Venture Associate (SPARK Internship)

The Opportunity

EAMDA is seeking ambitious, entrepreneurial, and highly motivated graduates to join the SPARK Internship Programme as Venture Associates.This role is designed for individuals who aspire to build businesses, support entrepreneurs, and strengthen agricultural enterprises. Venture Associates will work alongside EAMDA's technical teams to identify high-potential enterprises, support business incubation and acceleration, strengthen investment readiness, facilitate market linkages, and contribute to enterprise growth across agricultural value chains.
The SPARK internship provides practical exposure to market systems development, entrepreneurship, business advisory services, innovation, and private sector development while working with MSMEs, cooperatives, startups, investors, and development partners.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Development & Business Advisory

• Support business diagnostics and assessments for MSMEs, farmer organizations, cooperatives, and startups.
• Assist entrepreneurs in identifying business growth opportunities and operational improvements.
• Support the development of business growth plans and enterprise action plans.
• Conduct basic financial and operational assessments to identify business constraints.

Venture Incubation & Acceleration

• Support the identification and profiling of high-potential entrepreneurs and enterprises.
• Assist in delivering business incubation and acceleration activities.
• Support entrepreneurs in validating business ideas, refining business models, and developing market-driven solutions.
• Monitor enterprise progress and document key milestones and lessons learned.

Market Research & Commercial Intelligence

• Conduct market research to identify emerging business opportunities, market trends, and investment opportunities.
• Support value chain analyses and market assessments.
• Collect and analyze market intelligence to inform enterprise development interventions.
• Prepare market briefs and opportunity reports.

Investment Readiness & Enterprise Growth

• Support entrepreneurs in developing investment-ready business plans.
• Assist in preparing financial projections, costing models, and business cases.
• Support enterprises to improve access to finance by preparing documentation for investors, SACCOs, financial institutions, and development partners.
• Contribute to investor profiling and enterprise matchmaking activities.

Business Development & Partnerships

• Support the organization of entrepreneurship forums, business networking events, investor engagements, and enterprise development workshops.
• Assist in building relationships with ecosystem partners including incubators, accelerators, financial institutions, buyers, and technical experts.
• Support market linkage initiatives between enterprises and commercial partners.

Monitoring, Learning & Knowledge Management

• Collect enterprise performance data and track key business indicators.
• Support preparation of case studies, success stories, and learning briefs.
• Document enterprise innovations, lessons learned, and emerging best practices.
• Contribute to programme reporting and knowledge products.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with programme teams to support enterprise development activities across different value chains.
• Contribute to proposal development, research assignments, and strategic initiatives where required.
• Perform other venture development and business support assignments as assigned.

Qualifications

Education

Bachelor's degree in:

• Entrepreneurship
• Agribusiness Management
• Business Administration
• Economics
• Commerce
• Finance
• Agricultural Economics
• Innovation Management
• Development Studies
• Or a related field

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Demonstrated interest in entrepreneurship, venture creation, or enterprise development.
• Experience running a business, side hustle, startup, or student enterprise is highly desirable.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to conduct market research and interpret business information.
• Basic financial analysis and business planning skills.
• Strong presentation and communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and digital productivity tools.
• Interest in agriculture, agribusiness, innovation, investment, or international development.

Critical Competencies

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong bias for action.
• Ability to identify commercial opportunities and develop practical business solutions.
• Strong critical thinking and business problem-solving skills.
• Comfortable engaging with entrepreneurs, investors, and private sector stakeholders.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple assignments.
• Curious, adaptable, proactive, and eager to learn.
• Demonstrates integrity, accountability, professionalism, and respect in all interactions.

Eligibility

Applicants should:

• Be recent graduates (within the last three years).
• Demonstrate a strong interest in entrepreneurship, enterprise development, or venture building.
• Be available for the full three-month internship period.

Organizational Information

• This is a three-month internship position based in Nairobi.
• Hybrid working arrangements may apply depending on assignments.
• Regular travel within Kenya may be required.
• SPARK Associates will receive structured mentorship, coaching, and professional development support.
• A monthly internship stipend will be provided.

EAMDA's Commitment

EAMDA is committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace. We encourage applications from qualified candidates regardless of gender, disability status, ethnicity, religion, or socioeconomic background.
EAMDA maintains high standards of professional conduct, safeguarding, and ethical practice. All successful candidates will be expected to uphold the organization's values, policies, safeguarding requirements, and code of conduct.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.