About Onafriq
What is Onafriq?
Onafriq describes itself as "an omnichannel network of networks, making borders matter less by providing our partners with a single pathway to unlock the full power of cross-border and cross-platform payment solutions". Its About page calls it "a pan-African payments company which enables interoperable cross-border and domestic digital payments" and lists "40 African countries in our network, over 1300 corridors, 1 billion wallets". The services menu covers pay-ins, payouts, card issuance and treasury services. The group says it holds "16 payment licences in Mauritius, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United Kingdom", and the About page notes "$200 million series C funding secured". The company's own 2022 press release about that round was issued under the name MFS Africa, and the About page lists Dare Okoudjou as "Founder & CEO".
Where will I work?
Both live adverts are filed under Johannesburg, Gauteng as permanent roles, and the BambooHR feed marks them hybrid. The Senior Database Administrator advert says "This position is based in either Johannesburg, South Africa, or Port Louis, Mauritius", while the Group Head of Infrastructure advert says "This position is location-agnostic." The adverts describe "a strong regional presence in 10 offices in Africa, and others in the UK, US, and China". The website footer gives a London address, "51 Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1JP, United Kingdom", the 2022 press release is datelined London, and the privacy notice defines the group as ONAFRIQ UK Holdings Limited and all its subsidiaries, so check with the recruiter which office and entity your contract sits in. The careers page says "We value time spent in-person with colleagues, as well as flexibility to manage your work and life together."
What is the Onafriq team like?
The About page says "We boast a multi-cultural, multi-talented, agile team from over 30 different nations", the Senior Database Administrator advert counts "over 30+ nationalities represented" and the Group Head of Infrastructure advert "over 28 nationalities represented". The careers page is headed "Our Distributed and Diverse Team" and says people are the foundation of the company's success, with four values: Care, Simplify, Be Tenacious and Be Revolutionary. Both live roles are in technology. The database administrator owns the performance, reliability and scalability of the transaction-processing databases (Oracle, PostgreSQL and MySQL) in a PCI-regulated environment and reports to the Head of Cards Engineering; the head of infrastructure leads the group-wide infrastructure teams across cards, enterprise, network and agency platforms.
Work-Life Balance
The careers page lists an "Unlimited leave policy" and explains it: "We require people to take the amount of time they need to remain physically and mentally well. In taking that time off, the only requirement is that in your absence nothing breaks." Both adverts repeat it as "We operate a flexible working and unlimited leave policy." The page's Flexible working paragraph adds "We believe that where you are shouldn't limit what you can do." No page states a minimum number of days, public-holiday terms, weekly hours or core hours, so ask what the expectation is in practice. The Senior Database Administrator role "operates in a 24/7 transaction processing environment with an on-call rotation" and expects "occasional after-hours work tied to releases, maintenance windows, and incident response", which is worth weighing against the leave policy.
Perks and Benefits
- Unlimited leave policy (careers page and both adverts)
- Competitive salary package and bonuses (both adverts)
- Staff well-being initiatives, not itemised (both adverts)
- Professional growth opportunities that stretch you, as the careers page puts it (no programme or budget named)
- A location-agnostic role (Group Head of Infrastructure) and a hybrid set-up for the other
- Work on a payments network that spans 40 African countries