Head of Policy & Market Development

Job Description

Okra Solar is on a mission to build affordable, renewable energy technology that creates opportunities for the underserved. Through a B2B model, we supply mesh-grid technology to last-mile energy utilities, who then energize last-mile households faster and at lower cost than with traditional mini-grids and SHS. We've deployed 2MW+ of solar PV energizing ~50,000 people, and we're scaling fast under Nigeria's $750M World Bank-funded DARES program, with equipment for another 150,000 people in manufacturing now, and new markets opening in Mozambique and Madagascar.

Why this role exists

Nigeria's DARES program created the world's first regulatory and financing framework purpose-built for mesh-grids: a differentiated grant ($300/connection vs $500 for isolated mini-grids - roughly 40% public-resource savings), and license-light treatment under 100 kW. The result is 137,000+ connections ready for grant agreements in Nigeria and regulators across the continent asking how to copy it.

Right now, the frameworks that will decide whether that model spreads are being designed: World Bank ASCENT (~$5B across ~20 African countries), AfDB's SEFA, EU-backed programs, bilateral donor programs, and the national electrification plans of the markets we care about.

Whether mesh-grids get recognised as a distinct technology class - or bundled invisibly under mini-grids and solar home systems - will be decided in the next 18-24 months, and it's the difference between DARES being a one-off and DARES being the playbook.

Regulators from Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Namibia have already told us they're open; the World Bank, IFC, GEAPP, and SE4All were in the room when they said it. What's missing is one person who wakes up every day accountable for converting that openness into signed program documents.

If mesh-grids are written into these frameworks, the whole industry pushes them to scale. This is one of the highest-leverage jobs at Okra.

Responsibilities

• Mesh-grid carve-outs in the programs that set the rules. You are accountable for getting DARES-style mesh-grid inclusion - distinct technology class, differentiated grant window, license-light thresholds, fast disbursement - written into 3+ national program designs within 24 months. World Bank ASCENT is the largest single prize, but the mandate covers every pot of money that shapes rural electrification in Africa. That means tracking who is drafting what and when, and being in the room - or getting us there - before the language locks in.
• The mesh-grid alliance. Advocacy lands when it isn't one vendor lobbying. Build the coalition into something that speaks for the category: bring the other mesh-grid technology companies into a shared position, drive policy briefs (starting with the GET.invest brief) to publication with credible co-signatories, and keep developers, industry bodies, and corporate allies - Schneider Electric, CrossBoundary, First Electric, Solarworx and others - telling the same story to the same institutions.
• Creating the rooms. Don't wait for the agenda - set it. Convene the roundtables, side events and delegations where this gets decided. Our EAIF breakfast roundtable put regulators from four countries around one table with the World Bank, IFC, GEAPP and SE4All, and participants called it a black swan moment for mesh-grids; that is the bar. You run the government-to-government exchanges with REA Nigeria, who have offered to host visiting delegations, and make sure mesh-grids are on the program at the convenings our stakeholders already attend - Africa Energy Forum, the SEforALL Forum, the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum, COP.
• The evidence base. Own the definitive pack on mesh-grid economics and performance - cost per connection, uptime, consumption growth, technical differentiation from mini-grids and SHS - built from our deployed pilots and our developers' operating data. Our product and customer teams generate the proof; you turn it into the material the World Bank, IFC, rural electrification agencies (REAs) and grant funders actually work from, and make sure every institution that matters has seen it.
• The funder and REA relationship map. Be Okra's standing presence in the rooms where energy access money and rules get made: World Bank and IFC energy teams, AfDB/SEFA, EU and GET.invest program teams, GEAPP, SE4All, the donor coordination tables - and the rural electrification agencies across our priority markets, meaning REA Nigeria and its equivalents in Mozambique, Madagascar, Zambia and the markets we enter next.
• New market groundwork. As we expand over the next 2 years, lay the regulatory and partnership foundations in 2 new markets and help identify and onboard the founding country hire in each. Operational setup sits with our ops team - you make the market ready for them.

What success looks like

• Mesh-grid carve-out language in 3+ national program designs within 12 months, with at least one committed by month 24
• A government-backed mesh-grid sandbox or pilot window created in a new market (outside of Mozambique and Madagascar) with funding committed at meaningful scale (order of 10,000 connections)
• Two policy briefs published with credible co-signatories and circulating inside World Bank, AfDB and EU program teams
• Mesh-grids named as a distinct category in the sector's reference reports - GOGLA, AMDA, SE4All, IEA
• At least two G2G exchanges with REA Nigeria and other priority countries, with follow-on pilot commitments from those priority countries
• Two new markets with regulatory groundwork laid and a founding country hire in place in those markets

Who we're looking for

• 10+ years in energy access policy, development finance, or program design - you've worked at or closely with the World Bank/ESMAP, SEforALL, GEAPP, AfDB, the EU, or a major bilateral program (Power Africa, EnDev, GIZ), or led policy/market development at a scaled energy access company
• A network that's already warm across Sub-Saharan Africa - DFI energy teams, and donor program designers take your meeting without an introduction
• A track record of moving institutions: you've gotten language into a program document, a policy adopted, or a funding window created - and you can walk us through exactly how
• Technically fluent without being an engineer: you can absorb the engineering of mesh-grids vs mini-grids vs SHS deeply enough to hold your own with technical stakeholders and translate the trade-offs credibly for everyone else
• A coalition operator: you've aligned competitors, funders, and governments behind a shared position, and you know the difference between a signed MOU and an ally who shows up
• Comfortable operating alone at senior level - representing Okra with ministers, regulators, and DFI directors, often without backup
• Bonus: experience with results-based finance design, market entry in SSA energy markets, or working alongside REAs on program implementation

You don't need to be an energy engineer - we have those. We need someone who knows how program documents get written, who holds the pen, and how to get in the room before the ink dries.

Working at Okra

We're a mission-driven team of ~50 across Nigeria, Portugal, China, and Australia. We're open, plainspoken, and allergic to bureaucracy. You'll work directly with the leadership team, our customer success and product teams, and the developers building Nigeria's energy future.

Benefits At Okra

🕒 Flexible Location & Hours

We're an output-focused organisation, which means that for the most part, you can choose where and when you work as long as your team has been communicated to and is on board with it. Most commonly, we ask everyone to be in the office at least 2 to 3 days a week to foster connections.

📈 Professional Growth

With mentorship from our investors (At One Ventures, Schneider Electric) and a range of experienced leaders and change-makers in our network, you get the opportunity to take on leadership responsibilities.

🛡️ We've Got You Covered

Cover for work travel, health insurance, sick leave, and equipment.

🌴 Unlimited Paid Time Off

We burn bright, not out - we offer unlimited paid time off so you can rest, recharge, support your loved ones, and bring your best self to work.

🌈 Dynamic & Diverse Workplace

You'll work in a fast-paced startup environment with multinational staff - expect to learn a lot while finding creative solutions to complex problems, all while enjoying a great office vibe.

🍼 Flexible Parental Leave

At Okra, we support parents with fully paid, flexible leave: +60 days in Portugal, 120 in Nigeria, up to 178 in China. Take it your way - before or after birth, in blocks or part-time. Your career won't stall; we make sure family and growth go hand in hand.