About OpenTrace Africa

OpenTrace Africa is an agricultural intelligence platform transforming how data is used across African food systems. Our mission is to make agriculture visible, trusted, and investment-ready by aggregating and validating fragmented data, from satellite imagery to field surveys, and powering it with an AI-driven insight engine.

At the heart of this is Ask ADZA, our user-facing tool that allows governments, institutions, and agri-actors to ask complex questions like: – “Which LGAs in Nigeria have the largest yield-risk gaps for maize?” – “How do cassava prices correlate with rainfall patterns in Eastern Uganda?” – “Which counties saw the largest youth exit from agriculture in the last five years?”

We are already collaborating with institutions across five African countries, and now, we’re seeking a Head of Strategic Fundraising and Investor Relations to help us grow and scale the infrastructure Africa needs for climate-smart, data-driven agricultural transformation.

What You’ll Do

As Head of Strategic Fundraising & Partnerships, you will:

• Lead the design and execution of a capital strategy across grants, catalytic investment, and institutional finance
• Identify and build relationships with impact investors, DFIs, foundations, venture funds, and multilaterals
• Develop investor-facing materials, from pitch decks to financial models, concept notes, and data room collateral
• Navigate blended capital, equity-debt instruments, and non-dilutive structures aligned with OpenTrace’s mission
• Coordinate due diligence processes, strategic introductions, follow-ups, and investment negotiation
• Collaborate with the leadership team on fundraising readiness and capital structure planning
• Track grant and funding opportunities across agriculture, climate, and digital infrastructure portfolios
• Support ongoing reporting, compliance, and funder communication cycles

Who You Are

• You have experience in early-stage fundraising, grant strategy, catalytic finance, or investor relations, especially in African agri-tech, climate, or infrastructure
• You’ve worked with or engaged VCs, DFIs, philanthropic funders, and/or multilateral institutions
• You’re comfortable navigating term sheets, capital structures, and non-traditional investment vehicles
• You know how to translate technical products into mission-aligned investment narratives
• You have a clear sense of the African funding landscape and the capital realities of building serious infrastructure on the continent
• You’re a builder, systems, strategy, documents, connections. If it doesn’t exist yet, you know how to make it happen

Why This Role Matters

Africa’s food systems won’t transform on dashboards and pilots, they need long-term, well-structured capital aligned with public good and systems change. At OpenTrace, we’re building the intelligence layer to support that transformation, and the right capital partners will shape how far and how fast we go. You’ll help drive that foundation.

Compensation & Structure

This is not a salaried position at this stage. OpenTrace is currently operating in a lean, founder-backed structure. As such:

• This role is structured as a strategic leadership position, with equity participation offered based on contribution and commitment
• There is no full-time expectation, but we are seeking serious ownership and initiative
• As funding grows, this role can evolve into a more structured capital leadership position
• We are upfront that this is a build-with-us role, not a consulting contract

If you’re excited by the idea of helping design the capital strategy behind one of Africa’s most ambitious agricultural data platforms, we’d love to hear from you.