Achievements

• Conducted client focus group discussion which resulted in host organization piloting individual loan products and altering several aspects of its existing group loan products.
  • These changes favorably impacted the organization’s overall goal of increasing outreach, retaining existing clients, catering for more diverse client needs, and improving the quality of its loan portfolio.
• Assisted with the establishment of new branch offices and training the office staff,
• Streamlined and tightened up systems in the HR and internal controls,
• Developed a new bank product, the Single Enterprise Loan, targeted at clients whose microbusinesses have successfully grown through Microfinance and now are moving to the small business level and good risks for larger loans.

Gianni also attended forums with other members of the NGO community that deal with microfinance and microenterprise development such as World Hope, Christian Children’s Foundation, World Vision and CRS. Many of these meetings have taken place to further the LINKS partnership, of which ARC is a member and Finance Salone an implementing partner.

“Systems have been put in place and products have been developed that will now allow Finance Salone to grow exponentially, fend off its competitors, reward its staff more, and provide more client-focused products and services. The organization is now leaner and more efficient, and the staff is more motivated and generally work harder…The development of the bonus scheme was not in [my] scope of work, but it has nonetheless been central to my assignment and impact. Internal controls were also not mentioned in my original scope of work, but their development will allow Finance Salone to carry forth the new products successfully.”