OIC International

What OIC International does

OIC International (OICI) is a private nonprofit workforce development and humanitarian organization founded in 1979 by civil rights activist Dr. Leon H. Sullivan, author of the Global Sullivan Principles. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. (1875 Connecticut Ave NW, 10th Floor) with a regional office in Accra, Ghana, the organization operates a portfolio of roughly ten programs across at least seven African countries — Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Liberia, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea — and employs over 300 management, technical, and field staff. Its stated mission is to alleviate poverty through workforce development training and job placement in four core sectors: agriculture, customer service/retail, health, and vocational trades (construction, auto repair, hospitality management, fashion design, office administration). Current leadership includes President and CEO Crispian Kirk and a Board of Directors chaired by Edmund D. Cooke, Jr., with members drawn from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Wells Fargo Advisors, The World Bank, Towers Watson, and SNR Denton.

OICI delivers services through discrete program initiatives rather than a unified technology platform. The portfolio includes HANDS (food security for 35,000 beneficiaries in Liberia, USAID/FFP-funded), EARN (retail workforce training for 12,000 beneficiaries across Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria, Walmart Foundation-funded), SHARPER (HIV/AIDS program serving 32,455 beneficiaries in Ghana), IBEX (USAID-funded SME finance activity targeting 375 Liberian SMEs), AILAP and SDIIP (Newmont Ghana Gold-funded agriculture and vocational training for nearly 10,000 Ghanaian beneficiaries), 4H (Ethiopia youth agri-business for 1,543 beneficiaries), SNAP (Sierra Leone food security for 10,000 beneficiaries), RMDG (Guinea microenterprise for 4,092 households), and Apprentissage Dual (UNDP and Government of Guinea dual apprenticeship for 1,000 beneficiaries). Technical and vocational training spans welding, catering, hospitality, auto repair, tailoring, electrical, plumbing, masonry, and carpentry. The organization is explicitly non-technological — using standard nonprofit management systems — with no proprietary software, mobile applications, APIs, or AI/ML components disclosed.

OICI is funded almost entirely through institutional grants rather than commercial revenue. Beneficiaries receive services at no cost. The go-to-market centers on securing multi-year program funding from bilateral donors (USAID), multilateral organizations (UNDP), corporate foundations (Walmart Foundation, Global Clover Networks), and extractive industry partners (Newmont Ghana Gold Limited), and on convening corporate partners — most notably through the Retail Advisory Council supporting the EARN program — to align curricula with industry demand and place program graduates in formal employment.

Name

OIC International

Legal name

OICI International

Website

https://oici.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

OIC International is a private nonprofit workforce development organization founded in 1979 that delivers vocational training, food security, health, and SME development programs across seven African countries, funded by institutional grants from USAID, Walmart Foundation, Newmont, and UNDP.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development and Workforce Training Services

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Official Development Assistance (ODA) Program Management (BPADAOAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Economic Growth, Trade & Private Sector Development Programs (BPADABAF), Paid Placement & Au Pair/Working Holiday Placement Programs (EDAIAFAD)

Keywords

• Workforce development training
• Vocational training programs
• Agriculture development services
• Food security programs
• International development assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding: OIC International operates as a nonprofit humanitarian organization funded primarily through grants and donations from international development donors including USAID, corporate foundations (Walmart Foundation), mining companies (Newmont Ghana Gold Limited), and multilateral organizations (UNDP).

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

OIC International is a nonprofit that delivers workforce development training and job placement services across Africa through donor-funded programs in agriculture, retail/customer service, health, and vocational trades. It operates country-level initiatives in Liberia, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, partnering with USAID, the Walmart Foundation, UNDP, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, and Global Clover Networks to train and place beneficiaries—particularly women—into formal labor markets.

Product overview

OIC International is a workforce development nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of social development and training programs rather than a unified tech product. The core programs include vocational training initiatives (EARN, SDIIP, Apprenticeship Dual), food security and agriculture programs (HANDS, SNAP, 4H, AILAP), enterprise development (IBEX, RMDG), and health programs (SHARPER). These programs operate across multiple African countries (Liberia, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Guinea) with funding from donors including USAID, Walmart Foundation, UNDP, and corporate partners like Newmont. The EARN program includes a Retail Advisory Council that provides standards-setting and placement services. Technical and vocational training is also provided in trades including welding, catering, hospitality management, auto repair, bookkeeping, cargo and freight operations, tailoring, floor installation, electrical, and plumbing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health, Agriculture, and Nutrition Development for Sustainability (HANDS)

Quantifiable outcome

• Trained over 105,000 beneficiaries across multiple programs (35,000 HANDS + 12,000 EARN + 1,543 4H + 375 SMEs + 6,908 AILAP + 3,039 SDIIP + 10,000 SNAP + 4,092 households RMDG + 1,000 Dual + 32,455 SHARPER)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Retail Advisory Council PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Retail Advisory Council (RAC) unites top-tier CEOs' representatives across Africa's leading retail market spectrum including food stores, hospitality and tourism, banking, large retail stores and small business retail sector. A Technical Committee of HR Directors provides direct input on EARN training curriculum to meet industry best practices and standards.
• OICI AffiliatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOICI works with affiliates to provide technical and vocational training in various trades including welding, catering, hospitality management, auto repair, bookkeeping, cargo and freight operations, tailoring, floor installation, electrical, and plumbing.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TechnoServe: Nonprofit working on enterprise development, agriculture, and workforce solutions across Africa and other emerging markets. Highly comparable to OIC's EARN, IBEX, and AILAP programs in mission, donor base, and target beneficiaries.
• Africare: Africa-focused development and humanitarian organization working on health, agriculture, and economic empowerment. Direct peer in geographic focus and donor-funded program model across West Africa.
• Education Development Center (EDC): Nonprofit addressing education, health, and workforce development globally, with significant Africa programming. Comparable in vocational training, donor mix, and beneficiary base.
• Creative Associates International: USAID implementer focused on workforce development, education, and youth livelihoods in conflict-affected and developing countries. Comparable to OIC in funding sources (USAID), youth employment focus, and field-based service delivery.
• International Youth Foundation (IYF): Global nonprofit running workforce readiness and youth employment programs in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Strongly comparable to OIC's EARN and Apprentissage Dual youth training programs.
• Winrock International: International development nonprofit implementing workforce, agriculture, and energy programs globally. Closely mirrors OIC's structure as a US-headquartered NGO managing multi-country USAID- and donor-funded programs.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: Large humanitarian nonprofit with significant Africa fieldwork, including youth employment and food security programming. Comparable mission and geography but at a much larger scale and with broader sector coverage.
• World Vision: Major humanitarian organization with extensive community development programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Overlaps with OIC on food security (HANDS, SNAP), health (SHARPER), and livelihoods but is far larger and more diversified.

Emerging players

• Restless Development: Youth-led development organization focused on youth employment and leadership in Africa and Asia. Highly comparable to OIC's youth-skewed workforce development programs though smaller and more youth-activist oriented.
• Samuel Hall: Research and implementation consultancy focused on youth employment, migration, and social inclusion in Africa and the Middle East. Adjacent peer for OIC's workforce and migration-related programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about OIC International