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Elijah Kilonzi

Elijah Kilonzi

Business Development & SME Financing Expert

Talent
Nairobi, Nairobi AreaMember since November 19, 2022
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About

A seasoned Marketing professional with a proven success record in Corporate & MSME financial advisory, business development, relationship management, risk analysis and management, customer service, team leadership and portfolio management. I utilize my networking and stakeholder management skills to acquire new clients and build profitable and long-lasting business relationships with key clients through my relationship management and financial analysis expertise, as well as service and operational excellence.

Experience

Jun. 2023 – Current: Sales & Marketing Manager, Crophealth Technologies Limited

  • Conceptualize strategies to market products, generate sales conversions and deliver a superior customer experience.
  • Generate and qualify leads to identify high-potential prospects, and understand their needs to align them with company’s solutions.
  • Prepare sales budget, schedule expenditures, and ensure the sales team meets their quotas.
  • Monitor and optimize sales pipeline to ensure leads progress smoothly through the sales funnel.
  • Keep track of targeted, as well as actual sales, to determine the extent of success and/ or marketing support required.
  • Generate regular performance reports to identify success areas and improvement gaps to guide on strategy and tactics change.
  • Manage, mentor and coach the sales team to ensure they meet their individual and team targets.
  • Cultivate and deepen client relationships and partnerships to create loyalty and anticipate possible emerging business opportunities.
  • Work closely with closely with cross-functional teams for timely closure of customer issues.
  • Stay updated on the industry trends, competitors and customers needs to provide insights for improvements to achieve marketing and operational goals.
  • Continually assess our marketing techniques and their efficacy in affecting sales.
Feb. 2021 to May 2023: Regional Relationship Manager, SME - National Bank of Kenya Limited 
  • Formulate and implement strategies and tactics for balance sheet and revenue growth, portfolio health, business development and relationship deepening in SME sector.
  • Establish a network from which to source for and recruit new clients through networking, referrals, market research and effective utilization of centers of influence.
  • Prospect, acquire and onboard customers in line with the Bank's and regulator's requirements.
  • Grow portfolio revenue and balance sheet through new customer acquisition, cross-selling, new need identification and product reengineering.
  • Continuously identify, promote, and recommend solutions that best serve customer’s credit, trade, treasury, transactional and cash management needs.
  • Assess customer needs, determine appropriate facility structure, negotiate facility terms, prepare, and present credit proposals for consideration. 
  • Develop and implement strategies to nurture strategic business relationships with key customers to increase our share of wallet. 
  • Establish cordial relationships with key contacts within the customer’s organization to gain timely insights on new opportunities and threats for proactive account management.
  • Determine key messages and decide on the most appropriate communication methods to convey the message to customers.
  • Promptly deal with customer queries, requests, instructions, suggestions/service feedback through effective stakeholder management.
  • Collect and analyze feedback from stakeholders, identify any gaps in products, processes or service and recommend improvements required to enhance overall customer satisfaction. 
  • Maintain up-to-date account plan and conduct periodic reviews for purposes of profiling and identification of emerging opportunities and risks.
  • Maintain an optimal mixture of long and short-term loans, wholesale and transactional deposits as well as term and current deposits for portfolio sustainability.
  • Ensure adherence to the Bank policies and regulatory requirements throughout the customer journey. 
  • Train and mentor Business Bankers and assist them in structuring complex credit deals.
Apr. 2017 – Feb. 2021: Relationship Manager, Commercial & Corporate Banking - National Bank of Kenya Limited
  • Formulate and implement of portfolio strategies and tactics for balance sheet and revenue growth, portfolio health, business development and relationship deepening in the Sector.
  • Grow portfolio revenue and balance sheet through new customer acquisition, cross-selling, new need identification and product reengineering.
  • Continuously identify, promote, and recommend solutions that best serve customer’s credit, trade, treasury, transactional and cash management needs.
  • Assess customer needs, determine appropriate facility structure, negotiate facility terms, prepare, and present credit proposals for consideration. 
  • Develop and implement strategies to nurture strategic business relationships with key customers to increase share of wallet. 
  • Determine key messages and decide on the most appropriate communication methods to convey the message to customers.
  • Promptly deal with customer queries, requests, instructions, suggestions/service feedback through effective stakeholder management.
  • Maintain an optimal mixture of long and short-term loans, wholesale and transactional deposits as well as term and current deposits for portfolio sustainability.
  • Ensure adherence to the Bank policies and regulatory requirements throughout the customer journey. 
  • Train and mentor Associate Relationship Managers.
Oct. 2013 – Mar. 2017: Corporate Associate Relationship Manager - National Bank of Kenya Limited
  • Major responsibilities included credit origination, screening of customers, customer-issue resolution, stakeholder management, portfolio monitoring and coordination of bank-customer interactions.
Jan. 2009 – Oct. 2013: Graduate Clerk - National Bank of Kenya Limited
  • Served as a Clerk in customer service, cash, back-office operations, personal and business lending roles at Branch level

Education

2012 – 2015: Master of Business Administration (Marketing) - Meru University of Science & Technology

2005 – 2008: Bachelor of Business Administration (Marketing), 2nd Class Honors Upper Division - Maseno University

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