Country Finance Director

About the role: The Country Finance director (FD) is the on the ground financial owner of EZRA’s regulated micro lending entity in Botswana. This is a hands on, sole charge role. The FD will manage the books and records of the Botswana entity while operating within the policies, controls and reporting cadence set by the Group/ HQ Function Function. The role is central to running a debt funded lending business. The entity is capitalised in part through institutional borrowing carrying strict financial covenants, so disciplined covenant management, accurate lending reporting and tight liquidity controls are core to the job. The ideal candidate combines technical accounting depth with commercial judgement and can work as a trusted local partner to a central finance team. Key responsibilities: Entity ownership & financial reporting • Own the full accounting cycle for the Botswana entity end to end: general ledger, month-end close, balance sheet integrity, and supporting reconciliations. • Prepare accurate and timely statutory and management accounts, reporting into the Group/HQ finance function on the group's cadence in line with group policy. • Ensure full compliance with IFRS and internal group reporting standards. • Lead local budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning, aligned to group targets. Debt covenant management & lender reporting • Actively manage the financial covenants attached to institutional funding lines. monitor headroom, forecast covenant positions forward, and flag risks early. • Prepare and submit lender/investor reporting packs accurately and on schedule, including compliance certificates and any borrowing-base or information undertakings. • Maintain the discipline and documentation that lenders expect, and serve as the entity's point of contact for funder finance queries. • Model the impact of growth, pricing, and portfolio decisions on covenant compliance before commitments are made. Treasury & liquidity management • Manage entity cash flow to support lending disbursements and operating expenses. • Optimise funding utilisation across available credit lines and group/investor funding. • Maintain strong working relationships with local banks and financial partners. Lending & credit finance oversight • Monitor loan book performance. Disbursements, collections, and write-offs. • Track portfolio quality (PAR, NPL ratios) and recommend corrective actions. • Ensure appropriate provisioning and impairment methodologies are applied. • Partner with Risk and Credit teams to keep financial and credit strategies aligned. Tax & transfer pricing • Own local tax compliance: corporate income tax, VAT/withholding, and all filings and payments for the Botswana entity. • Manage transfer pricing for intercompany transactions with the group. Ensure arrangements are documented, defensible, and consistent with group TP policy and local regulations. • Maintain transfer pricing documentation and support any related reviews or queries from tax authorities. • Coordinate with Group tax/finance on intercompany invoicing, recharges, and settlement. Regulatory compliance & governance • Ensure compliance with Botswana financial regulations and applicable fintech/micro-lending laws. • Liaise with regulators, tax authorities, and external auditors. • Establish and maintain strong internal controls and a sound governance framework for the entity. • Own the local audit process and ensure timely resolution of findings. Risk management • Identify and manage entity-level financial risks. Particularly credit, liquidity, and operational risk. • Implement robust financial controls suited to a high-volume digital lending environment. • Support fraud prevention and financial risk mitigation. Technology, data & process • Work with product and technology teams to improve financial systems, reconciliation, and reporting. • Drive automation in financial processes and reporting. • Use data analytics to support decision-making and performance optimisation. Qualifications and Experience: • Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field (Master’s preferred) • Professional qualification (e.g., ACCA, CIMA, CA) • Minimum 10–15 years of experience in finance, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role • Proven experience in fintech, microfinance, digital lending, or financial services • Hands-on experience managing debt covenants and lender reporting for an institutionally funded business. • Strong understanding of lending models, credit risk, and financial regulations Preferred Qualifications: • Familiarity with Botswana (or comparable Southern African) regulatory, tax, and statutory requirements. • Experience reporting into a central/group finance function within a multi-country group. The ideal candidate is someone who: • Has strong commercial and strategic thinking abilities. • Possesses a deep understanding of lending economics and portfolio management. • Utilises advanced financial modeling and analytical skills. • Excels in leadership and stakeholder management. • Demonstrates a high level of integrity and awareness of governance. • Brings experience from fast-paced, technology-driven environments. • Thrives under pressure, breaking down complex challenges, prioritizing effectively, and delivering in fast-paced, changing environments. • Comfortably operates in ambiguous and fast-paced environments. Company overview: Ezra provides B2B digital lending solutions for emerging markets in partnership with mobile and digital wallet operators and financial service providers. Ezra supports 24 operations in 23 countries, across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Our key office locations are in Nairobi, Kenya and Dubai, UAE. Our flagship products are Airtime Credit Services (ACS), Nano and BNPL. • ACS is an airtime or data advance offered to prepaid mobile subscribers at the point of low credit. • Nano is a micro cash advance offered to mobile wallet users on demand. • BNPL facilitates payment installments for products and services As a FinTech company, our business is entirely technology and data driven, from determining subscriber eligibility, generating relevant offers, managing risk, loan issuance, recovery, optimizing performance and reporting, reconciliation and billing. Each day we process approximately 21M loan requests and 1.4 TB of data across our markets. This process needs to be robust, reliable and secure. But it doesn’t end there. We’re exploring new ways of using our platform and transactional data to improve our products and develop new product opportunities.