Indego Africa Project

Our vocational & business training program helps unemployed youth and refugees build the skills to integrate and succeed in the global artisan economy with the following outcomes:master a specific handicraft techniqueform, register and run an independent woman-owned cooperative business become Indego Africa suppliers and produce handmade goods for the export marketopen bank accounts for their businesses with income earnedjoin the igiceri credit union in rwanda, founded by graduates of Indego's leadership academy improved livelihoods for themselves and financial ability to support their families.

Business and community leadership:indego Africa believes that educating women is the key to long-term empowerment and social change. Through customized education programs, Indego's partners develop the knowledge and skills they need to run and scale their own businessess, become empowered enterpreneurs, and drive economic growth in their communities. Our education programs, paused during the global pandemic due to lockdowns in rwanda, resumed in january 2021.

Market access:providing artisans with opportunities to earn steady, sustainable income is a key element of Indego's market-based impact model and international supply chain. By explaining product specifications and conducting quality control our production teams in Africa help reinforce our partners' practical skills with the onsite guidance they need to create high quality products for the international export market. Indego acted swiftly when the covid-19 pandemic was declared in march 2020 and throughout 2021 and 2022 to counter-act the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on our artisan partners, including lockdowns in their countries and shuttered stores in the us where their products are sold. We created an artisan livelihood protection fund to support steady orders, despite lack of client demand, with Indego bearing the commercial risk of building up inventory.