We believe EVERYONE in the world deserves access to the internet and affordable communications. Communications have an incredibly positive impact on improving the lives of individuals and accelerating the economic and social growth of developing countries; yet 4.4 billion people around the world are still unconnected and many more are poorly serviced. At poa! we believe everyone deserves access to the internet and it should not be limited to the privileged few. Our poa! Internet service provides wireless broadband to low income and rural communities across East Africa, offering individuals and small businesses highly affordable Internet access. poa! brings significant social benefit to the communities we serve by offering free access to digital content including educational and health materials as well as generating substantial employment opportunities.

Summary

Poa Internet is a multiple award winning, Kenyan based internet service provider at the forefront of providing internet connectivity into underserved communities throughout Africa. Founded in 2015 and based in Nairobi, Kenya, Poa Internet has seen rapid growth, recently joining the Financial Times’ list of Africa’s fastest growing companies. In 2022, they completed a Series C financing round with investors including Africa50, Novastar Ventures, DFC and BIO. Thanks to this ongoing success, exponential growth, and further investment, they now require a Managing Director to drive the Kenyan business forward against their investment plans while the business also expands outside of Kenya. Ultimately, Poa’s goal is to facilitate high quality, affordable internet services into every home in Africa, and as such they have developed a proprietary platform that revolutionises internet delivery to provide reliable, pre-paid, home, and public internet services at an incredibly affordable price.

Key responsibilities for this role:

• To deliver on (or exceed) the strategic plan set by the Board and Group Leadership, ultimately continuing to drive aggressive profitable growth across Kenya while retaining alignment with the broader group strategy.
• To make effective and timely decisions with an end to end understanding of each decision’s short- and long-term consequences, facilitating a national rollout of services while sustainably optimising key financial and operational KPIs (E.g., Profitability, unit economics, customer and employee satisfaction).
• To lead the Kenya Management Team to cohesively deliver against the strategic plan.
• To continually develop the Kenyan Management Team, driving accountability while providing support where needed; continue to build a culture that best allows effective input from each member with an objective, inclusive basis for decision making.
• To communicate the strategic vision, key decisions, and performance/cultural expectations to the wider Kenyan team
• To prepare, gain acceptance for, and monitor the implementation of the annual Kenyan budget and business plan, ensuring targets are met and report progress and variances to the Group Leadership & Board.
• To represent the company in negotiations with customers, suppliers, government departments and other key external stakeholders to drive favourable arrangements and minimise regulatory risk.
• To oversee the preparation of the annual report and accounts of the company and ensure their approval by the board.
• To act with integrity and live by the values that are reflective of Poa, cascading these values throughout the organisation.

Key measures of success within the first two years:

• Poa Kenya has fully deployed and is profitably operating across key urban areas
• Annualised Revenues have grown by over 300%+
• Annualised EBITDA has grown by over 1000%+
• Customer Unit Economics have been maintained or improved in terms of both Payback Period and Customer Lifetime Value
• Poa Kenya has industry leading Customer NPS
• Poa Kenya has industry leading Employee NPS

Required capabilities:

• More than 10 years’ relevant leadership experience, demonstrating high standards in operational general management.
• Proven experience working in a business that has successfully navigated scale up, playing a critical role in the journey.
• Substantive experience within a B2C technology services company, ideally in telecoms.
• A strong understanding of financial management.
• Experience in the building and development of a leadership team, helping senior colleagues and the wider team operate effectively and continually improve, ideally in Kenya.
• Process driven, with a curious appetite and desire to optimise structures and introduce further efficiency.
• High level of cultural awareness with the explicit understanding of Kenya.
• Purpose minded and specifically engaged with Poa Internet’s intention to accomplish something that is meaningful and makes a positive difference.
• Board level gravitas.
• Ability to clearly and transparently communicate at all levels of the organisation