Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Rocket Technologies Limited – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (relocation required; full family relocation supported)

Function: Finance, Credit & Embedded Finance

About Rocket Technologies

Rocket Technologies is a technology-commerce and embedded-finance group headquartered in Dar es Salaam, built on top of a long-established FMCG distribution business. The group operates a B2B commerce marketplace (UTrade) connecting manufacturers, importers and distributors with thousands of retail, pharmacy and trade customers, alongside a B2C super-app (UWorld) and an EdTech platform (ULearn).

The strategic thesis is a deliberate transition from a trading business into an embedded-finance platform – layering payments, credit and logistics onto a scaled distribution stack, and building toward a durable, independently valuable group. The CFO is central to executing that transition.

The Mandate

This is a build-and-lead role, not a caretaker one. The financial and credit infrastructure this business needs largely does not yet exist internally, and the surrounding market is early-stage. The CFO is expected to architect the finance and credit function from the ground up, drive the business to profitability, and act as a genuine strategic partner to the CEO on the direction of the company – while building the team and systems that will scale underneath them.

In the first 12-18 months, success looks like:

– A clear, defended path to profitability, with unit economics understood line by line and a plan to reduce customer-acquisition cost and operating expense.

– A finance function that is structured, controlled and audit-ready – ERP embedded, reporting reliable, SOPs in place.

– A working credit architecture designed and moving toward launch, in partnership with banks, MNOs and (in time) the group’s own book.

– The CEO holding a finance leader they can rely on for commercial judgement, not just reporting.

Key Responsibilities

Profitability & Commercial Finance

– Own the group P&L outcome: drive the business to profitability and defend margin discipline across all lines.

– Master and manage unit economics – identify and reduce CAC, operating expense and leakage; challenge unprofitable volume.

– Partner with the CEO and commercial leaders on pricing, margin mix and capital-allocation decisions.

Finance Function Build-Out

– Build and lead the finance function end to end: financial control, reporting, budgeting, forecasting and MIS.

– Own the ERP (SAP Business One) rollout and embed the controls, SOPs and processes around it.

– Establish board-grade, audit-ready reporting and governance.

Credit & Embedded Finance

– Architect the group’s credit offering hands-on – credit scoring, provisioning and portfolio discipline – initially in partnership with banks and MNOs, building toward an owned lending book over time.

– Establish the credit function from a blank page and, as the business scales, recruit and lead a team beneath this capability.

Partnership with Technology & Data

– Work with the CTO: the finance, credit and reporting engine is built in code, not in spreadsheets, so finance requirements must be engineered into the product and data roadmap – not bolted on afterwards.

– Jointly own the data instrumentation behind unit economics and credit scoring – ensure the platforms capture the right data (cohorts, CAC attribution, GMV quality, credit-funded vs. organic demand) and that it flows cleanly into finance, credit and MIS.

– Partner with the CTO on integrating the ERP (SAP Business One) and the embedded-finance rails (payments, credit) with the group’s platforms, and on automating financial reporting and reconciliation.

Working Capital, Treasury & Cash

– Own the cash-conversion cycle in an inventory-heavy distribution business – inventory, receivables (including growing credit exposure) and payables.

– Manage cash flow, forecast and fund deficits as they arise

Structuring, Tax & Governance

– Ensure statutory, regulatory and governance compliance, and keep the group audit- and diligence-ready.

Capital & Strategic Leadership

– Sit on the leadership team and contribute materially to the direction of the company.

– Keep the group investor- and diligence-ready.

Required Experience & Qualifications

– Chartered Accountant (mandatory).

– Approximately 12-18 years post-qualification experience, with a track record of owning – not merely observing – finance outcomes.

– Experience within a high-growth Indian e-commerce or B2B-commerce business, Held a senior finance leadership role in a large, scaled and professionally governed company, working directly with the Group CFO and gaining end-to-end exposure to Board reporting, capital allocation, funding, treasury, controls and strategic decision-making.

– Hands-on experience with credit / lending – credit scoring, credit provisioning, and working with financial institutions to extend customer credit.

– Demonstrated experience implementing an ERP and building a finance function, controls and SOPs – not only operating an existing one.

– Strong command of unit economics, working-capital management and cash-flow management.

Preferred / Advantageous

– Big-4 audit training; MBA or CFA.

– Prior experience in an emerging or frontier market, ideally with limited existing infrastructure to lean on.

The Person

– An owner and a builder – comfortable creating structure where none exists, rather than inheriting it.

– Commercially sharp and hands-on, willing to go deep into detail and to explain and construct from first principles in a market where these financial services are still nascent.

– Able to partner deeply with the CTO and engineering – comfortable specifying requirements for a credit engine and data instrumentation, and translating fluently between finance and product.

– Strong enough to partner with the CEO on strategy and direction, and to build and lead a team over time.