Commercial Research Scientist

We are looking for a Commercial Research Scientist to join our Data Science Team as we scale up and drive digital and financial inclusion across our markets.

Joining M-KOPA as a Commercial Research Scientist provides an extraordinary opportunity to be at the heart of a mission-driven company committed to transforming lives and fostering financial inclusion across the globe. M-KOPA’s innovative solutions, from digital financial services to accessible technology, enhance individual lives and uplift entire communities, impacting over 23 million people worldwide. Imagine leveraging cutting-edge machine learning techniques to empower families, support businesses, and enable communities to thrive.

In this sophisticated and pivotal role within M-KOPA’s central Data Science team, you'll tackle complex modelling challenges with substantial business and societal impact. Your work will directly influence strategic decisions, optimize product performance, and shape the future direction of M-KOPA’s offerings. Operating at the intersection of theoretical innovation and real-world application, your insights and discoveries will drive the evolution of solutions that meaningfully change lives.

As part of our central Data Science team, you will have the unique freedom to explore, prototype, and deploy state-of-the-art machine learning models, collaborating cross-functionally with talented colleagues in Product, Engineering, Operations, and Strategy. Your research will not only address immediate business problems but will also position M-KOPA as a thought leader, contributing to scientific literature and establishing strong ties with the research community.

Why This Role is Awesome:

• Impactful Research: Conduct research that directly influences products and services used by millions, creating measurable social and economic benefits.

• Complex Problem-Solving: Engage in sophisticated machine learning and modelling challenges, pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

• Collaborative Freedom: Enjoy the autonomy to explore novel methods, with ample opportunity to collaborate internationally and cross-functionally, from Europe and the UK to Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Ghana, and beyond.

• Thought Leadership: Opportunity to publish influential research papers, attend leading conferences, and collaborate with prestigious academic institutions.

• Mission-Driven Culture: Join an organization deeply committed to sustainability and social impact, proudly carbon-negative, having already displaced over 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct applied machine learning research and develop innovative algorithms to solve complex, real-world problems.

• Prototype, test, and iterate advanced models, integrating state-of-the-art academic insights into practical solutions.

• Actively engage with academic institutions to accelerate innovation and maintain M-KOPA’s competitive advantage.

Essential Skills and Qualifications:

• Advanced expertise in machine learning, mathematics, statistics, and theoretical computer science.

• Proven ability to apply academic research into actionable algorithms and frameworks.

• Familiarity with deep learning, reinforcement learning, or other specialized machine learning domains.

• Strong record of scientific publication in prestigious conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, etc.).

• Exceptional analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities.

Who You Are:

• Driven by intellectual curiosity and the pursuit of scientific excellence.

• Passionate about advancing the state-of-the-art in machine learning to tackle meaningful practical problems.

• Comfortable navigating theoretical complexities to deliver impactful business and social outcomes.

This is a fully remote role, you would be working within the following time zone (UTC -1 / UTC+3) with a diverse group of other employees working remotely from locations such as UK, Europe and Africa. You will be reporting to the Head of Data Science.

Why M-KOPA?

At M-KOPA, we empower our people to own their careers through diverse development programs, coaching partnerships, and on-the-job training. We support individual journeys with family-friendly policies, prioritize well-being, and embrace flexibility.

Join us in shaping the future of M-KOPA as we grow together. Explore more at m-kopa.com.

Recognized thrice by the Financial Times as one Africa's fastest growing companies (2022, 2023 and 2024) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 5 million customers, unlocking $1.5 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa.

Important Notice

M-KOPA is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

M-KOPA explicitly prohibits the use of Forced or Child Labour and respects the rights of its employees to agree to terms and conditions of employment voluntarily, without coercion, and freely terminate their employment on appropriate notice. M-KOPA shall ensure that its Employees are of legal working age and shall comply with local laws for youth employment or student work, such as internships or apprenticeships. 

M-KOPA does not collect/charge any money as a pre-employment or post-employment requirement. This means that we never ask for ‘recruitment fees’, ‘processing fees’, ‘interview fees’, or any other kind of money in exchange for offer letters or interviews at any time during the hiring process.