The objective of Indego Africas vocational and business training program at the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda is to improve refugee livelihoods through sustainable artisan cooperatives and access to international markets. The goal of this project is: 1) To help female refugees develop the technical skills needed to succeed in the global artisan economy and produce products that meet international quality control standards; and 2) To equip participants with the knowledge needed to start and run new businesses and earn a sustainable income for themselves and their families.

Three days per week, 50 refugee women receive sweetgrass basket-weaving instruction and work on purchase orders for the Indego Africa collection. Training is led by three of Indegos talented artisan partners from Imirasire, a weaving cooperative in Bugasera, Rwanda. Now in the second phase of the project, Indegos production and education teams in Rwanda are teaching the refugees how to make high-quality woven products and fulfill purchase orders for export. The other two days per week, program participants take part in Indegos Basic Business Training program: a 25-lesson course that covers fundamental business topics including organizational governance, bank account management, bookkeeping, quality control, budgeting, and technology use for communications and marketing. The women report that these skills will be particularly valuable to them when they leave the camp and return to Burundi. The course is taught at the camp by Indego Africas Program Manager who has extensive experience teaching the curriculum to students from a range of educational backgrounds. The Program Manager travels to the Mahama Refugee Camp, stays overnight in Nyakarambi, and produces weekly reports which help UNHCR and the Indego team assess the programs progress. Both Indegos Program Manager and Production Manager attend UNHCR Livelihoods Program meetings at the camp. Twice per month, Indego Africas Production Manager travels to the camp to conduct product quality control and on-the-job training to ensure artisans are developing the technical skills necessary to create products that will succeed in the global market. The Production Manager composes monthly reports of her visits to the camp which are presented to UNHCRs Livelihoods team, Indegos Rwanda Country Director, and Indegos CEO.

As a registered 501(c)(3) organization, Indego Africas capacity-building is driven by funding secured to support its vocational and business training program at the Mahama Refugee Camp. Before the launch of the project, Indego identified three trainers selected from a pool of partners who had already served as trainers in Indegos Vocational Training program outside of the refugee camp and proven their effectiveness with technical instruction and mentorship for inexperienced artisans. Indego Africa conducts baseline surveys for program participants at the start of the year to gauge levels of initial vocational and business skill, and follow-up surveys at the end of the program to track progress on stated goals and solicit feedback from participants. Indego staff members utilize these surveys, in addition to daily observations, to identify high-performing program participants who can help train other women at the Mahama Refugee Camp.

The initiative is governed by Indego Africa, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering artisan women in Africa through employment opportunities and education. In partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Rwandas Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR), Indego Africas Rwanda Country Director manages Indego staff, oversees the initiative, and liaises with all relevant constituencies at the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda.

Indego Africa United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Rwandas Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR)