How to manage talent for market development? Under the hood of the FSD Academy…

Financial market facilitation is challenging. The FSD Academy aims to provide both new and seasoned FSD staff with the skills, confidence and networks needed to perform effectively. What have they learnt so far?

In September, Marion Kimani, an FSD Africa project manager, and her 25 FSD colleagues – from office managers and digital finance experts to CEOs and capital market leads – listened to Juliet Munro welcome the group to the FSD Academy’s third, five-day financial market development course.

For Marion, this week will: “provide an opportunity to meet my colleagues from other FSDs and better understand how to apply the M4P approach in my day-to-day work.”  For FSD Africa, this milestone provides a useful moment to reflect. Lessons from the journey so far will help shape the FSD Academy’s future direction of travel.

But, what is the FSD Academy?

Created in 2015, the FSD Academy is the FSD Network’s centre for talent management. It presently provides a range of: a) skills development clinics, b) classroom courses, c) peer learning working groups, d) online materials, and e) follow-up coaching to over 140 member of staff across the family of 10 FSDs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Financial market facilitation is challenging. Its practitioners are required not only to be financially literate, but also proficient in development processes, project management and systems thinking. The FSD Academy aims to provide both new and seasoned FSD staff – from CEO to office manager – with the skills, confidence and networks needed to perform effectively. It focuses on three key elements of successful FSD work: ‘know-what’, ‘know-how’ and ‘know-who’.

The demand signals are strong. To date, the FSD Academy has supported over 200 participants in financial market facilitation, monitoring and results measurement (MRM), communication for market development, professional writing, and agriculture finance. Most FSD Academy work so far has been generously co-funded by the FSDs themselves, with support from FSD Africa staff and expert trainers.

What has the FSD Academy delivered so far?

Following an FSD Network ‘Learning Needs Assessment’ for the FSD Network in March 2015, the FSD Academy swung into action. Here are a few highlights:

M4P/Market Facilitation Course. With support from the Springfield Centre, the FSD Academy has successfully delivered two, five-day M4P courses for FSD staff – in Cape Town in May 2015 (25 FSD staff) and in Maputo in February 2016 (28 FSD staff). An exit survey showed that all of the participants (100%) would recommend the course to a colleague. The outcomes of the course focus on FSD staff not only understanding market facilitation, but encouraging the application of its principles in day-to-day work. It’s also provided valuable peer-to-peer learning. According to Jean Bosco Iyacu – a technical manager at Access to Finance Rwanda:  “The FSD Academy M4P course was great. It’s a must for FSD staff. It wasn’t generic. It was customised to our approach. It had our DNA.”

Communications (Comms) for Market Development Clinics. With support from Kenyan comms specialists Well Told Story, the FSD Academy has delivered 8 communication clinics to over 120 staff across the FSD Network. An FSD Comms Working Group is also now active. The process has resulted in a number of positive signs. FSDs have hired new comms leads, built new websites, published more blogs and have more tweeting staff members than ever. Critically, there are positive signs  – from CEO to receptionist – of a change in mindset towards the role of comms in market development processes and in the credibility of FSDs to facilitate complex market development processes. According to Joanna Ledgerwood – outgoing CEO of FSD Zambia: “The clinic was transformational. This whole process has been transformational.”

Monitoring and Results Measurement (MRM) for Market Development  Clinics. With support from external specialists, the FSD Academy has delivered 6 MRM Diagnostic Workshops where 47 participants received MRM training in 2016. This exercise built on the publication of Impact Orientated Measurement (IOM)  in early 2016 – a guidance document for: a) measuring, and b) organising for the measurement of systemic change by FSDs. In November 2016, the MRM Working Group and invited guests will participate in the FSD Academy’s first ever three-day MRM for Market Development course. According to Godfrey Isingoma – MRM Lead at FSD Uganda: “If there was no IOM process, I don’t know where I’d be.”

Professional Writing Clinics. Led by Innergy2000 – writing specialists, the FSD Academy is now rolling out the delivery of professional writing clinics for all FSD staff. So far, 28 staff members in FSD Africa and FSD Kenya have undergone the training with follow on clinics planned for other FSDs over the coming months. The course is a response to the email, report drafting and editing demands placed on FSD staff, for many of whom English is not a first language. According to an FSD Africa participant:  “The workshop was well-facilitated with a rich mix of theory and practice. The practical sessions were very helpful as they addressed real-life issues I have to deal with at work every day.”

FSD Working Groups. The FSD Academy now has three working groups, focused on: FSD MRM, FSD Comms and FSD Agriculture Finance. The aim of each is to provide a community of practice for like-minded FSD staff to share learning and challenges. In this way, they are designed to foster knowledge transfer between FSDs and promote good practices. Together, these working groups have met on over 10 occasions, involving 9 of the 10 FSDs and over 25 participants. Face-to-face meetings are scheduled at least once a year, with follow ups via telephone conference and email.

FSD Academy Online Portal. This is an e-learning portal for FSD Network staff to share and access new/existing learning materials and other resources.  Resources include key reading and induction materials (e.g. on topics such as the FSD Network, SME finance, DFID, Challenge Funds etc.) as well as abridged training materials from previous FSD Academy courses.

What’s next for the FSD Academy?

In spite of progress, much work remains for the FSD Academy. Here are three areas in which we’re looking to improve:

Peer-to-peer mentoring. As FSDs, we are often our own best resource. Through peer-to-peer coaching, could the FSD Academy greatly improve the sharing of experience and expertise between FSD staff members?

Recruitment. Market facilitation is demanding. According to a US Aid report, it requires staff to have technical and non-technical skills that often go beyond classroom learning such as relationship-building, innovating mentoring, communicating etc. As such, can the FSD Academy help FSDs recruit high potential candidates more effectively?

Broader audience. The FSD Academy has the potential to act as a hub for hands-on M4P learning beyond the FSD Network. In the future, could training clinics and workshops designed and delivered by the FSD Academy be opened up to a broader audience of policy-makers and practitioners?

Back in Cape Town, Marion Kimani is about to embark on her first FSD Academy course. By the end of the week, she’ll shuffle out of the M4P training course and join a growing network of over 200 FSD Academy alumni.

FSDs expect a lot from staff like Marion. In return, the FSD Academy aims to foster their talent, making them better skilled, confident and networked for the financial market development challenge.

It will be time intensive and we might sometimes make mistakes, but FSD Africa will continue to wrestle to improve the FSD Academy. To enable our staff to shape markets for the benefit of the excluded and the vulnerable: it’s an investment, not a cost.

This blog was originally posted on the FSD Africa website and is republished here with kind permission.