01
The right operators are hard to reach.
The operators who've actually scaled businesses in Kenya are in demand, expensive, or fully committed elsewhere. You end up with the wrong hire — or no hire at all.
Fractional experts · Kenya & East Africa
Getting you Fractional Experts
from their busy lives.
To scale your business.
30+
Vetted Experts
10+
Active Clients
3
Countries
2023
Founded · Nairobi
The right people exist.
They're just not available to you.
Not because they don't exist — but because they're already busy, already committed, or simply out of reach.
02
Book knowledge isn't market knowledge.
You need people who've taken products to market here, navigated Kenya's regulatory environment, and built distribution across the formal and informal economy.
03
A rushed full-time hire is often a costly mistake.
A six-month recruitment process and a full salary package — to solve a problem that needs momentum right now. There's a faster, leaner way.
Scope it. Match it. Execute.
A three-part playbook built around your challenge — not a standard process.
01
Day 1
Define what needs momentum
We collaborate to scope your challenge or growth goal — clearly, quickly, without a lengthy brief. The goal is to surface what's actually stuck, then write a one-page brief you both sign off on.
02
Within 48 hrs
AI matching, human vetting
Our system shortlists aligned operators from the bench. Every match is then verified by our team — so you only meet people who genuinely fit the work, the stage, and the way you operate.
03
From week one
Engage. Partner. Execute. Scale.
You work directly with your matched operator from week one. A clear work plan, agreed deliverables, and a direct line to someone who's done it before — locally.
Product. Sales.
Partnerships.
Most clients start where the pain is loudest. Many come back for the rest.
Product Localisation
Localise your product, fast.
Our fractional product experts help you localise faster, get to market quicker, avoid costly biases, and save time and money. With people who've done it before, we position you on a path to success.
- Localise product–market fit fast.
- Validate (or pivot) core features against local user behaviours.
- Help with local compliances.
- Build Africa-ready roadmaps that prioritise local scaling — not pre-set templates.
- Run rapid local experiments. Get quick feedback loops before burning time and money.
Go-to-Market & Sales
Hit the ground selling,
not just learning.
Fractional GTM experts who open doors, set pricing, and close deals in Kenya from week one — with the network, the relationships, and the market knowledge already in place.
- Instant boots-on-the-ground network — warm intros to key distributors and stakeholders.
- Set pricing & packaging that actually lands with Kenyan buyers.
- Crack the informal economy — partner and reseller models that work across formal and informal channels.
- Hire & structure your first local sales team.
- Win early lighthouse customers that open every door after.
Partnerships & Alliances
Instant distribution.
Unlock game-changing local alliances through fractional partnership heads with deep, established relationships across government, enterprise, and the region's biggest distributors.
- Unlock "distribution before product" — prove demand before you build.
- Open doors to government, private sector, and regulators.
- Work towards pilots with businesses and enterprise accounts.
- Channel & last-mile mastery — build reseller or agent networks with the big distributors.
Short sprint or long game —
we fit around you.
Two weeks of focused execution or a long-term embedded expert — structured around what you're actually trying to achieve.
Short-term
Fractional Sprint
One problem. One expert. Fully focused for up to ten days. You define what winning looks like — we deliver against it.
- Up to 10 days or 20 hours
- One focused objective with clear milestones
- Ideal when momentum can't wait
Ongoing
Embedded Expert
Your operator works with you across weeks or months — embedded in your team, focused on a defined area, without the overhead of a full-time hire.
- Flexible days per month
- Deep product, ops, or GTM focus
- Strategic input without full-time salary or equity
Full deployment
CoreBench Partnership
Strategic, long-term collaboration where CoreBench manages the talent, the delivery, and the execution — so you stay focused on building the business.
- Bespoke teams assembled to your needs
- CoreBench owns delivery and quality
- Ongoing delivery, managed end-to-end
Serious about Africa.
Ready to move.
If you're entering Kenya, scaling across the EAC, or trying to unlock a market you don't yet fully understand — you're who we built this for.
Startups
Early-stage companies hitting growth walls — in product, sales, or operations — that need senior execution without the cost or delay of a full-time hire.
SMEs & SMBs
Growing businesses expanding across Kenya or into new East African markets, who need operators with real local knowledge — not imported assumptions.
Founders & Solopreneurs
Founders running lean and moving fast, who need a trusted senior operator in their corner — without adding to headcount.
Companies expanding to Africa
International companies entering Kenya or the EAC who want to get it right from day one — with experts who've already navigated what they're about to face.
People who've
actually done it.
Senior operators who've built, sold, and scaled real businesses across East African markets. People who know how things actually move here.
VP
Fractional VP of Sales
Go-to-Market · Kenya & EAC
12 years in B2B and B2C sales across East Africa.
Built and led sales teams from the ground up in Kenya's formal and informal markets. Deep relationships with enterprise accounts, distributors, and channel partners across the region.
BD
Fractional Head of Partnerships
Alliances · Telco & Fintech
10+ years in strategic partnerships at Tier-1 telcos and fintechs.
Structured and closed enterprise partnerships at some of East Africa's most recognised institutions. Warm relationships with regulators, telcos, and large corporates across the EAC.
CP
Fractional CPO
Product Localisation · Mobile-First
Led product at two of Africa's leading payment platforms.
Specialises in adapting global products for African user behaviour — USSD flows, low-bandwidth UX, M-Pesa-first architectures, and Africa-ready roadmaps built from real market data.
CO
Fractional COO
Market Entry · Operations
Led 15+ market entry programmes across Kenya, Uganda & Rwanda.
Operational specialist for companies entering East Africa — entity setup, regulatory navigation, local team building, and compliance frameworks built for speed without cutting corners.
GM
Fractional Growth Lead
Growth Marketing · Community
Scaled acquisition campaigns to millions of users across Kenya & Nigeria.
Growth strategist with deep experience in community-led and below-the-line marketing in price-sensitive African markets. Expert in retention and distribution beyond the major cities.
CF
Fractional CFO
Finance · Investor Relations
PE and institutional investment experience across African markets.
Finance leader who helps early-stage companies build investor-ready financials, navigate FX exposure, and structure fundraising rounds for African and international investors.
A selection from our bench of 30+ vetted operators across product, sales, finance, operations and partnerships.
Find your expert →
What getting to work
looks like.
A sample of what our engagements have delivered. Full details available on request.
A European fintech's Kenya onboarding conversion rate moved from 4% to 23% after a CoreBench fractional CPO rebuilt their flow for local UX expectations and M-Pesa integration. Delivered in six weeks.
A UK-based B2B SaaS company closed their first signed enterprise pilot in Kenya within five weeks of engaging a CoreBench fractional GTM lead — after eight months of no traction on their own.
An East African agri-supply chain startup signed three active distribution partnerships within thirty days. Two are now generating recurring revenue, with a third in commercial negotiation.
Client names available under NDA. Book a call to discuss in detail.
The fastest path into Kenya, EAC, COMESA, and AfCFTA markets.
$129B
Kenya market size
Africa's most active startup ecosystem. 60M+ mobile money users.
$320B
EAC market size
Seven high-growth economies. One bloc. Deep local expertise required in each.
$768B
COMESA market size
21 member states. The continent's largest trading bloc.