Chief Commercial, Marketplace & Capital Partnerships Officer
| Appointment | Mandate |
|---|---|
| Reports to | Chief Executive & Platform Director |
| Core team | Institutional sales, buyer success, marketplace/category managers, partnerships, marketing and capital/investor pipeline support |
| Location | Cameroon-first; significant field and partner engagement; regional travel as approved |
| Engagement | Full-time executive appointment; performance-based and subject to formal contract |
| Build horizon | Immediate 0-100 days; short 4-18 months; medium 18-60 months; long 5-10 years |
| Selection standard | Evidence of building, monetising and controlling a real operating platform—not title prestige alone |
THE TEST At interview, the candidate must explain what will be sold in the first 30 days, what cash will settle by Day 100, what must not be built yet, and which numbers would cause the Board to stop expansion.
1. Institutional context
AGRO360 is a Cameroon-first, demand-first and asset-light digital agribusiness operating system. It is designed to connect verified farmers, cooperatives, buyers, suppliers, transporters, processors, and licensed finance, payment, and insurance partners through a single auditable transaction chain. The commercial asset is not an app screen. It is the trusted relationship, fulfilled order, settled payment, legitimate earned fee and reusable transaction history.
The platform will monetise marketplace commissions, product and procurement margins, aggregation, offtake, logistics coordination, processing, subscriptions, training, data/API services and successful partner referrals. Credit, payment, insurance and foreign-exchange activity must remain with appropriately licensed partners unless AGRO360 later obtains the required authority.
2. Purpose of the role
Create the demand engine and monetisation discipline that make AGRO360 commercially unavoidable. This leader owns anchor buyers, category revenue, pricing proposals, customer retention, strategic partnerships, and transaction-linked capital mobilisation, while remaining separate from cash custody and reconciliation.
3. Results by horizon
| Horizon | Required outcome |
|---|---|
| Immediate: Day 0-30 | Interview and qualify institutional buyers; produce buyer-by-product demand book; secure 20-30 serious anchor engagements/LOIs with volume, grade, delivery, price and payment terms; approve price book proposals for marketplace (3-7%), inputs (5-15%), aggregation (5-10%), offtake (1-3%), logistics and subscriptions; build CRM and 100-day sales pipeline. |
| Launch: Day 31-100 | Generate first settled revenue from egg subscriptions, produce/procurement and inputs; activate 20-30 paying buyers and repeat orders; validate selected route/category contribution; introduce processor, transporter and supplier contracts with service levels and revenue triggers; establish a qualified investor/lender/partner pipeline. |
| Short term: Month 4-18 | Deliver 200 active buyers, 2,000 registered farmers through coordinated supply, XAF 1bn settled GMV and XAF 235m earned revenue in the base case; pursue the stretch XAF 500m net-profit case only against signed demand and separately funded working capital; achieve buyer repeat rate ≥60%, on-time buyer payment ≥95% and no unapproved discount or revenue-share leakage. |
| Medium term: Month 18-60 | Grow to 1,000 active buyers / XAF 5bn GMV / XAF 850m revenue in Year 2, 3,000 buyers / XAF 15bn / XAF 2.2bn in Year 3, and XAF 60bn / XAF 7.5bn by Year 5; establish institutional procurement, processing, trade corridors, subscriptions, API/data sales and country-partner revenue. |
| Long term: Year 5-10 | Build regional and global African buyer networks; country licensing/franchise/API revenue; trade orchestration; and enterprise subscriptions, supporting the XAF 600bn GMV / XAF 60bn revenue long-range case; protect pricing power through network density, trust, data, and fulfilment—not by abusing exclusivity. |
4. Core accountabilities
Own the commercial strategy by buyer segment, product, corridor and revenue engine; translate demand into contracted, fulfilment-ready orders.
Build the top monetisation categories: Produce + Procurement Gateway, Inputs Club, EGG 360, Processing Network, Market + Offtake Exchange, Move logistics, Trade Desk, Data/API, Farmer Intelligence and Finance/Insurance Connect.
Maintain a disciplined CRM covering value, probability, next action, decision-maker, commercial terms, KYC/KYB, capacity and expected settlement date.
Design proposals and partner economics with distinct fees, service evidence, tax treatment, revenue share, reversal rules and contribution margin.
Negotiate supplier discounts, buyer subscriptions, offtake commitments, processor capacity, logistics agreements and licensed finance/insurance referral fees.
Work with the CEO on equity, strategic capital, grants and working-capital facilities; credit-only cash received or binding, conditions-satisfied commitments as capital mobilisation.
