Fineline has four (4) key activity areas that provide specialist services to the Private and Public Sector players in Microfinance and Enterprise development and Economic development assignments, namely:
Training and Advisory Services
Fineline is often contracted by different microfinance, other financial and development institutions to develop appropriate curriculum and deliver demand-driven training to their operations staff, management staff, and boards. This is in some cases accompanied by provision of other technical support services aimed at strengthening service delivery to ensure that an institution best serves its market.
Fineline has a strong capacity to provide demand driven training and capacity building services which among others include:
- Training needs assessment/ Analysis;
- Development of tailor made training materials based on clients strategic plan, policies and operations procedures;
- Training delivery to clients staff at all levels (operations, managerial staff and Board) using in-workshop theory and field work approaches;
- Training of Trainers (TOT) and facilitating lessons learnt in workshops and seminars;
- Team and individual coaching;
- Training on Market Research for Microfinance (MicroSave Tool);
- Advisory to clients on issues like; training and human resource recruitment and capacity development, funds mobilization, developing innovative projects for emerging markets;
- Direct business training for micro entrepreneurs
Technical Support for Rural and Urban Micro-Financial Institutions
Fineline has strong capacity and experience in provision of technical support services to micro financial institutions, commercial banks, SACCOs, development partners and other stakeholders in micro and small and medium enterprises (MSME) development. This includes:
- Strategic Business Planning and Projection Models;
- Organizational development and institutional re-engineering process;
- Institutional analysis on governance, operations, products and delivery systems, market and resources;
- Market-driven product(s) development process;
- Process mapping;
- Helping downscaling commercial banks to reach the microenterprise sector;
- Supporting transformation of NGO microfinance to commercial microfinance institutions or Deposit-taking microfinance;
- Monitoring and evaluation of the impact and performance of clients’ programs;
Market Linkages and Business Development Services (BDS)
Fineline designs and implements business development services aimed at helping micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) and cooperatives to overcome barriers to increased profitability by improving their productivity and access to high value markets. In this way they can create and sustain productive, remunerative and good quality jobs, reduce poverty, and contribute to the development of the local economies.
Our BDS areas include:
- Training;
- Consultancy and advisory services;
- Marketing assistance;
- Information, technology development and transfer;
- Business linkage promotion;
- Facilitating linkages to finance and financial services
Fineline designs and facilitates appropriate interventions to link farmers and MSMEs with local and export markets to ensure that the small-scale producers and processors get higher returns for their produce. This is done by first strengthening the organizational capacity of producer groups through building of strong groups with dynamic governance; building their business management skills through scheduled technical and business trainings; ensuring that their produce achieves the quality standards required by target markets; negotiating and facilitating supply contracts with key market players; and monitoring payments to farmers to avoid cases of exploitation and dissatisfaction among the concerned parties.
To ensure sustainability of projects, we also identify and build the capacities of service providers who continue to provide producers with invaluable support in maintaining quality products at competitive and cost-effective rates.
Currently, we are successfully managing four USAID-funded Kenya-BDS projects in market linkages and commercialization. Experience drawn from these projects is vital in enabling us to achieve targets in similar BDS projects. All the projects have been linked to reliable buyers, signed supply contracts and participants have realized increased household incomes. The projects are supported by three consultants: Agronomy/market linkages; group mobilization/management; and Administrator/accountant, with Fineline’s directors providing overall leadership. Fineline continues to explore new and potential opportunities of developing other market linkages and for commercialization of existing ones to ensure sustainability.
Market Research and Product Development
Fineline uses market-driven approach to provide market-led solutions. We undertake market research assignments, institutional credit and needs assessments, whose focus is to provide insight into the design of sustainable savings and credit products and to guide capacity building initiatives. We have strong capacity in conducting research with emphasis on use of qualitative techniques in market research. Fineline’s Managing Consultant is an accredited service provider with MicroSave in Market Research for Microfinance Institutions.
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What We Do 
