Senior Data Officer

ABOUT RENEW CAPITAL

Renew Capital is a pan-Africa investment firm with a presence in 13 countries. We back the bold founders using technology to pursue Africa’s greatest opportunities.

With more than a decade of investing on the continent, Renew Capital is among the most active investors building Africa’s thriving private sector.

Renew Capital is powered by a team of investment, finance, legal, advisory and market development professionals. Our bench includes seasoned investors, analysts, operators and ecosystem experts with deep experience scaling businesses across Africa.

Role Summary

Renew Capital is seeking a Senior Data Officer to lead the design and development of our in-house data platform. This role will drive the creation of proprietary models, infrastructure and scalable tools that underpin our investment approach. The candidate must combine deep technical expertise in data science with leadership capacity to grow and manage a cross-disciplinary team. The candidate will be expected to do the coding, design and development themselves.

The candidate must be located in Africa or willing to relocate.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of proprietary models for assessing SMEs and startups.
• Build a scalable data infrastructure to collect, aggregate and analyze data across pipeline and portfolio companies.
• Develop tools and APIs to strengthen data capabilities across portfolio companies.
• Partner with leadership to align data products with investment strategy.
• Evaluate pipeline and portfolio companies on data quality, systems and technical capacity.
• Advise, coach and support portfolio founders to strengthen their data management systems.
• Oversee tech stack, architecture and data governance across Renew Capital’s innovation agenda.
• Ensure repeatable, transparent and compliant models that support scaling investments across Africa.
• Represent Renew Capital externally as a thought leader in data science and innovation.

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years in data science, ML/AI, or fintech, with experience in modeling, scoring or analytics.
• Proven ability to build and lead high-performing tech teams.
• Advanced degree in a quantitative field (CS, Statistics, Math, Engineering, Economics) preferred.
• Hands-on with Python, SQL, R, ML frameworks and cloud data platforms.
• Track record building production-grade ML models (credit scoring, fraud detection, risk analysis, etc.).
• Understanding of African (or similar markets) fintech and SME ecosystems.
• Strong communicator able to translate technical models into business outcomes.

Why Join

This role is at the heart of Renew Capital’s investment strategy: building the next generation of data-driven infrastructure for Africa’s private sector. You’ll shape how SMEs access capital and design proprietary technology with global relevance.

More About Renew Capital:

We invite you to learn more about Renew Capital by visiting our website: www.renewcapital.com.

Renew Capital is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran or disability status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Further, Renew Capital supports gender-based pay equity and is committed to compensating women and men equally, for equal work.

Originally posted on Himalayas