Track CAC, buyer retention, orders/buyer, GMV, take rate, revenue, gross margin, contribution/order and receivable days by cohort.
Never receive or settle cash, reconcile receipts, approve own discounts or count cancelled/unsettled transactions as GMV/revenue.
5. AGRO360 enterprise milestones
| Milestone | Approved planning reference |
|---|---|
| Year 1 base planning case | 2,000 registered farmers; 200 active buyers; XAF 1bn settled GMV; XAF 235m earned revenue; XAF (60m) EBITDA. |
| Year 2 | 10,000 registered farmers; 1,000 active buyers; XAF 5bn GMV; XAF 850m revenue; XAF 150m EBITDA. |
| Year 3 | 30,000 registered farmers; 3,000 active buyers; XAF 15bn GMV; XAF 2.2bn revenue; XAF 550m EBITDA. |
| Year 5 | CEMAC scale; XAF 60bn GMV; XAF 7.5bn revenue; XAF 2.25bn EBITDA. |
| Year 10 | Pan-African platform; XAF 600bn GMV; XAF 60bn revenue; XAF 22bn EBITDA. |
FINANCIAL INTEGRITY The historical base case and the XAF 500m Year-1 net profit ambition are separate scenarios. Within 30 days, the executive team must rebuild a linked monthly downside/base/stretch model based on signed buyer demand, supplier terms, logistics costs, tax, working capital, and financing. No executive may bridge the gap by relabelling GMV or pass-through costs as revenue.
6. Performance scorecard
| Performance dimension | Weight | Board standard |
|---|---|---|
| Settled GMV and net revenue | 25% | Phase targets achieved with no duplicate/pass-through inflation |
| Gross margin and contribution | 20% | Positive by scaled category/route; discounts and partner shares controlled |
| Active buyers and retention | 15% | 200 Y1, 1,000 Y2, 3,000 Y3 planning targets; repeat ≥60% Y1 |
| Contracted demand and pipeline | 10% | Qualified coverage ≥3x near-term target; terms fulfilment-ready |
| Strategic/capital partnerships | 10% | Operational contracts and cash/approved facilities, not MOUs alone |
| Cash conversion | 10% | Buyer payment ≥95% on time; receivable days within policy |
| Conduct and customer trust | 10% | Zero bribery, mis-selling, cash custody, KYC bypass or unauthorised promise |
The Board will approve annual targets and quarterly thresholds after validation of the 36-month model. Commercial upside is payable only on collected, reconciled, attributable results. A material fraud, safety, legal, data, cash-control, or related-party breach may reduce variable pay to zero and trigger a clawback or disciplinary action, regardless of revenue performance.
7. First 100-day execution contract
| Period | Non-negotiable deliverable | Board evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1-15 | Legal/permitting map; buyer and supply interviews; operating audit; role-specific baseline; critical risks. | Signed diagnostic, demand book, risk register and decisions required. |
| Days 16-30 | Core team/workplan; prototype/process design; vendors/partners; pricing and controls; linked cash plan. | Approved backlog, contracts/term sheets, budget, delegations and 30-day review. |
| Days 31-50 | Controlled MVP and first product routes; farmer/buyer onboarding; payment link and transaction ledger. | First settled revenue, acceptance/POD, system event and settlement match. |
| Days 51-70 | Repeat egg/produce/input orders; route consolidation; quality, refund and exception handling. | Unit economics by route/category and daily reconciliation pack. |
| Days 71-85 | Finance/insurance referral sandbox; Academy/data pilot; operational dashboard. | First eligible success-fee/sponsor/subscription evidence; no unlicensed activity. |
| Days 86-100 | Pilot evaluation; control remediation; scale decision and next capital gate. | Board pack recommending go, reshape or stop with verified numbers. |
8. Authority and reserved matters
The officeholder acts within a written delegation approved by the Board. The following remain reserved to the Board or designated committee: strategy and annual budget; risk appetite; borrowing/equity and material capital allocation; acquisitions and new countries; related-party transactions; material capex, contracts or changes above threshold; appointment/removal and remuneration of senior executives; audited accounts; and changes to legal or regulated perimeter.
The executive may recommend, negotiate and execute only within documented authority and approved counterparties.
The executive may stop an unsafe, loss-making or non-compliant activity and must escalate material matters promptly.
No one may select a vendor, confirm receipt, approve payment and reconcile the same transaction.
