Regional Lead - Africa
- Location: Nairobi / Addis (or similar regional hub)
- Reports to: CEO
- Seniority: Senior Leadership
About Mati Carbon
Mati Carbon delivers scientifically rigorous, farmer-first Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) across India and emerging global markets. Backed by leading climate funds and validated by independent scientific ratings, Mati deploys high-quality carbon removal at scale through a combination of local operations, last-mile distribution, and our proprietary digital MRV and logistics platform.
We are now expanding across Africa, building a multi-country presence that combines soil science, agronomy, logistics, and deep partnership with governments, NGOs, and private sector actors.
Role Overview
The Africa Regional Lead is responsible for designing, launching, and scaling Matis carbon removal and ERW operations across multiple African countries. This leader owns the regions strategy, partnerships, team-building, regulatory navigation, and field execution.
Its a role for someone who can move between government meetings, donor discussions, field trials, farmer trainings, and product feedback loopsbringing together ambition and grounded operational excellence.
You will build the Africa portfolio from the ground up, ensuring that Matis modelhigh-quality MRV, strong scientific credibility, and deeply farmer-centric deliverylands effectively in diverse agro-ecological and community contexts.
Key Responsibilities
1. Regional Strategy & Market Entry
- Develop and execute the Africa expansion roadmap, including country prioritization, regulatory pathways, budget planning, and risk assessments.
- Assess ERW viability across agro-ecological zones; identify regions and crop systems suitable for large-scale deployment.
- Build localized strategies that reflect regional value chains, community norms, and last-mile realities.
2. Partnerships, Government & Stakeholder Engagement
- Build and manage high-trust relationships with Ministries of Agriculture, Environment, and Climate.
- Secure partnerships with NGOs, carbon buyers, development agencies, agribusinesses, and research institutions.
- Lead country-level negotiations, MoUs, demonstrations, and public-private partnerships.
- Represent Mati in regional climate forums, development networks, and donor conversations.
3. On-Ground Operations & Project Delivery
- Set up and oversee regional operations: basalt sourcing partners, logistics networks, field teams, training systems, and monitoring structures.
- Establish demonstration plots, farmer cohorts, and multi-season field trials.
- Work closely with the Mati Science team to ensure correct application protocols, soil sampling, and data integrity.
4. Team Building & Leadership
- Hire and manage country leads, ops managers, agronomists, data associates, and community mobilizers.
- Build a culture that reflects Matis ethos: farmer-first, grounded ambition, operational excellence, and scientific integrity.
- Drive performance management, training, and cross-country coordination.
Ideal Candidate Profile
Experience
- 10-15+ years in a fast-growth startup or enterprise in logistics, agriculture or operations heavy industries
- Strong experience working across Sub-Saharan Africa; preferably in multi-country roles.
- Demonstrated success in building operations, partnerships, or government programs from zero.
- Experience in carbon removal, soil science, regenerative agriculture, or climate programs is strongly preferred (but not mandatory).
Skills & Attributes
- Strong operational instincts; thrives in complex, rural, multi-actor environments.
- Comfort with ambiguity and fast-paced scaling.
- High cultural sensitivity and ability to work across diverse contexts.
- Strong analytical ability; can interpret field data, farmer behaviour, and logistical patterns.
- Ability to travel 40-50% across the region.