IESC is pleased to share its 2019 Annual Report. This report showcases some of the many ways IESC is improving the lives of people, families, and communities around the world. It includes examples of how our programs are bolstering small and growing businesses, creating meaningful employment, and supporting entrepreneurs and workers around the world. It also illustrates the ways in which we are expanding international trade, increasing food…

Although the Government of Sri Lanka responded swiftly and decisively to the COVID-19 pandemic, minimizing the spread of the virus in the country, the 24-hour curfews and restrictions on gatherings made in-person trainings and educational sessions impossible. In response to this challenge, USAID’s youth skills development and entrepreneurship project, YouLead, catalyzed private sector collaborations to rapidly expand its outreach to youth…

New Ideas and Industry Expertise Improve Vegetable Sales from Dominican Republic
It is not easy to be an exporter of any product, but exporting fresh produce carries higher inherent risks. In the Dominican Republic, the Asian Vegetable Producer Association (ASAGEN) encountered a steep learning curve when they started their business in 2013. Out of their first 19 shipments, 13 were rejected at their destination because mismanagement of the cold…

Traceability System Helps Ghanaian Farmers Reach Export Markets

Faced with an export ban on five vegetable products starting in 2015 and increasing rejections of fresh fruit and vegetable shipments to the European Union, Ghana set a goal: meet internationally recognized food safety standards so that Ghanaian products can compete in international markets. One of the major challenges facing Ghana was the inability to effectively trace products…

IESC F2F Volunteer Expert Supports Youth Cooperative to Strategically and Sustainably Manage Youth-Support Programs
Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO), a youth cooperative located in Morogoro, provides critical services to youth throughout Tanzania. SUGECO trains out-of-school and out-of-job youth and provides Tanzanian youth from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds with in-country short field assignments as well as…

F2F Volunteer Improves Financing Opportunities and Unlocks Capital for Rural Farmers to Improve Production and Increase Incomes

Although the area around Usangu basin in the Mbeya region of Tanzania is well known for its suitability for rice paddies, farmers like 31-year old Atanas Kikwembe were unable to maximize their production and improve their livelihoods. Atanas farmed for ten years in Ubaraku village Mbarali district on five to ten…