Selected mandates

We don’t name our clients. That’s the point.

Leadership hires and introductions are confidential by nature. The firms we work with stay with us because we don’t talk about them. So what follows is the work, not the logos. Every detail is real, and the names stay where they belong.

2015

Operating across African fintech since

African markets

Jurisdictions with direct regulator relationships

50+

Leadership & senior hires for one payments business, through to acquisition

$10m+

Client deal flow through introductions, last five years

87%

Of clients return for a second mandate

30 days

Average time to shortlist

6-month

Replacement guarantee on every retained placement

How to read this page

Anonymised by design, real by record

Client names, deal terms and identifying details are withheld. The market, the stage, the role, the problem and the outcome are not. These are real mandates, described as closely as confidentiality allows.

The mandates

Selected work across African financial services

Mandate 01

PaymentsPan-African50+ hires over multiple years

The embedded search partner behind a payments business, from scale-up to acquisition

The situation

A payments company scaling across multiple African markets, from growth stage through to acquisition by a global processor.

What made it hard

Leadership had to be built faster than the business was expanding, in markets where the right people are scarce and every competitor is hiring from the same shallow pool. One wrong hire in a new market sets that country back a year.

What we did

We became the embedded search partner across the business. We filled more than 50 leadership and senior roles across multiple markets over several years, and we built country leadership teams ahead of launch rather than after it.

Outcome

The business scaled across its target markets and was acquired by a global processor.

Mandate 02

Regulated tradingCEO transitionFounder preserved

A founder-to-scale CEO transition that kept the founder

The situation

A regulated trading platform moving from a retail base toward institutional clients and two new jurisdictions.

What made it hard

The founder had built the business but didn’t yet carry the governance credibility institutional counterparties and supervisors expect. The transition had to happen without losing the founder or unsettling the team. These go wrong more often than they go right.

What we did

We defined the next-stage profile with the board. We ran a discreet search across banks, brokerages and exchanges, and assessed for regulatory track record, P&L ownership and the temperament to work alongside a founder rather than over them.

Outcome

A CEO with regulated trading experience appointed. The founder moved into the product and growth role they actually wanted, and institutional conversations advanced.

Mandate 03

Digital lendingChief Risk OfficerLicence condition

A risk hire on the regulator’s clock, with the bar held

The situation

A digital lender carrying a real loan book, where the regulator had made a credible, fit-and-proper risk head a condition.

What made it hard

The deadline was the regulator’s, not ours. Hire too fast and you get someone who can’t do the job. Hold the bar and you risk the date. Most firms blink and hire whoever is available.

What we did

We shortlisted only candidates who had owned a book through a credit cycle and who the regulator would accept. We held the bar, and managed the regulator’s timeline alongside the board.

Outcome

A risk leader appointed who passed fit-and-proper without friction, and the licence condition was met.

Mandate 04

Replacement guaranteeWhat we do when it doesn’t land

A placement that broke, and what happened next

The situation

A senior placement that, a few months in, wasn’t working. Not every hire lands. What separates firms is what they do when one doesn’t.

What made it hard

The executive interviewed well and looked right, then the fit broke down inside the first months. The client was exposed and frustrated, fairly.

What we did

We triggered our six-month replacement guarantee before being asked. We re-ran the search at no further fee, with a sharper read on what the first process had missed.

Outcome

A replacement placed who is still in the seat. The client stayed with us and is now on a later mandate. The relationship held because we owned the miss instead of defending it.

Mandate 05

Digital lendingKenya20–30 roles

An embedded hiring retainer, volume without dropping the bar

The situation

A digital lender scaling its Kenyan operation, hiring across leadership and senior functions at pace.

What made it hard

Volume and quality at the same time. Twenty-plus roles in one market, fast, without flooding the team with mis-hires or lowering the standard to keep up.

What we did

We ran an embedded hiring retainer across the full slate. One partner, one standard, one pipeline, instead of a scramble across competing agencies.

Outcome

The leadership layer was in place ahead of the scale-up.

Mandate 06

Market accessService provider$10m+ deal flow

Doors opened that turned into $10m of deal flow

The situation

A service provider with a strong product, selling into African banks and fintechs, and stuck at the door.

What made it hard

The buyer doesn’t take cold meetings. The product was never the issue. Access was.

What we did

We made warm introductions straight to the decision-makers, people we’d placed or known for years. One provider per category, so the introduction stayed credible to the buyer.

Outcome

More than $10m in deal flow for our introduction clients over five years.

See how introductions work →

Common questions

Why are TITC’s case studies anonymised?

Leadership search and introductions are confidential work. A firm that publishes client names is a firm that talks, and the clients worth having don’t want that. Discretion is part of what we sell, so we describe the work, not the client.

Are these real engagements?

Yes. The names and deal terms are withheld. The market, stage, role, problem and outcome are real.

What results does TITC typically deliver?

Across African fintech: 50+ hires for a single payments business through to acquisition, more than $10m in client deal flow through introductions over five years, 87% of clients returning for a second mandate, a 30-day average time to shortlist, and a six-month replacement guarantee on every retained placement.

What kinds of mandates does TITC take?

C-suite and board search across African fintech and financial services, plus warm introductions for providers selling into the sector.

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