Cuso International

What Cuso International does

Cuso International is a private, non-profit Canadian charity founded in 1961 and headquartered in Ottawa. It addresses poverty and inequality through volunteer-based international development programs delivered in partnership with local governments, NGOs, civil society organizations, and communities across 17+ countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Northern Canada. Its beneficiary groups include women and girls, underserved youth, migrants and refugees, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and climate-affected communities.\n\nCuso's core offering is a portfolio of development programs rather than a software product. Programs include SHARE, which provides technical assistance to local partners in 10 African and Latin American countries; SCOPE in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; BLUEPRINTS in four Caribbean countries; SKILLS for Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria; Talents Pluriels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; U-GIRLS 2 in Ethiopia; ISED-VP in Honduras; Women's Voice and Leadership in Peru; and the Indigenous Canada Program. Disclosed infrastructure includes cusointernational.org, an online donation portal, cusogrants.org for micro-grant applications, and Workable for volunteer recruitment; no proprietary platform, API, SDK, or AI system is disclosed.\n\nThe organization funds this work through individual one-time and recurring monthly donations, stocks and securities, legacy bequests, and grants or co-funding from Global Affairs Canada, the European Union, CBM International, UNHCR, Sida, and the World Food Programme. Its go-to-market motion is community- and partnership-led: it recruits skilled Canadian volunteers through Workable, uses its website, email, social media, events, and impact content to engage supporters, and relies on local institutions to implement programs. The disclosed pricing mechanics are donor contribution choices rather than fees for products or services.

Name

Cuso International

Legal name

Cuso International

Website

https://cusointernational.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cuso International is a Canadian charity that deploys skilled volunteers and local partnerships to support economic empowerment, gender equality, social inclusion, and climate action for underserved communities across 17+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance (BPADAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Donor Coordination & Aid Effectiveness (BPADAOAA)

Keywords

• International development
• Volunteer placement
• Gender equality programs
• Economic empowerment
• Humanitarian assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: Individual donors contribute one-time gifts or monthly recurring donations through the organization's donor support platform. The Momentum monthly giving program provides sustainable, predictable revenue for ongoing programs.
2. Government Grants and Funding: Cuso International receives significant funding from government donors including Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and other international development agencies to implement development programs.
3. Institutional Partnerships: Partnerships with organizations such as UNHCR, World Food Programme, European Union, and CBM International provide program funding and co-implementation opportunities.
4. Securities and Legacy Gifts: The organization accepts donations of stocks, securities, and legacy bequests as alternative giving options for supporters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cuso International is a Canadian non-profit charity that delivers volunteer-based international development programs across Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Northern Canada. Its programs focus on economic empowerment, gender equality and social inclusion, and climate action, placing skilled volunteers and providing technical assistance to local governments, NGOs, and marginalized communities through partnerships funded by government grants and individual donations.

Product overview

Cuso International is a Canadian-based international development organization offering a portfolio of development programs rather than a unified software product. Its core offering consists of volunteer-based development programs focused on three strategic priorities: improving economic empowerment and access to dignified work, strengthening equality and inclusion, and advancing climate action. The programs include BLUEPRINTS (Caribbean gender equality), SCOPE (Colombia/Latin America employment), SHARE (10-country gender equality initiative), SKILLS (refugee entrepreneurship), Talents Pluriels (DRC LGBTQ2I support), U-GIRLS 2 (Ethiopia girls' education), ISED-VP (Honduras disability inclusion), Indigenous Canada Program (Northern Canada), and Women's Voice and Leadership Peru. Supporting infrastructure includes Momentum (monthly giving), micro-grants for Indigenous youth, and a volunteer placement system. The organization operates as a program delivery NGO rather than a technology platform company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BLUEPRINTS (Blueprints for Gender Equality): Program providing technical assistance to local governments in Caribbean nations to integrate gender equality and social inclusion into programs, policies, and services.
• ISED-VP (Inclusive and Sustainable Development for Vulnerable Populations)
• Indigenous Canada Program
• SCOPE (Sustainable Colombian Opportunities for Peacebuilding and Employment)
• SHARE (Sharing Canadian Expertise for Inclusive Development and Gender Equality)
• SKILLS (Sharing Skills for Improvement of Lives and Livelihoods)
• Talents Pluriels
• U-GIRLS 2
• WVL (Women's Voice and Leadership)
• Momentum

