About Swift Capital Holdings

Swift Capital Holdings (SCH) is a diversified Malawian financial services group comprising Swift Capital Growth Partners (microfinance), Swift Digital Finance (digital lending), and Swift Capital Insurance Brokers (insurance brokerage), delivering accessible and innovative financial solutions across Malawi.

Role Purpose

The Business Development & Market Manager will drive market growth for the Group’s businesses (microfinance, digital finance, and insurance) by identifying new business opportunities, building strategic relationships, and generating market intelligence to inform product design, pricing, and business strategy. The role is primarily field based, with the expectation of spending the majority of time in the market rather than the office.

Key Responsibilities

1. Business Development & Pipeline Management

• Proactively identify and pursue new business opportunities with corporate clients, SMEs, NGOs, churches, parastatals, private sector organisations, and institutional prospects across Malawi.
• Cold call, network, and attend events to build and maintain a live, qualified pipeline.
• Pitch the full SCH Group proposition microfinance, digital lending, and insurance (including insurance premium finance) in a single, compelling conversation.
• Close deals directly where possible; where subsidiary fulfilment is required, hand over qualified and well-briefed leads to the relevant Opco sales team.
• Lead the preparation and submission of tenders, proposals, and expressions of interest for institutional and government business opportunities.
• Own the BD budget plan, manage, and account for all business development expenditure.
• Set and track commercial targets (client visits, leads generated, proposals submitted, deals closed, conversion rates) and self-report pipeline performance to the Managing Director weekly.

2. Strategy, Planning & Market Intelligence

• Develop the annual business development plan aligned to the Group’s corporate plan, covering market segmentation, customer acquisition and retention strategies, promotional plans, and client engagement frameworks.
• Monitor market trends, regulatory changes, competitive activity, and customer behaviour across the Group’s sectors and provide strategic recommendations to management.
• Analyse business growth, risk, and SWOT factors for inclusion in the Group’s strategic and annual operating plans.
• Identify market gaps and underserved segments including rural and peri-urban markets and recommend new distribution channels, product opportunities, or partnerships to management.

3. Partnerships, Cross-Selling & Product Development

• Drive cross-selling across the Group by positioning the complementary product suite (lending, digital finance, insurance) as a bundled solution for clients.
• Build and develop strategic alliances, co-branded offerings, referral partnerships, and agency or distribution channels to expand the Group’s reach.
• Collaborate with Opco CEOs and product teams to participate in new product design, approval, and launch processes contributing field intelligence on client needs and market gaps.
• Monitor product performance post-launch and surface recommendations for improvement based on client feedback and market response.

4. Leadership, Reporting & Governance

• Lead, direct, and manage the Marketing Officer providing clear direction on priorities, collateral requirements, and lead-generation targets tied to digital and content channels.
• Provide regular performance feedback to the Marketing Officer and escalate people management matters to HR as required.
• Prepare and present BD performance, pipeline, and market intelligence reports to the Managing Director and Board on a regular basis.
• Represent the Group at industry events, partner engagements, and stakeholder forums.
• Collaborate with Credit, Risk, and Operations leadership across Opcos to ensure new business initiatives are commercially sound and compliant.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, risk, and corporate governance standards on matters relevant to new business and market expansion.

Qualifications & Experience

• A degree in Commerce, Sales and Marketing, Business Administration, Economics, Finance, or a related field. A master’s degree is an added advantage.
• A Chartered Marketer (CIM) or equivalent professional qualification is desirable.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in business development, sales, or a related commercial role at least 3 years at supervisory or management level, preferably within microfinance, insurance, or broader financial services.
• Demonstrated track record of generating and closing B2B or institutional deals not just account management or inbound sales.
• Experience developing distribution channels, agency networks, or strategic alliances is an advantage.
• Strong understanding of Malawi’s microfinance and/or insurance landscape is an advantage.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).

