Head of Legal, Regulatory & Compliance – Financial Services, West Africa

M-KOPA

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A HEAD OF LEGAL, REGULATORY & COMPLIANCE – FINANCIAL SERVICES, WEST AFRICA, TO JOIN OUR LEGAL GROUP, AS WE SCALE UP AND DRIVE DIGITAL AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION ACROSS OUR MARKETS. THE REGULATORY ARCHITECTURE FOR DIGITAL FINANCE IN WEST AFRICA IS BEING BUILT RIGHT NOW That is not a metaphor. The DCSP framework in Ghana, the evolving fintech regulatory environment in Nigeria, the supervisory expectations around digital credit and consumer lending at scale — these are in active formation. For a senior financial services regulatory professional, this is precisely the moment to be in the room. M-KOPA has extended more than $2 billion in credit to over 7 million customers across seven markets — 55% of whom are accessing formal financial products for the first time. Regulatory leadership is not peripheral to that mission. It is foundational to it. WHAT THIS ROLE CARRIES This is a group-wide leadership position with particular depth in West Africa, reporting to the Director of Compliance. The scope includes ownership of M-KOPA's financial services regulatory strategy, senior engagement with regulators and industry bodies in Nigeria and Ghana, and direct accountability for licensing and authorisation processes — including the DCSP licence in Ghana and financial services licensing in Nigeria. Day-to-day, the role spans regulatory horizon-monitoring and impact assessment, partnering with Product and Credit to embed regulatory requirements into new product development from the outset, and overseeing responses to examinations, regulatory reporting, and high-stakes supervisory submissions. It also carries responsibility for maintaining and improving compliance policies, regulatory playbooks, and control frameworks, and for driving training and first-line regulatory ownership across markets.   WHAT THIS ROLE REQUIRES A proven track record in financial services compliance, regulatory affairs, or in-house legal/regulatory roles within a regulated environment — digital credit, lending, payments, consumer finance, fintech, or banking. Demonstrable experience leading licensing and authorisation processes, managing ongoing supervisory engagement, and handling examinations and regulatory reporting at a senior level. Deep knowledge of financial services regulatory frameworks and conduct risk, including consumer protection, AML/CFT, and data protection, with the ability to engage credibly with regulators, investors, and senior internal stakeholders. A Bachelor's degree in Law, Compliance, Finance, or a related field is required. A professional qualification — bar admission, CAMS, ICA, or equivalent — is an advantage. WHY THIS, AND WHY NOW At a bank or established financial institution, regulatory affairs tends to mean stable frameworks and incremental change. Here, the frameworks are still being shaped — and M-KOPA's senior regulatory voice will have a hand in shaping them. That is a genuinely different kind of work, with a genuinely different kind of impact. 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) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 7 million customers, unlocking $1.5 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa. 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.

