Business Development Manager

About the company

Kumbatia offers East Africa’s finest artisanally-sourced seafood. Sushi-grade, sustainable, traceable, and food-safe, all our fishers are paid a premium for adhering to our company’s high standards. Our seafood is then processed in a state-of-the-art facility with FDA, EU, KEBS, GSA, and HACCP certifications. All of our products can be packed and value-added according to the client’s request and exported fresh or blast frozen anywhere across the world via sea or air freight.

Our core focus is building blue food systems that work for people and the planet, transforming blue food chains to produce responsibly sourced, premium products. Our 10-year target is to trade 10,000 tonnes of Kumbatia products.

Role Summary

We are seeking a driven and entrepreneurial Business Development Manager to build and lead the sales function at Kumbatia Seafood. Reporting directly to the CEO, this individual will set up the company’s sales processes, structures and performance targets from the ground up, working closely with the Branding and Operations teams.

You will develop and execute Kumbatia’s go-to-market strategy, set up and manage the CRM, and build a sales, marketing, and customer service team. Working alongside the CEO, you will lead key accounts across regional HORECA and retail clients and export markets in Europe and beyond, while identifying new partnerships and revenue channels.

Responsibilities

• Establish and develop the Sales & Business Development function, including processes, structures, and performance targets.

• Develop and execute the company's Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy.

• Set up, organise, and manage the CRM system, ensuring accurate and consistent pipeline management.

• Build, manage and develop the sales, marketing, and customer service team.

• Lead key account management in collaboration with the CEO, focusing on regional HORECA/retail accounts & Global North export accounts.

• Develop and execute inbound and outbound sales campaigns and customer acquisition initiatives.

• Identify and pursue new business opportunities, partnerships and revenue channels.

• Track sales performance against agreed KPIs and provide regular reporting to management.

• Support dispatch and last-mile logistics to clients alongside the ops team.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, or Commerce; a marketing certification (e.g., Chartered Institute of Marketing) is an advantage.

• 5+ years in sales or business development, including at least 1–2 years building or managing a sales team.

• Proven track record against revenue/KPI targets, ideally including experience setting up sales processes or structures.

• Sector experience in high-end East Africa food/CPG distribution or seafood exports is a big advantage.

• Hands-on CRM implementation and administration experience (HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Salesforce, or similar).

• Strong leadership and team-building skills.

• Excellent negotiation and key-account management skills

• Our Culture

• At Kumbatia Seafood Limited, we are mission-driven, hard-working, gritty, and highly ambitious. We're a committed but kind team; people genuinely care about each other, and you're expected to take initiative, roll up your sleeves, and bring resourceful, creative, and analytical thinking to problem-solving. Ambition is rewarded here: if you give it your all, there's significant opportunity for upward mobility and salary growth as you grow with the organisation.

• Core Values

• Be a Team Player

• Be Dependable

• Be Gritty

• Don't Go Home Until You Are Proud

• Always Do the Right Thing