Okraโs context
At Okra Solar, weโre on a mission to bring Power to the People by unlocking opportunities through energy access for everyone in the world.
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Over 650 million people still live without electricity. At a time where technology such as mobile devices, productive agritech and AI are becoming more accessible than ever, we believe that access to energy is the first step toward opportunity and growth.
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Thatโs why we built Mesh-Grid technology that energizes off-grid households at a fraction of the cost of traditional off-grid energy solutions. We supply the tech we specialise in to local energy companies, who go out and deliver affordable, reliable energy to last mile communities.
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In order to execute on the mission to 100% energy access for all - we are looking for a Project Finance Specialist - Equity. Your role would be to help our customers raise up to $50M of equity for their mesh-grid portfolios in the next 24 months that would be leveraged to develop over $250M of mesh-grid projects. This role requires a strong network of equity investors, deep knowledge of structuring and packaging businesses for equity, and the ability to run a competitive fundraising process that drives projects to financial close.
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If youโre excited about using technology to create a tangible impact in rural electrification and want to help shape the future of energy access, join us.
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Responsibilities
- Be a custodian of the truth (understand the entire business and back your understanding)
- Work deeply with our customers to understand their business model, strategy, and unique value proposition.
- Holistically understand their business - from energy consumption behaviour, load growth potential, complementary business models such as appliance financing, e-mobility integration, on the ground operations and maintenance, seasonal behaviour, logistics risks and put all of it together in cohesive communication through financial models, presentations and discussions.
- Work with the customer to tweak the strategy so that the business being communicated to investors is aspirational but indeed achievable in reality.
- Financial Modelling
- Build and adapt project finance models that highlight equity returns (IRR, valuation multiples, etc).
- Integrate capex, opex, tariff structures, and performance assumptions (e.g., energy consumption, downtime, service costs, seasonal variation).
- Evaluate equity structures - shareholding dilution and waterfall distributions for different investment scenarios.
- Familiar with DCF, comparable transactions, precedent deal multiples, and how these apply to infrastructure/energy equity.
- Can convert technical/financial assumptions into concise, equity-investor-friendly dashboards, charts, and outputs (payback periods, exit valuations, IRR curves).
- Equity Fundraising
- Identify, map, and engage equity investors (DFIs, infra funds, climate-tech VCs, family offices, strategic investors) that are a strong fit for our customers, keep an eye out for relevant grants too.
- Qualify and segment investors by ticket size, risk appetite, and strategic focus.
- Help customers plan the timeline and process to close their required equity investments.
- Advise customers on equity structuring, valuation, and term sheet negotiation.
- Help customers go through the due diligence and Q&A process smoothly and efficiently - supporting where necessary from first pitch to financial close.
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Required Experience
- University Graduate (Finance Preferred)
- 3+ years of experience in financing or raising funding for projects or businesses (preferably related to renewable energy and/or infrastructure).
- Advanced skills in Google Sheets, specifically in building and maintaining financial models.
- You can build presentations and materials for customers and investors.
- A high level of literacy with digital tools, ideally ;
- Airtable for managing tasks, structuring data, creating automations.
- Confluence / Notion for documentation.
- Slack for chat / communications.
- Google Drive for document storage.
- Google Slides for slide design. ย
- Docsend to create datarooms.
- AI Tools : Claude / ChatGPT / Gemini: for research, building context folders, GPTs and tools.
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Hard Skills
- Financial Modeling
- Extensive experience evaluating and manipulating financial models with the ability to update and improve existing models.
- Investor strategy and negotiation.
- Evaluating business dynamics and matching investors based on specific biz model.
- Preparing investment memoranda, pitch decks, and due diligence data rooms.
- Supporting negotiations with term sheets, SHA drafts, and side letters.
- Strong control Google Sheets and Excel.
- Itโs important to note that Okra operates on Google Sheets, and fluency would be expected from day-1.
- Understanding of Infrastructure Projects
- Deep understanding of infrastructure projects, including typical deal terms and financing structures, critical for evaluating and structuring deals.
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Soft Skills
- Relentless Relationship Builder: Proactive in reaching out to stakeholders, willing to take initiative and engage in calls to gather critical information as needed.
- Deal Closer: Focused on driving deals forward and securing outcomes, prioritizing impact over merely completing tasks.
- Holistic Business Understanding: Eager to gain a comprehensive understanding of the business, including energy projects, on-the-ground operations, end-user behavior, product nuances, and supply chain dynamics. Skilled at synthesizing this information into clear, cohesive communication through models, presentations, and discussions.
- Collaborative mindset: Ability to work effectively with others, lifting teammates up, learning together, and sharing wins and failures.
- Transparency and openness: Open to sharing and receiving ideas and feedback candidly.
- Integrity and respect: Ability to make ethical decisions even during challenges, acting with honesty and respect.
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Nice to Have
- Masters Degree
- CAIA/CFA or Related Qualifications
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