M-KOPA

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A LEGAL & COMPLIANCE MANAGER – WEST AFRICA TO JOIN OUR LEGAL GROUP; AS WE SCALE UP AND DRIVE DIGITAL AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION ACROSS OUR MARKETS. JOB PURPOSE To serve as the primary legal and compliance resource for M-KOPA’s West Africa markets (Nigeria and Ghana), managing the full spectrum of legal, regulatory, and compliance activities across the region, with accountability for legal risk management, regulatory licensing and compliance, and also support the organization’s compliance activities in the countries we operate in. KEY JOB FUNCTIONS * Ensure M-KOPA’s operations are compliant with local and national laws, contractual and shareholder obligations, and best practices. * Serve as the Data Privacy Officer for M-KOPA’s West Africa markets, responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with applicable data privacy legislation and best practices supported by the global privacy team. * Support on regulatory licensing and engagement across M-KOPA’s West Africa markets, including the Bank of Ghana and the Central Bank of Nigeria, ORC/GIPC/NCA filings in Ghana and CAC/NCC filings in Nigeria, and proactive monitoring of emerging regulatory developments affecting M-KOPA’s product and operational footprint across the region. * Undertake legal and regulatory research and assess and evaluate the impact of changes in applicable legislation and best international practices. * Coordinate a program of training and capacity building activities for employees across M-KOPA, covering all key areas of compliance policy and practice. * Support the development and implementation of relevant policies, processes, and procedures, and maintain an appropriate review cycle. * Partner with M-KOPA departments such as Legal, Internal Audit, EHS and Risk Management, to assess and ensure effectiveness of control systems in driving compliance. * Identify, understand, and escalate compliance risk events/issues in a timely manner and focus on fixing root causes of the issues. Monitor implementation status of agreed action points aimed towards driving compliance. * Manage the compliance tools such as compliance obligations register, compliance training calendar, compliance incident register and compliance risk register. * Support investor compliance, including implementation of ESMS, and participate in investor reporting on ESG aspects. * Support in regulatory compliance, including the timely preparation and submission of regulatory filings such as annual returns or timely response to regulator circulars * Work flexibly and collaboratively across all teams in the organisation to ensure the greatest impact and effectiveness of the Compliance Team’s day-to-day work * Undertake all other reasonable and related tasks associated with this role. * Draft, review, and negotiate commercial agreements including vendor contracts, service agreements, partnership arrangements, and technology licences; provide practical legal guidance to business teams on contract risk, product and deal structuring as applicable. * Manage corporate governance and secretarial matters for M-KOPA’s West Africa entities (Nigeria and Ghana), including board resolutions, statutory filings, maintenance of corporate records, and ensuring compliance with the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) of Ghana, the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA) of Nigeria, and applicable regulatory requirements. * Manage the external counsel panel for M-KOPA’s West Africa markets (Nigeria and Ghana), including matter instruction, scope and fee management, quality review of external legal work product, and maintenance of an up-to-date panel roster aligned to M-KOPA’s external counsel management framework.   REPORTING STRUCTURE This role reports to the Head of Department   EXPERIENCE/ SKILLS & COMPETENCIES/ LICENCES & CERTIFICATIONS/ EDUCATION REQUIRED * 5+ years post-call-to-bar working experience in a legal/compliance function. Experience in banking and finance is an added advantage. * Undergraduate LLB degree. * Working knowledge of compliance standards and regulations. * Experience in risk management. * Experience in contract negotiation and regulatory engagement; prior exposure to structured finance or capital markets transactions is an added advantage. * Strong attention to detail. * Communicate and collaborate with diverse team members. * Generally structured and organized. 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) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 7 million customers, unlocking $1.5 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa. 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.

M-KOPA

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A LEGAL & COMPLIANCE MANAGER – WEST AFRICA TO JOIN OUR LEGAL GROUP; AS WE SCALE UP AND DRIVE DIGITAL AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION ACROSS OUR MARKETS. THE FULL LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE BRIEF FOR TWO OF AFRICA'S MOST SIGNIFICANT MARKETS Nigeria and Ghana. Two regulatory bodies for banking supervision. Two corporate governance frameworks — CAMA 2020 and the Companies Act 2019. Two sets of statutory filing obligations. One role that carries accountability for all of it, plus commercial contracting, data privacy, compliance programme management, and investor reporting. For a lawyer who wants genuine breadth — not a narrow lane in a large legal team — this is a rare brief. M-KOPA has extended more than $2 billion in credit to over 7 million customers across seven markets, with 55% accessing formal financial products for the first time. In West Africa, the legal and compliance infrastructure that supports that mission sits with this role. WHAT THE WORK COVERS The role is the primary legal and compliance resource for M-KOPA's Nigeria and Ghana operations, reporting to the Head of Department. The scope spans regulatory licensing and engagement with the Bank of Ghana and Central Bank of Nigeria; corporate governance and secretarial matters for both entities; drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial agreements including vendor contracts, service agreements, and technology licences; and management of the external counsel panel across both markets. The role also carries designation as Data Privacy Officer for West Africa, with responsibility for compliance with applicable data privacy legislation across the region, supported by the global privacy team. On the compliance side, it includes maintaining the full suite of compliance tools — obligations register, training calendar, incident register, and risk register — coordinating training programmes, and supporting ESMS implementation and ESG investor reporting.   WHAT THIS ROLE REQUIRES A proven track record in a legal or compliance function, with post-call-to-bar experience in a regulated or commercially active environment; banking, finance, or fintech exposure is an advantage. Demonstrable experience in contract negotiation, regulatory engagement, and corporate governance, with working knowledge of compliance standards and risk management frameworks. An undergraduate LLB degree; prior exposure to structured finance, capital markets, or data privacy is an added advantage. WHY THIS, AND WHY NOW In private practice, you serve the client's brief. In a specialist in-house role, you own one function. Here, you are the legal and compliance lead for a growing fintech across two consequential West African markets — with the range, the relationships, and the commercial exposure that comes with it. 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) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 7 million customers, unlocking $1.5 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa. 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.