Research Scientist - Financial Inclusion at Scale

We are looking for a Research Scientist to join our Data Science Team as we scale up and drive digital and financial inclusion across our markets.The Impact Your algorithms will directly unlock financial opportunities for millions of people across Africa who've been excluded from traditional banking. We've already helped over 5 million customers access $1.5 billion in credit, and your research could accelerate this impact exponentially.It's your chance to be part of something that's literally transforming lives across an entire continent Imagine working on challenges where success means a small business in Lagos secures its first inventory loan, a family in Nairobi accessing educational content through their first smartphone, or entire communities gaining financial resilience through accessible digital services.The Opportunity Mission-driven research: Every model you develop helps expand financial inclusion for under-banked populations⚡ Immediate impact: See your work improve lives in real-time, not just citations Global recognition: Join a company named by TIME100 as one of the world's most influential and by the Financial Times as Africa's fastest-growing for 4 consecutive years (2022-2025) Research freedom: Publish, attend conferences, and collaborate with academic institutions while solving meaningful problems Environmental impact: We're carbon-negative, having displaced over 2 million tonnes of emissionsWhat You'll DoBuild generative AI models (VAEs, GANs, diffusion models) for financial inclusion across AfricaPrototype and iterate advanced models, from credit risk assessment to customer behaviour modelingPublish research at top conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI etc) while solving real-world problemsWork with teams across Africa and Europe to deploy Machine Learning solutions that expand financial accessWhat You NeedHands-on experience or Academic Publication in generative models (VAEs, GANs, diffusion models, or related methods)Advanced expertise in mathematics, statistics, and theoretical computer scienceExperience with deep learning, reinforcement learning, or specialised Machine Learning domainsExperience with structured or unstructured dataProven ability to translate research into scalable algorithmsIdeally a publication record in Machine Learning research (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI etc preferred)Our Mission We create financial inclusion for the traditionally excluded through a fair, flexible, customer-centric financing model. We strive to drive greater inclusion of women, youth, and low-income communities.Our Impact Our technology has created measurable change:Connected : 1.7 million first-time mobile internet users connectedProsperous : 62% of customers use M-KOPA smartphones for income generation, with 30,000+ livelihoods created for agentsGreen : 2.1 million tonnes of CO2 avoided through clean energy products, with over 100,000 circular economy products providedReady to drive financial inclusion through AI? Apply now to join our mission.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 four times by the Financial Times as one Africa's fastest growing companies (2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025) 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 NoticeM-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.Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Shortlisting and interviews will take place at any stage during the recruitment process. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is selected before the advertised closing date.

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