Marketing Manager — M-KOPA Cape Town

You've run campaigns that actually moved product. You've stood in a trading store at 7am to check whether your POS materials made it to the shelf, and you've sat in a boardroom at 4pm presenting the attribution model that proved the campaign worked. You know both worlds — the strategic and the executional — and you're increasingly rare because of it.

Most marketing roles ask you to pick one. This one needs both — but with a clear bias toward where real impact happens: in the field.

M-KOPA is hiring a Marketing Manager for Cape Town — a role that sits at the intersection of brand strategy, high-impact field marketing (70%), digital execution (30%), and sales-driven marketing that directly drives revenue across retail channels and DSR networks. If you've built your career in FMCG, telecoms, or a BTL agency handling major consumer brands, and you're ready to apply that expertise to something with a mission behind it — this is worth reading.

What M-KOPA is building

We've served more than 7 million customers across Africa, unlocking over $2 billion in credit. 55% of the people we reach are accessing formal financial services for the very first time. 86% report a meaningful improvement in their quality of life. We're growing toward 10 million customers, and Cape Town is a critical growth hub in that trajectory.

We're also in the middle of a deliberate brand transition — evolving from our roots in connected asset financing toward positioning as a Smart Money Platform. That transition needs a marketer who can hold the strategic thread while executing against it simultaneously — particularly on the ground, where customer acquisition and sales conversion happen in real time.

Why this role is different

This isn't a brand manager role with a BTL line item. And it isn't a trade marketing role with aspirations of strategy. It's genuinely both — but with a clear 70% focus on field and sales marketing execution, and 30% on digital marketing — with full ownership across all.

On the field and sales marketing side (70%), you'll design and execute comprehensive BTL programmes across retail partners, DSR networks, and strategic distribution channels. This includes developing trade activity calendars, dealer incentive mechanics, in-store merchandising standards, and high-impact field activation campaigns such as market storms, roadshows, and community activations. You'll work closely with sales teams to ensure marketing directly drives sell-through, build co-marketing initiatives with MNOs, retail chains, and financial institutions, and spend significant time in market (well over half your time) ensuring execution excellence. This is a hands-on, in-market role — not one managed from behind a desk.

On the brand and strategic side, you'll still develop and localise integrated marketing strategies aligned to business OKRs, partner with the Group Marketing function on ATL initiatives, and lead customer-first storytelling that builds brand equity while supporting sales outcomes. You'll own market research and customer insights, establish attribution models, and bring data-driven thinking into commercial decision-making.

Digitally (30% of the role), you'll lead social media strategy across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, manage content calendars, run paid campaigns, oversee local website updates, and track performance with analytical rigour. Digital here is not standalone — it's tightly integrated to support and amplify field and sales marketing efforts.

You'll also lead, coach, and develop a local marketing team — acting as a senior voice of influence across the business and ensuring strong alignment between marketing and sales objectives.

What makes you ready for this

Proven track record in progressive through-the-line marketing roles — ideally across FMCG, telecommunications, or a BTL agency — with strong evidence of field marketing and sales-driven campaign execution that delivered measurable sell-through
Extensive experience managing integrated campaigns across BTL, field activations, retail/trade environments, and digital channels — with a strong bias toward in-market execution and sales enablement
Strong commercial acumen with the ability to align marketing activity directly to revenue outcomes, alongside solid experience in analytics, attribution, and ROI reporting (e.g., Looker Studio, Supermetrics)
Demonstrated experience leading and developing a team, with the credibility to influence senior stakeholders and collaborate effectively with sales and cross-functional leadership

The reality check

This role has genuine breadth and real accountability. You'll be managing budgets, agency relationships, a local team, a digital content engine, a high-volume field marketing programme, and senior stakeholder expectations — often simultaneously.

You'll spend a significant portion of your time in market, working closely with sales teams, retail partners, and field execution teams. The Cape Town market is fast-moving and competitive, and expectations are high.

If you thrive in environments where you can see your work translate directly into sales, take ownership of outcomes, and operate seamlessly between strategy and execution — you'll find this role energising. If you prefer a desk-bound, purely strategic remit with predictable structure, it won't be the right fit.

Why M-KOPA, and why now

Most marketing roles in FMCG or telecoms put you in service of a product. This one puts you in service of a mission.

The customers M-KOPA reaches — many accessing financial services for the first time and using financed products to generate income — are underserved by the mainstream market. The field campaigns you execute, the sales you enable, and the brand you build have a direct and meaningful impact on financial inclusion.

We're growing from 7 million toward 10 million customers. The infrastructure being built now — from field marketing capability to digital ecosystems and sales partnerships in Cape Town — will define M-KOPA's presence in South Africa for years to come.

This is a role where marketing is not support — it's a core commercial driver.

If your expertise in field marketing, digital execution, and sales-driven strategy is ready to come together in a role that genuinely matters — let's talk.

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.