Product Manager - Lending, Johannesburg

Product Manager— Lending | Bedfordview | Permanent Shape the future of digital lending in a fast-scaling fintech environment. Lead a product that directly expands access to credit and drives real financial inclusion.

This high-impact role places you at the centre of a rapidly growing fintech business, where technology, compliance, and customer experience intersect. As Product Manager Lending, you will take full ownership of a micro-lending product suite, define its strategy, roadmap, and delivery while ensuring alignment with South African regulatory frameworks. You will work closely with cross-functional Agile teams to bring innovative, compliant, and user-centric lending solutions to market.

You will operate as both a strategic thinker and hands-on Product Owner, translating market insights, regulatory requirements, and customer needs into clear, actionable product development. This is an opportunity to build and scale a product that plays a meaningful role in expanding responsible access to credit.

Our client is a dynamic South African fintech company operating across payments, verifications, and lending. With a strong focus on innovation and compliance, they are building scalable platforms that enable seamless financial services for individuals and businesses across the country.

What You’ll Do

Define and execute the product vision, strategy, and multi-quarter roadmap for the lending product suite

Identify market opportunities through customer research, competitor analysis, and regulatory monitoring

Own and prioritise the product backlog using data-driven frameworks

Act as Product Owner within Agile squads, driving sprint planning, delivery, and continuous improvement

Translate regulatory requirements into clear product features aligned with the National Credit Act

Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Technology teams to ensure compliant product design

Engage internal and external stakeholders, including credit bureaus and payment partners

Define and track KPIs, using data insights to optimise conversion, repayment, and customer experience

Run experiments and A/B testing to validate product decisions and improve outcomes

What You Bring

Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field such as Business, Commerce, Engineering, or Computer Science

5+ years’ experience in Product Management within fintech or financial services

Proven experience in South African micro-lending or credit products

Strong working knowledge of the National Credit Act and regulatory environment

Hands-on experience as a Product Owner in Agile/Scrum teams

Experience with credit bureau integrations and affordability assessments

Strong analytical capability with experience using data to drive product decisions

Ability to write clear user stories, manage backlogs, and prioritise effectively

Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills

What Success Looks Like

Delivery of roadmap commitments aligned to business OKRs and timelines

Strong product performance across origination, approval rates, and disbursement efficiency

High customer satisfaction and improved lending journey experience

Full regulatory compliance with zero critical audit findings

Consistent sprint velocity and well-maintained backlog health

Reduced defects and improved product quality post-release

Positive stakeholder feedback and strong cross-functional alignment

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