OVERVIEW:
This project aims to provide business training for poor entrepreneurs in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The project will be done in 2 stages, the first is a two week training period, which includes a practical component. After this, those participants who qualify may enroll in a mentoring program that includes a micro-credit component to enable them to either start their business or expand it sustainably. The business-mentoring program is a key component to ensure that participants grow in their business knowledge and remain on the path to economic freedom.
WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT IT:
Our implementing partners are international business experts who have run this training course in over 20 countries, to great success. We appreciate the emphasis on theoretical and practical learning followed up by mentoring and small loans. We are encouraged by the targeting of this training to a poor community who is looking for ways and means to bring themselves out of poverty. The community itself has asked for the training, an excellent sign for the success of the project.
THE NEED:
The community where the project will be run is an extremely poor community, and many members are financially dependent on others for survival. DRC is slowly recovering from years of civil fighting, and as a result the formal economy is in tatters and the government provides very little in the way of services. Citizens of the DRC are amongst the poorest in the world, with some of the lowest life expectancy and worst health indicators.
LIFE CHANGE:
