The program
CAURI CONNECT is an employability incubation program designed and implemented by WE CAURI in the municipality of Abomey, Zou Department, Republic of Benin. It is aimed at young people aged 18 to 35 who are unemployed, in precarious employment, or underemployed, and who are seeking to build or strengthen their career paths.
This is not a traditional training program. CAURI CONNECT does not guarantee employment or income. It offers something more fundamental: a structured space where each young person can learn about themselves professionally, develop their ability to act independently, and take their first concrete steps toward an economic opportunity.
The program runs for 6 months. Each participant is individually supported by a PAP (Personal Action Plan) advisor throughout the program.
Objectives
Overall Objective
To enhance young people’s employability by helping them take charge of their own career paths—through the development of their agency, autonomy, and ability to take concrete steps.
Specific Objectives
- To help each participant build a clear professional identity through our exclusive structuring protocol.
- Equip participants with basic professional digital tools tailored to their specific career paths.
- Develop agency—the ability to act independently—as measured by our proprietary SERI© (System for Evaluation and Rigor of Impact) assessment system.
- Guide each participant toward at least one qualified and documented independent initiative, supported by an evolving Personal Action Plan (PAP©).
- Generate exclusive field data on factors influencing persistence and dropout to fuel the continuous improvement of our model.
- Ensure that women make up at least 40% of each cohort
Our Approach
CAURI CONNECT is based on a simple observation: young people don’t lack technical skills. What they lack is a space to ask themselves the right questions—who am I professionally, what do I really want to build, and how do I move forward when things don’t go as planned? These are questions that no one ever asks them. CAURI CONNECT asks them.
The 4 Life Skills
The program develops four fundamental skills that stand the test of time—whether you’re changing industries, moving to a new city, facing an economic crisis, or encountering an unexpected opportunity. These four skills transcend all regions and eras.
| 1 | Knowing Yourself—The Inner Compass Knowing how to articulate what you want, what you’re good at, and what you can contribute. Not to please a recruiter—but to stay true to yourself when life takes unexpected turns. |
| 2 | Taking Initiative — Agency Taking the first step without waiting for the conditions to be perfect. Getting started before you have all the answers. |
| 3 | Bouncing Back—Grit Overcoming obstacles without losing sight of yourself. Learning to say: “This is what happened to me, and this is what I decided to do next.” |
| 4 | Managing Your Resources — True Autonomy Understand that every endeavor has a cost—in time, money, and energy. Anticipate the true cost of your ambitions. |
What Sets CAURI CONNECT Apart
The CAURI CONNECT Advantage: A Proprietary Methodology
- A model designed in the field: CAURI CONNECT is based on a methodological framework developed by WE CAURI, drawn from our real-world observations.
- Rigorous selection process: We use our exclusive selection protocol, the Collective World Café©, designed to simultaneously assess the program’s four core competencies.
- Support from a specialized mentor: Continuous individual support from a PAP© mentor throughout the program, ensuring structured skill development.
- Integrated impact measurement: The use of our SERI© system enables the collection of real, quantifiable data on each participant’s individual progress.
- Intellectual Property: All of these tools, facilitation protocols, and measurement systems constitute intellectual property protected by WE CAURI. Any replication of the model is strictly subject to a know-how transfer agreement.
Results & Impact
Medium-Term Vision To make CAURI CONNECT a benchmark model for fostering youth employability in French-speaking West Africa—frugal, evidence-based, philosophically grounded, and replicable by local organizations without reliance on external expertise. |
Are you an organization, a donor, or a partner?
• Provide financial support for the program—help ensure the model’s sustainability and its expansion to other cohorts.
• Become a field partner—provide resources, speakers, and opportunities for participants.
• Explore replication—adapt the CAURI CONNECT model to your region under an agreement with WE CAURI.
To contact us: founder@wecauri.org
