This year, our global team—from India, Indonesia, Denmark, Kenya, and Norway—gathered in Nairobi and Nanyuki for our annual offsite. The week was a mix of hands-on field visits, engaging discussions, and moments of creativity that brought our work in financial inclusion to life.
Field Visits: Seeing Impact Up Close
One of the highlights was getting out into the field with our portfolio companies, Premier Credit Kenya and Juhudi Kilimo. Visiting clients in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas—from spare car parts shops to pre-schools and small-scale farms—showed how access to finance shapes business growth, household ambitions, and daily decisions in very different contexts.
These visits gave our team the chance to see the real-world impact of the solutions we support. Whether it was a smallholder farmer managing climate risks or a local business expanding thanks to microloans, these moments brought to life the nuances and challenges of each setting.
Conversations That Spark New Ideas
Back in Nairobi, we continued learning through Q&A sessions with leaders from our portfolio companies:
- Susan Chibanga (Agora Microfinance Zambia) unpacked the realities of advancing financial inclusion in Zambia, highlighting the barriers that still exist for low-income households.
- Linnet Kaguma (Juhudi Kilimo) shared insights on Juhudi’s new weather-based insurance product, developed with NORCAP and Abler Nordic, which is helping farmers better withstand climate-related risks.
- Shafi Nambobi (UGAFODE Microfinance Limited) discussed efforts to extend financial services to refugees, empowering displaced communities to rebuild their livelihoods and thrive.
These conversations emphasized how shared insights across countries can inspire new ideas and approaches, strengthening our collective impact in financial inclusion.
And of course, we squeezed in some fun too. Our “Taskmaster”-style challenge—building the tallest spaghetti-and-marshmallow tower—proved that structural integrity is optional, but creativity isn’t!
𝘈𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘢 to our Kenyan team for the warm welcome, and to everyone who shared their time and insights
