INDEGO AFRICA PROJECT
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Market Access
Indego partners with cooperatives of female artisans in Africa to train, market, and sell handmade products that are designed in New York City and handmade in Rwanda and Ghana- combining traditional techniques, local materials, and genuine artisan skill. Indego combines high-quality, innovative designs, scalable supply chains, and ethical practices to engage and build durable relationships with retail customers, wholesale clients, and brands.
Education
Indego Africa invests all of its profits from sales, coupled with grants and donations, into business education and vocational training programs for the artisans who handcraft its products and the youth in their communities. Through Indego's education programs, artisan women, refugees, and youth develop the skills they need to grow and scale their own enterprises, participate in the global economy, and lead change in their communities.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
IA's primary goal is to provide women with the knowledge and skills to lift themselves out of poverty, engage independently with global markets, and drive economic and social progress in their communities.
As IA scales, rigorously measuring impact remains our primary tool for both evaluating how effectively programs meet stated objectives and identifying areas in which programming can be improved to better achieve developmental performance targets. For instance, in recent feedback, our artisan partners reported that aspiring cooperative leaders are receiving the same education as artisans who just want to go to work, earn an income, and occasionally receive basic training. In addition, they reported that training programs do not include enough real-life examples and exercises. In response, IA is launching a Leadership Academy that will provide advanced business training to emerging artisan leaders that they will then apply to improve the performance of their entire cooperatives. In conjunction with this initiative, IA is streamlining and consolidating its basic education and training programs and updating them to include more practical curricula.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Since our founding, IA has remained steadfastly committed to a verifiable, outcome-based approach to poverty reduction. Our Social Impact Report opens up avenues for us to communicate the true value of partnership with IA for our artisan partners. For example, many organizations view the concept of scale solely as “how many," as in, how many beneficiaries or how many countries. Borrowing a framework more often seen in the educational sector, IA believes scale actually encompasses at least four different interrelated concepts: (a) depth (nature of change), (b) sustainability (what happens when you leave), (c) spread (“how many"), and (d) ownership (does it lead to shifts in policy or the way things are done). This Social Impact Report is a meaningful medium to consider why IA has made strategic decisions not to sacrifice depth and sustainability for spread.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
IA has offices in NYC, Rwanda, and Ghana, and is managed by a lean and diverse team with extensive experience in business, design, development, law, fashion, and Africa.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Results to date:
• Earned Income: In 2016, 89% of our female artisan partners earned more than $1.50 per day, compared to 2% in 2008.
• Food Security: In 2016, 86% of our female artisan partners reported that their families never ran out of food, compared to 6% in 2008.
• Education: In 2016, 92% of our female artisan partners sent all or most of their children to school, compared to 57% in 2008.
• Health Access: In 2016, 96% of our female artisan partners had regular access to medical care, compared to 26% in 2008.
• Business Skills: In 2016, 100% of the graduates from the Ghana Basic Business Training Program felt they had developed the skills needed to start a new business
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
INDEGO AFRICA PROJECT
Board of directorsas of 11/30/2020
Matthew Mitro
Thomas Mitro
Stephen Foresta
Ryan Lester
Katharine Crost
Karen Yelick
Joe Owens
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
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The organization's co-leader identifies as:
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Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
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Disability
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Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/30/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.