Products and services

• BLUEPRINTS (Blueprints for Gender Equality) A program providing technical assistance to local governments in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to integrate gender equality and social inclusion into policies, programs, and services aimed at women and marginalized groups.
• ISED-VP (Inclusive and Sustainable Development for Vulnerable Populations) A program in Honduras providing business training to people living with disabilities in the Dry Corridor to start micro and small enterprises, addressing food security and creating income sources.
• Indigenous Canada Program A program engaging 11 Indigenous communities with 72 volunteers in Canada's Northern Territories, supporting Indigenous youth, reconciliation, gender equality, economic resilience, climate action, and cultural preservation.
• SCOPE (Sustainable Colombian Opportunities for Peacebuilding and Employment) A nine-year program providing employment and entrepreneurship training to women, youth, victims of conflict, and Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
• SHARE (Sharing Canadian Expertise for Inclusive Development and Gender Equality) A program providing targeted technical assistance to local partners in 10 countries in Africa and Latin America to advance gender equality, increase access to decent economic opportunities, and strengthen networks promoting gender equality and social inclusion.
• SKILLS (Sharing Skills for Improvement of Lives and Livelihoods) A program providing entrepreneurship training to Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria, including a Farmer's Field School for agricultural training, supporting livelihoods and small enterprise creation.
• Talents Pluriels A program in the Democratic Republic of Congo creating decent, safe, and inclusive jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for LGBTQ2I young people and other marginalized youth.
• U-GIRLS 2 A program in Ethiopia providing young girls support to complete secondary education by addressing social and economic barriers, providing education materials, training, and financial resources.
• Women's Voice and Leadership (WVL) A program in Peru providing technical assistance to local women's rights organizations in 10+ departments to improve management, long-term sustainability, and strengthen programming and advocacy for the gender movement.
• Momentum Monthly Giving Program A monthly giving program inviting donors to contribute regularly to power skills, opportunities, and change in communities worldwide through recurring donations.
• Cuso Micro-Grants Small grants of up to $5,000 provided to Indigenous Youth Leaders (ages 15-30) in Northern Canada to support youth-led projects focused on reconciliation, building an inclusive Canada, preserving the environment, or strengthening youth resilience.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 20,000 people trained (60% women) and 11,500+ linked to decent employment in Latin America
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Women's rights organizations in SHARE program countriescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Local women's rights organizations, governments, and private sector receive targeted technical assistance through SHARE program (2020-2027) in 10 countries to advance gender equality and economic empowerment.
• Local governments across program countriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with local governments in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (BLUEPRINTS), Colombia, Ecuador, Peru (SCOPE), and other program countries for policy development and program delivery.
• Friendship Centers and Indigenous-led organizations in CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndigenous Canada Program partners with Friendship Centers, Indigenous-led organizations, youth groups, and collectives in Northern Canada (Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon) for education, reconciliation, and cultural preservation initiatives.
• Institute of International EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for U-GIRLS 2 program in Ethiopia to ensure all girls receive education, enhancing academic, social and soft skills for adolescent girls including those with disabilities.
• Local partner organizations in Colombia, Ecuador, and PerucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCOPE program works with local municipalities and organizations to strengthen capacity for inclusive employment programs, skills training, technical workshops for small business owners, and diversity training.
• AFEMA and RAINBOW in DRCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal women's rights organizations in Democratic Republic of the Congo implementing Talents Pluriels activities focused on preventing sexual and gender-based violence and advocating for LGBTQ2I rights.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CARE International: A global humanitarian and development network addressing poverty, gender equality, and economic empowerment through local partnerships. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping beneficiary groups, program themes, and institutional funding relationships.
• World Vision International: A large faith-based humanitarian and development organization focused on children and communities through long-term programs, advocacy, and partnerships. It is a broad incumbent with similar multi-country community development and donor-backed delivery.
• Oxfam International: A global confederation working on poverty, inequality, gender justice, humanitarian response, and development. It is a broad incumbent with comparable international-development work, but a substantially larger and more diversified portfolio.
• Save the Children International: A global child-rights organization delivering education, protection, livelihoods, and humanitarian assistance. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping youth, education, and vulnerable-community programs.
• International Rescue Committee: A humanitarian organization supporting refugees and displaced people with emergency assistance, livelihoods, and economic integration. It is a broad incumbent because refugee economic empowerment is a material Cuso program area, even though crisis response is its core model.

Direct peers

• Peace Corps: A U.S. government service program that places American volunteers in community-development assignments abroad. It is directly comparable to Cuso's skilled international-volunteer model, with a different funding and governance structure.
• Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO): A global development charity that sends skilled volunteers to work alongside local partners on poverty, inequality, education, health, and livelihoods. Its volunteer-placement and capacity-building model closely matches Cuso's core delivery approach.
• Engineers Without Borders Canada: A Canadian volunteer-based organization that places engineering and business professionals in international-development projects. It is a direct peer in volunteer-led technical assistance and local capacity building, although its technical focus is narrower than Cuso's portfolio.
• United Nations Volunteers (UNV): The United Nations' volunteer platform mobilizes volunteers for peace and sustainable-development assignments worldwide. It is a direct peer in volunteer deployment and international development, although it operates at multilateral scale.
• Crossroads International: A Canadian international-development organization focused on volunteer cooperation, economic justice, gender equality, and Indigenous-led development. It is a direct peer because it uses skilled volunteers and local partners to deliver programs in regions and beneficiary groups similar to Cuso's.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CusoIntl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CusoInternational
• Facebookfacebook.com/cusointernational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cuso-international
• Instagraminstagram.com/cusointernational

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cuso International