Position Code: 86C1XANN8

Organisation Description:

We are a leading Alternative Investment and Financial Advisory Boutique advising both private and public sector clients, ranging from corporates, private equity houses, and entrepreneurs, to financial institutions, hedge funds, infrastructure funds, pension funds, insurance companies, and government bodies. Our expertise spans infrastructure financing and impact investing, where we work with a diverse range of organisations, including impact investors, private equity firms, family offices, governments, NGOs, non-profits, SMEs, and entrepreneurs.

Established in 2017, we are committed to promoting sustainability thought leadership for emerging and frontier market development. As an impact investing pioneer, we specialize in advisory, research, incubation, market data, and news, fostering the growth of impact investing in Africa and other emerging markets. Our principal office is in Geneva (Founex), Switzerland, and we operate internationally, focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on Africa (Zambia, Tanzania, DRC, Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and Egypt).

We actively contribute to policy debates at seminars and conferences (including the Africa CEO Forum and UNECE People First PPPs), and deliver capacity building PPP and Impact Investing training courses to international clients.

Role:

Impact Investment Assistant Intern

Internship Description:

As an Impact Investment Assistant Intern, you will be instrumental in supporting our investment and fundraising activities. Your responsibilities will include:

  • Sourcing investment-ready (impact/social) enterprises in our target countries (Zambia, Tanzania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Egypt, and DRC).
  • Supporting fundraising (investment-matchmaking/capital raising) activities, leveraging our Impact Investor database and forthcoming Private Placement Platform, which includes impact investors from OECD countries and leading VC hubs in Africa (Asset Managers, Institutional Investors, and High-Net-Worth Individuals & Family Offices). This will involve:
    • Assisting early-stage enterprise clients in raising capital.
    • Promoting the 4IP ESG Toolkit (including UNDP-SVI’s SDG Impact Standards) as a prerequisite for capital raising activities.
    • Supporting fundraising for select Africa-based Venture Capital Funds (with signed finder’s agreements).
    • Supporting fundraising for a small number of large-scale projects (with signed finder’s agreements).
    • Contributing to the preliminary work for launching an Impact Tech Venture Capital Fund in 2025.
    • Exploring the feasibility of establishing a Cooperative Bank in the DRC to provide private lending to early-stage companies.

Internship Requirements:

To excel in this role, you should possess:

  • A relevant Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.
  • Excellent communication skills – the ability to articulate opinions persuasively, both verbally and in writing.
  • Strong technical skills – the ability to develop and manipulate financial models for companies and private equity funds (e.g., LBO models, valuation models, fund cash flow models).
  • Strong analytical and critical thinking skills – the ability to identify and articulate key investment considerations and risks across various industries and businesses. The ability to constructively review and critique team members’ work, and a willingness to consider diverse perspectives.
  • Excellent interpersonal and team skills – comfort with consensus decision-making and working in a cross-border, team-based environment.
  • Strong organizational and time-management skills.
  • A genuine passion for and understanding of the private equity industry.

Don’t exactly match these requirements? If you have the enthusiasm and want to learn – then speak to Pagoda about this position and we’ll see what is possible!