’s design systems to maintain consistency while enabling innovation across digital platforms.
- Review and approve major design decisions, ensuring a cohesive brand and UX across all interfaces.
- Facilitate cross-functional design reviews, workshops, and stakeholder meetings to align creative solutions with product strategy.
Team Building & Mentorship
- Lead, mentor, and grow a hybrid team of designers across multiple locations.
- Develop career paths, performance metrics, and feedback systems that support individual growth and team effectiveness.
- Foster a culture of inclusion, creativity, and continuous learning within the design organization.
Customer-Focused Design Delivery
- Translate complex financial and credit products into intuitive, user-friendly experiences for diverse customer segments—including first-time tech users and underserved populations.
- Leverage user research, behavioral data, and insights to iterate and improve product design.
- Ensure accessibility, simplicity, and local relevance in design output across M-KOPA’s target markets.
Business Impact & Measurement
- Demonstrate the value of design to executive leadership through measurable outcomes (e.g., product adoption, NPS, completion rates).
- Use data-driven decision-making to refine design processes and tools.
- Develop KPIs that connect design outcomes to business growth and customer impact.
Why This Role Is Unique
- Strategic Visibility: Report directly to senior leadership while influencing every customer interaction.
- Social Impact: Your work will empower first-time smartphone users, small business owners, and families to access life-changing financial products.
- Location Advantage: Being based in Nairobi gives you direct access to customers, real-time feedback, and collaboration with regional teams in one of Africa’s most dynamic tech ecosystems.
- Design Culture: At M-KOPA, design is central—not an afterthought. You’ll lead a respected function within a company that sees user experience as critical to achieving its mission.
- Innovation at Scale: Shape design systems and processes that will support M-KOPA’s expansion into new markets across the continent.
Must-Have Experience
- Proven experience leading cross-functional product design teams, ideally in a digital-first or fintech environment.
- Demonstrated ability to balance user needs and business priorities, delivering solutions that drive growth and user retention.
- Expertise in design systems, UX strategy, prototyping, and cross-platform delivery.
- Experience working in fast-paced, mission-driven organizations, ideally those operating in emerging markets or customer-first models.
- Strong ability to translate design outcomes into business metrics and influence stakeholders at all levels.
Day-to-Day Influence
Each day will offer a blend of strategic oversight and hands-on mentorship. You might:
- Kick off your morning aligning with Product and Tech leaders on a new mobile feature roadmap.
- Lead a design critique session to ensure visual and functional cohesion in a new credit app interface.
- Coach junior designers on accessibility best practices and product storytelling.
- Collaborate with the marketing team to unify tone, brand voice, and customer imagery across platforms.
- Present a quarterly design impact report to the executive team, connecting UX insights to growth metrics.
Your Growth Journey With M-KOPA
M-KOPA invests in its people through:
- Global learning and development programs.
- Leadership training and one-on-one coaching.
- Opportunities to work across markets and functions.
- Access to cutting-edge tools and exposure to the fintech and mobile technology landscape in Africa.
This role offers a powerful platform for a design leader looking to work at scale while making measurable social impact.
Why Join M-KOPA?
- Mission-Driven Work: Play a key role in making financial products accessible to underserved communities.
- Award-Winning Growth: Recognized by TIME and Financial Times for global innovation.
- Strong Culture: We promote flexibility, respect, equity, and inclusion.
- Supportive Leadership: Transparent, supportive, and collaborative executive team.
- Global Impact: Your work will touch millions of customers across Africa and beyond.
M-KOPA’s Commitment to Diversity
M-KOPA is an equal opportunity employer. We believe diversity powers innovation and we actively seek to build an inclusive team. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals, including women, minorities, people with disabilities, and members of underrepresented communities.
We strictly prohibit the use of child or forced labor. All employment with M-KOPA is voluntary, with clearly defined contracts and adherence to national and international labor laws.
Important Notice:
M-KOPA does not collect any recruitment fees. If you are asked for money in exchange for a job at any point in the hiring process, please report this activity to our HR team via the official company website.
How to Apply
If you’re excited to lead a high-impact design function and build technology that changes lives, we want to hear from you.
Apply Now
Be part of the team transforming how financial services are designed, delivered, and experienced across Africa.
