Carbon is a pan-African digital bank that equips individuals and businesses with the tools to manage their finances effectively. It offers a range of services including access to credit, simple payment solutions, and high-yield investment opportunities.
Carbon provides instant loans, offers a buy-now-pay-later service called Carbon Zero, and facilitates both online and offline card payments. It also promotes group savings through Carbon Circles, consolidates all your payments, offers returns on savings, and assists in monitoring your credit history.
This case study explores the strategic partnership between Carbon and Venture for Africa, showcasing how our expertise in talent sourcing and onboarding helped Carbon tap into high-performing global talent, leading to improved user experiences, enhanced product analytics, and significant growth for Carbon Zero, their innovative 'Buy Now, Pay Later' product.
The Problem
Carbon faced a significant challenge in attracting talent with global experience who were interested in working with African fintech companies.
Typically, the founder, Chijioke, had relied on attending business school conferences and various live events to network and source potential candidates himself. These events were instrumental in meeting potential candidates and building a diverse talent pool, providing valuable opportunities to meet individuals with the international exposure that Carbon needed.
However, this approach had two major limitations.
Firstly, the pandemic's restrictions on travel and in-person events meant that these valuable opportunities to connect with global talent were no longer available.
More fundamentally, relying on in-person events and personal connections alone is a narrow and unsustainable way to build a diverse and global talent pool - a strategy that doesn't scale and was only highlighted by the pandemic's challenges.
Additionally, recruiting only locally available talent poses its own set of challenges. The local talent pool the team had access to, although skilled, did not always have the international exposure and experience that Carbon valued for the stage they were at. The founders recognised that their own backgrounds, with extensive exposure to international markets, had been crucial in their initial success and progress.
They needed to balance their team out with team members who could bring similar global insights and experiences to the company and needed a way to do this efficiently and cost-effectively.
The Matching Process
Our recruitment approach was informed by Carbon’s primary need for international talent with specific expertise to fill senior Product Management roles.
We divided our talent search into two primary segments: international talent and local professionals. The international talent pool comprised Africans, expats, and members of the diaspora interested in emerging markets. We also segmented a pool of local professionals seeking to transition into new markets, industries, or roles.
For Carbon, our focus was on the global talent pool, specifically targeting individuals from elite MBA programs and similar calibre, including current students, recent graduates, and experienced professionals with international exposure.
The sourcing strategy
Extracting core information from these resume books, we applied our internal filters to identify potential candidates whose profiles matched Carbon's requirements from our hiring manager interviews.
Key factors included experience with global products and international markets, as well as exposure to African contexts, emerging markets, or fintech, enhancing their ability to integrate and contribute effectively to Carbon.
The screening and interviews
Once we identified promising candidates, we connected with them to explore their interests and ensure their career aspirations aligned with Carbon's vision.
With over 20 years of combined experience in recruiting talent across various levels, markets, and functions, we’ve developed a keen eye for assessing talent looking to join startups.
This initial screening was a vital step, allowing us to assess not only the candidates’ qualifications (the tangible skills) but also their underlying motivations and intentions (the intangibles) that would drive their success in the role, company, and market.
Evaluating Profiles for Carbon
When evaluating profiles for Carbon, we aimed to understand each candidate's unique strengths and motivations, particularly given the niche role of product management in a pan-African digital bank.
Drawing from our experience at Venture for Africa (VFA), we identified key attributes that make for successful fintech Product Managers (PMs):
Experience in Emerging Markets: A proven track record in product management within emerging markets, particularly in fintech. This experience is crucial for navigating regulatory landscapes and understanding the unique challenges and opportunities in these regions.
Technical and Analytical Skills: Proficiency in product analytics tools and a data-driven approach. Candidates needed to derive actionable insights from user data to inform product strategies.
UX/UI Design Experience: The ability to enhance customer satisfaction and retention through effective user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. We looked for candidates who had successfully improved user journeys and streamlined processes.
Innovation and Entrepreneurial Spirit: A demonstrated ability to innovate and adapt in dynamic environments. We sought individuals with backgrounds in high-growth startups or entrepreneurial ventures, showcasing their ability to introduce new solutions.
Cross-functional Collaboration: Strong communication skills to articulate product vision and work seamlessly with engineering, marketing, and sales teams. Effective cross-functional collaboration ensured alignment across the organization and the successful implementation of product strategies.
Cultural Fit and Passion for Africa: A deep interest and commitment to the African market. We valued candidates with direct experience in Africa or a strong commitment to contributing to the continent’s development, ensuring they could integrate into Carbon’s team and support its mission.
By focusing on these criteria, we identified candidates who were not only highly qualified but also deeply motivated to contribute to Carbon's success in the African fintech landscape.
Examples of Exceptional Profiles
Here are some examples of the profiles that caught our attention:
The Entrepreneurial Mindset: With a track record of driving growth at a fintech company, exploring entrepreneurial ventures in India, and advising fintech companies at a MENA VC firm, this candidate had developed an expertise that would be a valuable asset to Carbon's growth strategy.
The Global Project Manager: Another candidate's diverse background in strategy, digital transformation, and project management at Maersk, combined with market research experience at Amazon, demonstrated a rare ability to navigate complex global environments, and we were impressed by their potential to support Carbon's expansion plans.
