Commercial Lead, Kenya

About Lua Lua is the Agent OS. We build digital employees — agents that do a real job end to end: they read a company’s own systems, make the decision, take the action, and get a little better every time they run. Not chatbots that answer questions — digital workers that do the work, on the company’s own data and workflows, and everything they build stays owned by the business. Teams write their logic on Lua (agents, skills, tools, jobs, webhooks, guardrails) and we run the hard parts underneath: infrastructure, multi-provider model orchestration, data, channels (WhatsApp, Slack, Email, Instagram, Messenger, a voice-capable website widget, HTTP API) and monitoring. Our customers are the companies that run their markets — the operator of one of the world’s most-visited heritage sites, a major travel-and-hospitality group, the largest supermarket chain in its country, a listed conglomerate spanning healthcare and consumer goods, large regional banks, social-commerce companies and a microinsurer covering over a million people — across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Together they employ 64,000+ people and turn over $5bn+ a year, and they all want the same thing: to be AI-native on the systems they already run, with nothing to rip out. Backed by Y Combinator, we’ve raised $5.8M — and this is a chance to build the playbook, not inherit one. Responsibilities As Lua grows in East Africa, someone has to open the market — and that’s you. This is not a traditional sales role: you open senior doors, understand complex business problems, shape opportunities with clients through discovery, and move deals from first conversation to paid audit, pilot, deployment and expansion. A strong network matters, but only if it converts — into qualified meetings, paid opportunities and revenue. • Open the market. Identify, open and develop enterprise opportunities across priority sectors in Kenya, using your network to secure senior-level meetings with decision-makers and influencers. • Qualify hard. Lead first commercial conversations and qualify pain points, urgency, budget, decision process and commercial fit — quickly, and honestly. • Shape the deal. Work with Lua’s product and technical teams to shape the right use cases for each client, and position agents, audits, pilots and deployments in clear, practical business terms. • Run the motion. Coordinate demos, discovery sessions, workshops and follow-ups, and support commercial proposals, business cases and client-facing materials. • Close and expand. Move opportunities from initial interest to paid audit, pilot, deployment and expansion — with disciplined follow-up and pipeline tracking throughout. • Build the ecosystem. Build relationships with partners, consultants, systems integrators and other market connectors. • Feed the strategy. Feed market insight back into Lua’s positioning, packaging, pricing and go-to-market strategy in East Africa. How the role is measured From day one: the quality and seniority of opportunities opened, the speed of execution, the discipline of follow-up — and ultimately, signed and collected revenue. Within the first 90 days, you’ll have converted market access and sales activity into at least one signed and paid client opportunity, whether a paid audit, pilot or initial deployment. What we’re looking for Must-haves • 10+ years in B2B or enterprise sales, partnerships or commercial roles, with a proven track record of opening, managing and closing deals with mid-market or enterprise organisations. • A strong existing network across Kenya’s business ecosystem — senior decision-makers, founders, executives and operators — that converts into real commercial progress, not just meetings. • You sell consultatively : comfortable with new, complex or emerging technology where the opportunity is clear but the exact solution is shaped through discovery, not pitched off a shelf. • You understand how businesses in Kenya actually buy : relationship-led sales, internal influence, procurement, budget cycles and executive sponsorship. • Strong commercial judgement. You qualify opportunities quickly, and you’re honest about what’s real, what’s not, and what needs to happen next. • High ownership. You work independently, follow up without being chased, and keep deals moving even when clients are slow, unclear or difficult to navigate. Nice-to-haves • Experience selling SaaS, AI, automation, fintech, cloud or digital transformation — ideally to banks, insurers, SACCOs, telcos, logistics, manufacturers, retailers or large service businesses. • Experience selling pilots, audits, discovery projects or transformation initiatives; disciplined CRM and pipeline management.