Head of New Ventures & Ecosystem Innovation

A leading financial services group operating across South Africa and select African markets is seeking new joiner.

This established organisation provides a full range of banking, insurance, asset management, and wealth solutions to a broad client base. They focus on delivering innovative financial services while maintaining a strong commitment to integrity, sustainable growth, and positive impact in the communities they serve.

The role offers a stable, professional environment with opportunities for development in a dynamic sector

Head: New Ventures and Ecosystem Innovation

Final title might be aligned with the experience and seniority of the successful candidate.

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end development of new ventures, from opportunity identification and concept validation through to market launch and early growth.
• Define venture strategy, market entry approaches, and growth pathways.
• Conduct market analysis and customer discovery to identify high-potential opportunities.
• Design and validate scalable business models with strong unit economics.
• Develop and evaluate venture investment cases, including commercial and financial models.
• Assess venture economics, scalability, and capital efficiency to guide strategic decision-making.
• Drive structured experimentation and rapid testing of venture hypotheses.
• Work closely with product, technology, and commercial teams to build and scale new solutions.
• Establish venture metrics, milestones, and operating disciplines to guide performance and growth.
• Mentor and develop venture teams, fostering a culture of learning, accountability, and execution.
• Engage with partners and the broader innovation ecosystem to identify opportunities and accelerate venture growth.

Education

• Bachelor's degree required
• MBA strongly preferred, ideally with a focus on entrepreneurship, strategy, innovation, or venture development

Experience

• 10–15+ years of relevant experience
• Experience in startups, venture studios, scale-ups, or new business creation environments
• Demonstrated track record of building ventures from concept to scale
• Experience working closely with product, technology, and commercial teams
• Exposure to African market dynamics is strongly advantageous

Core Capabilities

• Venture building and venture incubation
• Business model design and venture strategy
• Strong understanding of unit economics and venture economics
• Customer discovery and opportunity validation
• Financial modelling and commercial analysis
• Data-driven experimentation and lean startup methodologies

Leadership & Mindset

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• A strong builder mindset
• Comfort operating in uncertain and ambiguous environments
• A bias toward action and disciplined experimentation
• The ability to coach and develop high-performing venture teams
• Intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn quickly through iteration

Employment Equity

Preference will be given to suitably qualified Black African female candidates.