The Three Phase Process:

IMED pursues its mission of equipping national entrepreneurs using a long-term, three-phase approach:

Phase 1: Once pre-qualified candidates have been identified and recruited by our in-country partners, a week long conference is held at a central location. This conference is taught by volunteer faculty from IMED in the USA and covers the fundamentals of creating and starting a micro-business. Topics such as entrepreneurial characteristics, consumer driven economics, marketing (research and planning), financial management, etc. are presented in an informal, discussion based environment that seeks to blend proven business concepts with deep respect for local culture. The conference ends with an assignment to complete a market research project to be turned in to our partner and reviewed by IMED USA.

Phase 2: Those completing the research assignment from Phase 1 and receiving approval of their project are invited to a second conference. In Phase 2, students are paired up with volunteer coaches from IMED and spend approximately 40 hours working through the findings of their research project and formulating a business plan based on that information. The business plan is then submitted for a 3-level evaluation. If the business plan shows viability, the student is invited to return to the third conference.

Phase 3: Those returning to Phase 3 are taught the actual mechanics of launching a business-legalities, hiring and management, sales and service, financial record keeping, etc. At the end of this conference, they graduate and are funded through the IMED revolving investment fund based in the US.

Upon graduating, the emerging entrepreneurs are enrolled into an extended mentoring and coaching process to ensure that they are successful and able to repay their loans. Loan repayments form a capital pool that is generally kept in-country for re-investment in future graduates.

The Three Legs of Success

IMED is often described as a "three legged stool." Each leg is necessary for the program to be successful.

IMED is primarily a training organization and uses the multi-phased approach outlined above.

Training without funding is, at best, a mirage of false hope. Those who are qualified through a multi-layered screening process deserve to be funded. To accomplish this, IMED raises money in the US and other developed countries and distributes them as low-interest development loans to our graduates. As loans are repaid, the money generally remains in-country (not repatriated to the US) and used to build a capital pool for investing in future graduates. In this way, IMED fosters a self-sufficiency model that can be turned entirely over to local control and management over a 5-7 year period.

Once graduates have completed their training and received their micro-loan, the hardest work has just begun. As they start and grow their micro-business, they are in need of support, coaching, and accountability. IMED creates country-specific mentoring programs to assist graduates through this crucial period. Usually this is a cooperative effort between in-country partners, national business leaders, and US volunteers who regularly visit the graduates at their business.