Urbis Foundation
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With our projects we try to give people a chance for a better future. Some of our success stories are presented here.

Guédopé Françoise had already trained in conventional electrical engineering, but the big professional breakthrough was still a long way off. The turning point came when she received specialist training in photovoltaics from the Urbis-Togo Foundation. This training opened up new prospects in a booming sector: solar energy.

With the necessary technical knowledge in her pocket and a subsequent work placement in a solar company, Françoise was quickly able to gain a foothold. Today, she works full time in a solar company, where she is responsible for ensuring that the solar installations are running smoothly and at peak performance. In addition, as a member of the energy accounting department, she analyses electricity production and consumption - an important contribution to the long-term efficiency of the systems. Quality control of solar components is also part of her remit.

For Françoise, the support of the Urbis Foundation has been the key to her professional reorientation - and to her current fulfilment in her work. In her own words: "I'm very grateful to the Urbis Foundation - it was decisive in my entry into the renewable energy sector".

With our projects we try to give people a chance for a better future. Some of our success stories are presented here.

Between 2017 and 2018, Alassani Salimatou completed an IT training programme at the Urbis Foundation's media library. Looking back, she describes this place as far more than just a training centre - it was a space that nurtured her curiosity, strengthened her skills and awakened her entrepreneurial spirit.

After completing her training, she was immediately given the opportunity to complete a three-month practical and further training internship, which further deepened her knowledge and boosted her self-confidence. With this valuable experience, she took the plunge into self-employment.

Today, Alassani successfully runs her own shop, which offers both office services and the sale of school materials. It is clear to her that she embodies the success that education can bring - and she is convinced that the Urbis Foundation media centre is the best training centre that can accompany young people on this path.

With our projects we try to give people a chance for a better future. Some of our success stories are presented here.

Every year, our training farm CPIA (Centre de Promotion des Initiatives Agricoles) trains agroentrepreneurs (AEs), such as Akizilelou Arom. The 24-year-old was trained as an AE in 2020-2021 and was able to start his own farm in the Est-Mono prefecture in eastern Togo with the start-up capital from URBIS FOUNDATION. On his 9 ha farm, he grows maize, soybeans, cassava, yam, sorghum and nibeb, and also breeds goats, sheep and poultry. With the start-up capital, he was even able to build a house in his village.

About the training, Akizilelou says "If today I can find something to eat, feed myself and provide for my family, it is thanks to this training that URBIS FOUNDATION organised for us destitute youths and gave me this chance." The training includes sustainable farming methods and dealing with the effects of climate change in agriculture, as well as modules on entrepreneurship. For Akizilelou, the training brought a significant change in his working life and has given him perspective.

With our projects we try to give people a chance for a better future. Some of our success stories are presented here.

In March 2021, Tchala Ekéma took part in an intensive one-week solar training course on the installation and maintenance of photovoltaic solar systems organised by URBIS FOUNDATION Togo (UFT) in Lomé. Following the training, she was funded by UFT for a three-month internship at KYA-Energy Group, where she got a permanent job after graduating with a degree in civil and electrical engineering. She said:

"The solar training at URBIS FOUNDATION has enabled me to strengthen my skills and competencies not only in solar energy but also in entrepreneurship."

Further, she has big plans for the future:

"I want to start a training and mentoring centre for girls in technology and science and become an ambassador for technology in Africa in five years, start a robotics school after a major robotics training in a major university and eventually start a community of young girls in science and technology in Africa to be able to participate in the development of my continent.''

Since the programme started in 2019, URBIS FOUNDATION has trained 43 women and supported them in starting their careers.

With our projects we try to give people a chance for a better future. Some of our success stories are presented here.

In Togo, many children do not yet have a birth certificate. Consequently, they cannot obtain a passport or other official documents. As part of a new URBIS project in 2018, we supported 50 children in obtaining their certificate!

With our projects we try to give people a chance for a better future. Some of our success stories are presented here.

Thanks to a microcredit granted by URBIS, Madame Aridja Tchakonde was able to establish a café, which she runs today with five employees. Since business is going well, she is able to save money, which she puts on the common bank account of her women’s credit group. Before she became a group member, she sold spices and other small items in the city. Nowadays, she not only pays the school education for her five daughters, but can also offer employment opportunities for other women.

With our projects we try to give people a chance for a better future. Some of our success stories are presented here.

With a microcredit granted by URBIS, Madame Mouraféra Sallassis was able to open a boutique, which she runs with her daughters. On 8 square meters, different cloths, scarfs and headscarves are on display, in varying colours and motifs. Madame Mouraféra Sallassis used to carry the goods on her head, offering them potential customers in the streets. Thanks to her new boutique, she is now able to order larger quantities, which allows her to achieve higher profits.