Analyst - Financial Services Strategy (Payments) (Global)

About Genesis:

Genesis promises and delivers impact at scale. There are many interesting insights in the world. And many plans one can make. But we believe the only thing that matters is impact delivered at scale. That is our promise. We work across the whole impact chain: We identify opportunities for outsized change, run diagnostics, create solutions and build coalitions for that change. We also do detailed design, mobilise resources and ultimately support successful implementation, often in challenging environments.

Genesis specialises in the Young World. These are countries with young populations and a growing workforce. While developed nations face demographic decline, a fundamentally different reality is emerging across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. This Young World: is home to 4.2 billion people with a median age of just 22; is where three out of every four babies on Earth are born; and will have 1.2 billion additional workers entering the global economy in the next 25 years.

The Young World represents an unprecedented concentration of human and economic potential, and our work helps to unlock it.

Genesis helps clients navigate the big transitions. All Young World countries have to navigate the same five critical transitions.

The human transition:
Build the foundational human capital - in health, education and nutrition - that allows young people to succeed.

The economic transition:
Channel young populations into productive, inclusive economic activity linked to global demand.

The AI transition:
frontier Technology linked to universal access promises change at an unprecedented scale. But countries also need to manage massive change to economies, locally and internationally.

The urban transition:
Transform explosively growing cities into habitable environments and engines of value creation.

The climate transition:
Build resilient societies through appropriate energy access and adapting to extreme and adverse weather.

For Genesis, as an African-founded and headquartered impact firm, the Young World is not just a market - it includes our home.

Practice Area Description:

Across Africa, access to financial services is growing, but usage remains limited. While 55% of adults on the continent now own a transactional account, only 16% made a digital payment to a merchant. This gap reflects a deeper reality: financial inclusion is not achieved by access alone, but by enabling people and businesses to use payments in ways that are affordable, trusted, and embedded in daily life. This is the problem we exist to solve. We are building a borderless, real-time economy in emerging markets where every individual, business, and government is digitally enabled to participate and thrive. Therefore, we aspire to help ensure every citizen in the young world has access to a digital account and the real-time payment systems necessary to fully engage in the modern economy.

To achieve this, our Payments & Digital Financial Services service line delivers end-to-end support across five integrated workstreams.

Strategy: We develop market-aligned growth pathways and digital financial ecosystem roadmaps.

Research workstream: we bring rigorous market insight to opportunity sizing, user needs, and product fit.

Policy & Regulation workstream: Anchored in our dedicated DFS Policy Agency Services, we support central banks and regulators to shape enabling governance, frameworks, consumer protection regimes, and policies.

Infrastructure Delivery: We help governments and operators design, implement, and optimise national payment systems and modernisation programs.

Impact Assessment: We work with donors and institutions to measure, learn, and communicate the social and economic outcomes of their investments.

Requirements:

The Analyst will provide crucial support for the design, implementation, and evaluation of digital payment strategies and initiatives. Positioned as an entry-level or junior team member, the Analyst will apply strong analytical skills to conduct research, analyse data, and support the development of high-quality strategic and policy outputs. The role will also involve assisting with stakeholder engagement and contributing to project deliverables under the guidance of senior team members.

Key Responsibilities:

Perform data management, including cleaning, processing, and structuring large and complex financial, payment, and market datasets.

Support the development and implementation of financial and market models using Excel, R, or Stata.

Create clear, insightful data visualisations, charts, and maps for client reports and presentations.

Conduct quantitative analysis to provide an evidence base for policy briefs, technical reports, and strategic recommendations on payment systems and digital finance.

Assist senior consultants with research and analysis for projects related to payments innovation, digital financial services, and regulatory analysis.

Qualifications and Experience Required:

Successful candidates are passionate, self-motivated problem-solvers who value integrity, exhibit ethical behaviour, and are analytical thinkers with an excellent academic record.

A Bachelor's or Master's degree in a quantitative field such as Economics, Finance, Statistics, Data Science, or a related discipline.

0-2 years of relevant professional or academic research experience (including internships or thesis work).

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel for complex data management and analysis.

Demonstrated experience using at least one statistical software package (e.g., R or Stata).

High attention to detail and a meticulous approach to data and analysis.

A strong, demonstrable interest in payments systems, digital finance, and digital financial inclusion.

Location:
This role can be based in South Africa & Kenya. You must already have the right to work in the location you apply for.

How To Apply:

Your application will primarily be considered for this role. If that are multiple roles that you are interested in, please submit your application to each position

Once you have applied via our career portal, you will receive a system-generated confirmation e-mail that your application was received

NOTE: Please be advised that the collective size of your uploaded documents cannot exceed 4MB in total as the system will not accept your application due to the large file

Communication will be with short-listed candidates only - if you do not receive any feedback on your application within 3 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful

Genesis Analytics reserves the right not to proceed with an appointment of any advertised role

All appointments will be made in line with Genesis Analytics' Employment Equity Plan and Transformation Policies

All applications will be treated confidentially