We have identified that one of the key reasons for the continuous poverty cycle in all of sub-Sahara Africa, in years immediately following 2001 and beyond, is the lack of employment for young men and women. In 80% of sub-Sahara Africa,  the problem today is not a lack of primary education, rather it is lack of jobs and economic opportunities for the population in general.

ICA has identified that the introduction of trade and skills training schools will provide another avenue for these young people to gain valuable trades skills which will allow them to obtain meaningful jobs. This will consequently improve the economic situations for their children and families, and eventually their local communities.

  

Small Business, Enterprise Development & Skills Training

Our program is focused on practical small project development and executions in the areas of small-business and enterprise development and also in skills training. ICA will pick projects suitable for specific poverty alleviation ventures in specific communities and will find the resources necessary for establishing and managing such projects.

Our focus in the short-term (2008 - 2013) is going to be on enterprise type development projects, offering business coaching and some capitalization -  "seed" money for the provision of tools other necessary start-up expenses of the entrepreneur. We will also focus on skills training and development for he unemployed. We believe that these are the key areas through which we can make the maximum impact in the economic development and consequently, poverty alleviation in Africa today.

  

Micro-credit & revolving capital
With the current high demand for seed capital for micro-enterprises in sub-Sahara Africa we will give higher consideration to projects with higher developmental impacts, results in more jobs created, and  that could offer close to 100% cost recovery within a considerable space of time. We would like to revolve and reinvest funds into several projects, one after the other, to get them to the points where they are self-sustaining. 

We will apply appropriate micro-credit and revolving loan schemes to achieve individual project success.