Financial strength for social impact in Kenya

Step & Fly provides access to finance and business training for thousands of women in rural Western Kenya. As the organisation grows and develops its financial services, it also needs to strengthen its own strategic and financial foundation. Through a remote PUM project, Step & Fly worked with finance expert Kyra van der Sande to develop a strategic plan for sustainable growth and social impact.

Step & Fly was founded in 2010 with the aim of creating economic opportunities for women who have limited access to traditional financing. From its head office in Maragoli and branches across Western Kenya, the organisation currently reaches around 12,000 women, organised in some 1,200 groups.

Many of these women cannot provide the financial security, such as property or land, that traditional banks require for a loan. Step & Fly uses a group-based approach instead, in which women guarantee each other’s loans. Alongside finance, the organisation provides business and agricultural training and runs a welfare programme to support members when they face setbacks.

As Step & Fly develops its financial services, including opportunities for entrepreneurs who need larger and longer-term financing, the organisation itself also needs to develop. Growth brings new questions around financial management, internal processes and access to sufficient working capital.

Developing a strategic direction

To prepare for this next phase, Step & Fly was matched with PUM expert Kyra van der Sande, who collaborated with the team entirely remotely. During a series of weekly online meetings, combined with preparation on both sides, they worked step by step through the different elements of a strategic plan and translated their discussions into concrete actions. Kyra was particularly impressed by the organisation’s approach. “What I find so powerful is that Step & Fly creates access to finance for women who would otherwise have very limited opportunities to obtain a loan.”

The collaboration started by looking at where Step & Fly stands today and where it wants to go. Together, they explored Step & Fly’s mission and vision, strengths and challenges, strategic priorities and financial outlook.

“This project came from Step & Fly’s ambition to provide larger loans and attract additional funding,” Kyra explains. “That requires a convincing financial story, with clear objectives, a concrete implementation plan and a practical way to measure results.”

The process resulted in clear strategic pillars and an action plan for the coming years. The strategic plan provides Step & Fly with an internal management tool as well as a stronger basis for conversations with banks, impact funds and other potential funding partners.

Connecting financial and social impact

For Step & Fly, financial and social ambitions go hand in hand. A stronger financial foundation can enable the organisation to grow sustainably and continue expanding access to finance and business training for women in rural Kenya.

The process therefore also considered how Step & Fly’s social purpose can be reflected more clearly in its strategy. By strengthening the organisation behind its services, the ambition is ultimately to create more opportunities for women entrepreneurs to develop their businesses and strengthen their economic independence.