Degas is an innovative startup dedicated to ‘Changing people’s lives, dramatically.’ Our mission is to uplift smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, where over 70% of the workforce is engaged in agriculture. Our holistic approach empowers farmers to achieve productive, profitable, and sustainable farming by leveraging our expertise in data aggregation, AI credit scoring, satellite observations, financing, and carbon markets. By focusing on increasing the income of smallholder farmers, we aim to make a real difference in their lives. Our journey is just beginning, and with a goal to triple the income of 30 million farmers by 2030, we are committed to delivering tangible benefits to agricultural communities while making a global impact.

About the Role

The Sales Manager at Degas Ghana Limited is a vital position within the sales team, reporting to the Head of Operations and working closely with Operations and Finance. This role is based in Ghana and focuses on overseeing all aspects of commodity sales, particularly maize and soy. The Sales Manager will lead grain sales operations to achieve immediate sales goals while fostering long-term relationships with key buyers, such as feed producers and food processors. The ideal candidate will be a proactive and collaborative leader with high integrity, capable of developing a revenue-driven sales strategy and managing the sales pipeline from lead generation to closing. They will ensure operational efficiency through cross-functional collaboration for timely delivery and customer satisfaction. Finally, the ideal candidate will have a strong background in agricultural commodity sales and an entrepreneurial mindset are essential, along with adaptability to thrive in a dynamic startup environment.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and manage the full sales cycle for all commodity sales for Degas, driving growth through generating, qualifying, and converting leads into sales.
• Develop and implement an effective marketing strategy to build the Degas brand and market presence among commodity customers in Ghana.
• Cultivate and sustain long-term partnerships with B2B clients, aiming for high customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Collaborate with the management team to meet customer quality specifications, and develop new products and services to meet market demands
• Develop and maintain a meticulous sales pipeline to forecast sales, analyse gaps, and collaborate with other teams to align lead generation efforts.
• Work closely with Warehouse & Logistics, Finance, and Management teams to ensure timely deliveries, seamless payment processes, and an excellent customer experience.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, competitor activities, and buyer demands to inform product and service development, aligning with evolving market needs.
• Regularly provide reports on sales performance, pipeline status, customer insights, and market developments to the management team, ensuring data-driven decisions.

You Could Be a Great Fit for This Role If You Have

• Proven success in selling commodities with premiums, preferably maize, (and related commodities soy and/or shea) and in managing deals and forming strategic partnerships with large-scale suppliers.
• Minimum of 5 years in B2B sales, preferably in agricultural commodities (maize/soy specifically), with experience in meeting or exceeding annual sales targets of at least $5 million
• Experience developing strategic partnerships with major offtakers, leading to progressively larger sales over several years
• A strong track record of identifying and leading strategic growth opportunities.
• Preferably fluent in at least two local languages to facilitate relationship building.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred, but not required – extensive experience is a good substitute.
• Strong financial acumen, with the ability to drive business growth, while also maximising impact on the ground.
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills, with a natural ability to connect with community stakeholders and design effective sales strategies.
• The ability to leverage data insights to drive sales and engagement, with a deep understanding of the agricultural environment.
• A logical, direct, and ownership-driven mindset, with the ability to move with a Day 1 mentality – embracing new challenges and focusing on future achievements over past successes.

Encouragement to Apply

If some of the qualifications mentioned above don’t align perfectly with your experience, we still want to hear from you! We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every all qualification listed.

Location

This role is based in Accra, Ghana, with travel required to Degas’ regional offices and field locations in Northern Ghana, and partner sites.

Compensation

Competitive salary, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

How we’re Different

• Degas is committed to the mission of ‘Changing people’s lives, dramatically’ as an impact-oriented, for-profit startup. Degas has achieved 2x year-over-year revenue growth for the past three years and has established a profitable farmer financing business. In 2023 alone, we doubled the incomes of over 26,000 smallholder farmers in Africa, as verified by a third-party assessment.
• We leverage both advanced and ‘primitive’ technologies, from GPUs for state-of-the-art foundation models to offline-enabled mobile apps for data aggregation in rural areas of developing countries.
• We prioritise long-term thinking, investing in technology, operations, and people to change the world in ways no one has ever done before.

Support

Degas is an equal opportunity employer. If you have a condition or require an adjustment to our interview process – please let us know so we can make adjustments to support you.