The Product Expert: A third candidate's technical expertise, paired with a passion for product management, made them a compelling candidate, and their experience as a software engineer at JP Morgan and contributions to a World Bank-backed startup project in Africa showcased their ability to drive impact in a way that aligned perfectly with Carbon's goals.
Through our rigorous evaluation process, we curated a shortlist of exceptional talent, complete with detailed summaries that provided hiring managers with a comprehensive view.
The Candidate
Among the shortlisted candidates we presented to Carbon, Audrey Djiya stood out as a top choice in one of our recruitment drives.
Audrey was concluding her role as a Senior Analyst at Peloton, where she supported go-to-market product strategy, product development, and pricing. Notably, she built a journey map that led to a 100% improvement in conversion rates by identifying and addressing barriers for app users. She was also preparing to begin her MBA studies at Stanford.
Audrey's diverse experience spans customer research at Deloitte, product development at Zola, and strategic roles at Peloton. At Deloitte, she co-managed a team to provide solutions for Ongoza, a startup accelerator in Kenya, where she ran human-centred design workshops and tailored programs for entrepreneurs. This voluntary work in Kenya, along with her parents' immigrant background from Cameroon, fueled her passion for contributing to Africa’s development.
At Zola, a startup focused on reinventing the wedding planning experience, Audrey led all customer research efforts. She influenced key product and business decisions, such as the launch of the baby registry and Zola honeymoons, representing a combined market value of $14 billion. Her work involved developing and executing research projects, including satisfaction surveys, brand awareness studies, product-concept testing, and market sizing research.
At Peloton, Audrey leveraged data to drive product strategy, contributing to substantial growth in the user base. She conducted product concept testing, pricing analysis, competitive benchmarking, and customer segmentation to support the development of new products.
Audrey’s deep commitment to the African market was evident through her voluntary work with Ongoza and her foundational role at the African Advancement Network (AAN). She was driven by a determination to build impactful solutions for the underbanked and unbanked in Africa, aligning perfectly with Carbon's mission.
With a blend of technical skills, market understanding, and a strong commitment to Africa, we were confident Audrey could significantly contribute to Carbon's growth strategy.
The Deliverable
Upon joining Carbon, Audrey quickly demonstrated exceptional adaptability and made significant contributions to the team. Her role at Carbon was instrumental in identifying in-app friction points, improving user experience, and launching a new product.
One of Audrey's primary responsibilities was leading the in-app launch of Carbon Zero, Carbon’s “Buy Now, Pay Later” product, which had previously been a manual process on their website.
While Carbon had a high-level understanding of their conversion funnels, they needed more detailed insights into user journeys within the app. Audrey addressed this gap by leading the implementation of Heap, a product analytics tool that tracks user actions and provides valuable insights for product decisions.
Using user behavior data, she recommended solutions to enhance the in-app user experience and boost retention. Her efforts streamlined the sign-up flow, increasing the sign-up-to-download ratio from 63% to 80%.
Audrey's wealth of experience and eagerness to learn made her a valuable asset to Carbon. Her success story highlights the critical role we play at VFA in matching startups with skilled professionals, both locally and internationally, who are eager to tackle meaningful challenges and contribute to fast-growing companies on the continent.
Following her impactful tenure at Carbon, Audrey continued to leverage her skills and experiences, eventually launching her own startup, Zimi, which was accepted into Y Combinator. This underscores the long-term impact of the VFA program in shaping successful careers and fostering entrepreneurial spirit.
VFA’s immersive approach and focus on real-world problem-solving equip fellows with the skills and insights needed to excel in their roles and pursue ambitious ventures. Audrey’s journey from a VFA fellow to a successful entrepreneur exemplifies the transformative potential of our program.
For more details on Audrey's journey and insights, check out the full interview with her on Medium.
Key Takeaways
Carbon's success story with Venture for Africa (VFA) demonstrates that every startup has unique talent needs. We took the time to understand Carbon's specific requirements and curated a diverse global talent pool interested in emerging markets.
Our established relationships on and off the continent enabled us to tap into a community of international talent passionate about emerging markets. This allowed us to quickly match Carbon with top candidates from our extensive network, demonstrating the power of our global connections.
Our partnership with Carbon has also since extended beyond a single placement, resulting in the successful placement of several highly skilled professionals across various roles over the past four years, including:
MBA Candidates: Individuals with advanced degrees from prestigious institutions like Stanford, bringing strong analytical and strategic skills honed through rigorous academic programs and professional experiences in top tech companies.
Experienced Product Managers: Candidates with extensive backgrounds in product management from leading global companies, equipped with the technical and strategic expertise to drive product innovation and development.
Strategic Advisors: Professionals with high-level experience in corporate development, M&A, and strategic planning from major financial institutions, offering valuable insights and guidance for Carbon’s growth and expansion.
Emerging Market Experts: Individuals with deep knowledge and experience in emerging markets, particularly in fintech, who understand the unique challenges and opportunities in these regions and can navigate them effectively.
By leveraging our personalized approach and vast network, we have continually matched Carbon with top candidates who not only meet their current needs but also contribute to their long-term vision and goals. This underscores the long-term impact of the VFA program in attracting and developing top talent. Are you looking to work with us to bring high quality to your team? Leave your details here and we'll get in touch!
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