Building skills, livelihoods and opportunities in Mali
Intro to the project
Avenir Brillant – Phase II supports young people, potential migrants, migrants in transit and returning migrants in Mali through vocational training, entrepreneurship and stronger child protection mechanisms.
Funded by the Italian Ministry of the Interior and coordinated by Plan Italia, the project brings together seven organisations with expertise in development cooperation, social protection, communication and renewable energy. Engreen contributes technical training and support for energy microenterprises, connecting the energy transition with local economic opportunity.
Why it matters
Renewable energy can create lasting local value when people have the skills to work with it and the support to build businesses around it. Connecting technical knowledge with entrepreneurship helps communities take an active role in their own development.
Avenir Brillant – Phase II places this approach within a wider commitment to livelihoods, protection and informed choices. By bringing these elements together, the project aims to expand the opportunities available to people affected by migration, while strengthening the organisations and services that support them.
What the project does
Building on its first phase, the project works across three complementary areas:
- Skills and entrepreneurship: vocational training in agroecology, horticulture, crafts and renewable energy, alongside business development and psychosocial support. Activities also include an Energy Hub and two wells equipped with solar-powered pumps.
- Child protection: improved care in two reception centres, vocational training for minors, stronger community protection mechanisms and training for public authorities.
- Information and advocacy: community debates, film and theatre, media campaigns and journalist training on migration-related risks and rights, alongside support for coordination among migration stakeholders.
Expected impact
The project aims to strengthen livelihoods and local capabilities, with planned support for:
- 350 young people to develop and finance business plans.
- 50 small entrepreneurs to develop energy microenterprises.
- 50 minors to access vocational training through two reception centres.
- Two reception centres to improve their approach to care.
- Two wells with solar-powered pumps and the creation of an Energy Hub.
Together, these activities seek to improve economic prospects, strengthen protection and give people better access to information and support.
Engreen’s role
Engreen implements the project’s renewable-energy training and entrepreneurship activities, working with Plan International Mali and under Plan Italia’s coordination.
Our contribution covers renewable-energy training, support for 50 small entrepreneurs developing energy microenterprises, and advanced technical training alongside the creation of an Energy Hub.
Through this work, we connect energy expertise with the capabilities needed to put it into practice locally. The goal is to help participants turn technical skills into opportunities for work and enterprise, making renewable energy part of the territory’s economic development.
Consortium and funding
Funded by: Italian Ministry of the Interior (Ministero dell’Interno).
Consortium partners:
- Plan Italia — Project coordinator
- ActionAid International Italia
- Engreen
- Plan International Mali
- ENDA Mali
- Association Malienne des Expulsés (AME)
- Imagine ESG Foundation
Disclaimer
Avenir Brillant – Phase II is funded by the Italian Ministry of the Interior (Ministero dell’Interno) under the RELINT 2024 public call, with a contribution of €1,500,000. The project is coordinated by Plan Italia ETS, with Engreen as an implementing partner.