9. Governance, risk and control obligations
| Control | Minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| Revenue recognition | Only a contractually defined, fulfilled and settled/accepted event generates earned revenue; cancellations and refunds reverse it. |
| Cash and payments | Licensed rails; daily settlement reconciliation; no personal accounts or informal cash handling. |
| Working capital | Match facilities to visible cycles; inventory and receivables aged daily; no speculative stocking. |
| Related parties | Full disclosure, recusal, arm’s-length evidence and prior approval under policy. |
| Data/privacy | Informed consent, least privilege, purpose limitation, secure sharing and incident escalation. |
| Regulated services | Finance, payments, insurance and FX only through authorised entities/partners pending required licences. |
| Country expansion | No launch without legal, tax, payment, data, commercial, security and Board investment gates. |
| Impact claims | Farmer income, jobs, women/youth, local sourcing and climate claims supported by defined and auditable evidence. |
10. Executive reporting rhythm
| Frequency | Required reporting |
|---|---|
| Daily during launch | Settled orders, cash/settlement exceptions, inventory/quality incidents, uptime, fulfilment and urgent risks. |
| Weekly | Pipeline, active buyers/farmers, GMV, revenue, margin, contribution/order, cash runway, ageing, delivery, product and action log. |
| Monthly | P&L and cash flow by category, working capital, KPI scorecard, capital use, risk/control, technology, impact and Board decisions. |
| Quarterly | Strategy refresh, cohort/route economics, forecast, talent, partner performance, audit closure and stage-gate recommendation. |
| Annually | Audited results, budget, risk appetite, remuneration assessment and medium/long-term plan. |
11. Candidate specification
A commercial leader with at least 10 years in agribusiness trading, institutional procurement, marketplaces, FMCG distribution, food supply chains or B2B platforms. Must have personally closed anchor accounts and recurring revenue, managed category margins and negotiated financing/partnership structures. A contact list is not a qualification; verified conversion is.
Master’s degree or equivalent professional achievement in a relevant field; exceptional builders may substitute demonstrated results for formal prestige.
Fluent professional English or French; working ability in both is strongly preferred. Regional language/country experience is advantageous.
High financial literacy, digital fluency, negotiation strength and the ability to work credibly with farmers, corporates, public institutions and investors.
Evidence of ethical judgement, transparent failure reporting, conflict discipline and respect for controls under pressure.
12. Selection methodology
| Stage | Assessment | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility and evidence screen | Career evidence, scale built, quantified outcomes, integrity and role fit | Pass/fail |
| Written build thesis | Candidate’s 100-day plan and critique of the base/stretch cases | 20% |
| Role-specific case | Live commercial/product/operations/CEO problem using AGRO360 facts | 30% |
| Structured panel interview | Leadership, judgement, culture, stakeholder and failure scenarios | 25% |
| Board presentation | Go/reshape/stop choices, funding, KPIs and execution commitments | 15% |
| References/background | Identity, qualifications, track record, conflicts, litigation and reputation | 10% / mandatory |
Candidates must provide verifiable examples. Confidential information may be anonymised, but invented scale, revenue, capital or partnerships will disqualify the application. Final appointment remains subject to due diligence, contract, budget, and governing body approval.
13. Remuneration and performance contract
AGRO360 should offer a competitive fixed package that attracts a builder, not merely a caretaker, together with meaningful performance-linked upside. The Board should set the final amount after market benchmarking and candidate diligence. Variable remuneration should be balanced across cash/revenue, margin, delivery, customer/network, governance and long-term value; it must never reward GMV alone.
Indicative design: 60-70% fixed cash compensation and 30-40% target variable opportunity, with upside capped under Board policy.
Long-term incentive or phantom/equity participation may be considered after valuation, vesting, good-leaver/bad-leaver, dilution and governance approval.
No variable award if material accounts remain unreconciled, high-risk findings are overdue, a serious compliance/safety/data breach occurred, or results were misstated.
14. Performance review and exit discipline
Formal reviews will occur on Day 30, Day 60, Day 100, at six months, and annually. Failure to establish a credible demand book, control cash, deliver first paid transactions, report truthfully or build an accountable team will trigger a corrective plan, role redesign or exit. AGRO360 needs humane leadership, but kindness is not vagueness: expectations, evidence and consequences must remain clear.
15. Source basis and planning caution
This TOR is tailored from the supplied AGRO360 digital agribusiness blueprint, monetised products/services deployment blueprint, capital mobilisation strategy, century masterplan and financial model, valuation/seed case, top-10 catalogue, operational organigram/governance-risk workbook and ROI model. All forward figures are planning targets, not guarantees. They require Board approval, signed demand, verified capacity, lawful contracts and a reconciled financial model before they become executive commitments.