Dear Prospective Partner:

I invite you to contribute to TRIBE’s work in Liberia.

Here’s our ask:

We are raising USD 30,000 to develop 60 students with entrepreneurship and work skills and connect them to entrepreneurial and job opportunities immediately after graduation.

Why we do this work:

Growing up in Liberia, we found that education was often sold as a promise of success in the real world. As kids, we dreamed big of shared prosperity and success. Not many of us have been as fortunate to realize some of these dreams because of the broken pathway that connects school to real life.

While some of us have been fortunate enough to experience firsthand the transformative power of education and mentorship, many students struggle daily with a flawed education system that stifles creativity and critical thinking.

We believe education should be a promise to thrive, that is why we are reimagining Liberia’s secondary education system—marked by rote memorization, test taking, and instructions—to adopt alternative models focused on critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and innovation.

Here’s how we do it:

In 2021, we designed and launched an entrepreneurial academy for Liberia’s high school students – RE-Novate. By partnering with schools, we integrate our model into their curricula and equip students with real-world skills and experiences. Through strategic partnerships with local businesses and organizations, we connect our students to paid internships while still in high school, creating a pathway to secure full-time employment or entrepreneurship upon graduation.

Impact so far:

The potential impact of RE–Novate is evident in the success of our 42-student pilot, where 100% of students received personalized career mentorship, 50% secured paid internships, and 20% transitioned into full-time employment immediately after graduation.

The average student intern earned USD 90.00 a month. The minimum compensation standard was USD 75.00. A quick Google search puts Liberia’s GDP Per Capita at USD 675.66 in 2021 (World Bank) and USD 800.21 in 2023 (Statista). Holding the latter to be accurate, that’s USD 66.68 a month, which means the average RE-Novate student intern still in high school earned 35% more than the national average.

Imagine the earning potential for students if we can run RE-Novate at full scale and incorporate more in-demand skills and entrepreneurial opportunities!

But here’s a little problem:

When we gauged students’ access to tools such as smart devices that support effective learning, or electricity and internet, only 3% had proper access, while 47% and 50% had moderate and limited (or no) access, respectively. This challenge resulted in an initial engagement of less than 40%, underperformance, and inconsistency from students. To address this, we expanded our offices to a resource center and provided transportation and feeding for students to participate in the program because nearly half were consistently unable to keep up. We concluded the pilot with nearly 90% completion and engagement.

Our progress as an institution:

When we founded TRIBE in November 2019, we spent the next two years researching and testing out various components of the model to find a fit. Informed by thorough research, deep understanding, and extensive stakeholder engagements, our strategy integrated workforce demands into our model to bridge the learning and workforce gaps.

It was not until mid-2021 when our team of six volunteers and less than USD 10,000 in the bank took our model public.

Since August 2021, we have transitioned to 11 full-time employment, secured a four-room office building with a conference room, and raised over USD 300,000 for our work that has supported nearly 350 students and young people to learn entrepreneurship through our various programs.

To continue facilitating students to become better prepared for the real world, we must continue to deliver RE-Novate to more students while constantly improving our model.

What we plan to do with your support:

Here’s where we need you: to help us launch our next cohort and expand to six schools. Your donations will put 60 students through RE-Novate, provide them access to a resource center with internet, transportation, and feeding, and ensure at least half experience real-world employment before graduation.

The total cost for our 2024 cohort is USD 105,000. We have secured USD 20,000 – combined with your support, we will run the first half of the cohort.

First-half Breakdown:

Salaries for 4 people x 6 months = USD 19,500

Facilitation for 60 students x 6 months = USD 8,000

Recruitment and onboarding of 60 students = USD 4,320

Learning workshops and seminars for 6 months = USD 8,172

Mentorship, projects and learning excursions = USD 10,000

Engage and invite your network!

You can read RE-Novate summary and full pilot reports here , and about TRIBE here . If you’d like to participate in our social media campaign after donating, please find the template here .

For offline donations, Sendwave or mobile money transfers, please contact us directly.

We encourage you to share with your friends and wider network to encourage more giving!

In partnership,

Wain, CEO