Micro consultancy and micro donations for local entrepreneurs

"The project involves supporting the Congolese and Ugandan micro-entrepreneurs by providing the skills concerning the identification, assembly, execution and tracking of micro-projects and the financing of part of the equipment required for their startup."

Franck Haaser

Illoco proposes entrepreneurial and financial support to local players who are carefully identified so that they can start their activity, while promoting a social ploughing back of the resources produced. To do this, it mobilizes the local community and relies on the help of partners to offer them an economic "helping hand". Its action is focused on the development of income-generating projects anchored in economic permanence.

An economic helping hand

Illoco has been founded on the free and temporary availability of skills, plus an input of financial resources, a sort of combination of micro consultancy and micro donations. It does not concentrate on a single project, but action guidelines have been identified and are privileged, chiefly around agriculture, breeding, crafts and services. The idea is to select, in priority - with the local community - players with "small projects", uncomplicated but offering high added value, to give them concrete proximity backing. In 2012, the nonprofit is operating in the villages of Wamba in DRC and Kalinzu in Uganda on 6 projects (3 per country), ranging from the machine shop for the collective chicken farm at Wamba and the production of traditional baskets, to the training of guides for fair and outreach tourism at Kalinzu. 100 persons per country, a total of 200 persons, are concerned.

The Foundation is financing the equipment required to start the projects.