Key Skills & Attributes

• Hunter mentality proactive, persistent, and energised by opening new doors rather than managing existing ones.
• Confident, polished communicator able to pitch credibly at CEO, board, or senior management level, and to write clear, compelling proposals.
• Strong commercial and analytical judgement able to assess opportunity quality, read market trends, and translate data into actionable recommendations.
• Organised and self-disciplined manages own pipeline, budget, and reporting without needing to be chased.
• Strong negotiation, networking, and relationship-building skills.
• People management skills able to direct and develop the Marketing Officer effectively.
• Resilient and target-driven comfortable with rejection and motivated by commercial accountability.
• High level of integrity and professionalism always represents the SCH brand.

• Proactively identify and pursue new business opportunities with corporate clients, SMEs, NGOs, churches, parastatals, private sector organisations, and institutional prospects across Malawi.
• Cold call, network, and attend events to build and maintain a live, qualified pipeline.
• Pitch the full SCH Group proposition microfinance, digital lending, and insurance (including insurance premium finance) in a single, compelling conversation.
• Close deals directly where possible; where subsidiary fulfilment is required, hand over qualified and well-briefed leads to the relevant Opco sales team.
• Lead the preparation and submission of tenders, proposals, and expressions of interest for institutional and government business opportunities.
• Own the BD budget plan, manage, and account for all business development expenditure.
• Set and track commercial targets (client visits, leads generated, proposals submitted, deals closed, conversion rates) and self-report pipeline performance to the Managing Director weekly.
• Develop the annual business development plan aligned to the Group’s corporate plan, covering market segmentation, customer acquisition and retention strategies, promotional plans, and client engagement frameworks.
• Monitor market trends, regulatory changes, competitive activity, and customer behaviour across the Group’s sectors and provide strategic recommendations to management.
• Analyse business growth, risk, and SWOT factors for inclusion in the Group’s strategic and annual operating plans.
• Identify market gaps and underserved segments including rural and peri-urban markets and recommend new distribution channels, product opportunities, or partnerships to management.
• Drive cross-selling across the Group by positioning the complementary product suite (lending, digital finance, insurance) as a bundled solution for clients.
• Build and develop strategic alliances, co-branded offerings, referral partnerships, and agency or distribution channels to expand the Group’s reach.
• Collaborate with Opco CEOs and product teams to participate in new product design, approval, and launch processes contributing field intelligence on client needs and market gaps.
• Monitor product performance post-launch and surface recommendations for improvement based on client feedback and market response.
• Lead, direct, and manage the Marketing Officer providing clear direction on priorities, collateral requirements, and lead-generation targets tied to digital and content channels.
• Provide regular performance feedback to the Marketing Officer and escalate people management matters to HR as required.
• Prepare and present BD performance, pipeline, and market intelligence reports to the Managing Director and Board on a regular basis.
• Represent the Group at industry events, partner engagements, and stakeholder forums.
• Collaborate with Credit, Risk, and Operations leadership across Opcos to ensure new business initiatives are commercially sound and compliant.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, risk, and corporate governance standards on matters relevant to new business and market expansion.

• Hunter mentality proactive, persistent, and energised by opening new doors rather than managing existing ones.
• Confident, polished communicator able to pitch credibly at CEO, board, or senior management level, and to write clear, compelling proposals.
• Strong commercial and analytical judgement able to assess opportunity quality, read market trends, and translate data into actionable recommendations.
• Organised and self-disciplined manages own pipeline, budget, and reporting without needing to be chased.
• Strong negotiation, networking, and relationship-building skills.
• People management skills able to direct and develop the Marketing Officer effectively.
• Resilient and target-driven comfortable with rejection and motivated by commercial accountability.
• High level of integrity and professionalism always represents the SCH brand.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).

• A degree in Commerce, Sales and Marketing, Business Administration, Economics, Finance, or a related field. A master’s degree is an added advantage.
• A Chartered Marketer (CIM) or equivalent professional qualification is desirable.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in business development, sales, or a related commercial role at least 3 years at supervisory or management level, preferably within microfinance, insurance, or broader financial services.
• Demonstrated track record of generating and closing B2B or institutional deals not just account management or inbound sales.
• Experience developing distribution channels, agency networks, or strategic alliances is an advantage.
• Strong understanding of Malawi’s microfinance and/or insurance landscape is an advantage.