Madagascar
Madagascar is a beacon for IECD who have been implementing projects there since 1989.
Over time the IECD has developed innovative solutions to meet the needs identified in the areas of access to education for children in rural areas and in vocational and technical training for the youth. In 2013, IECD then started its programmes to support small enterprises in the outskirts of Antananarivo. The programme against sickle-cell disease was also branched out throughout the country during 2014.
Get in touch with the IECD team in Madagascar
Get in touch with the IECD team in Antananarivo:
Contact: Manitra RAKOTOARIVELO
Campus Ambatoroka – Enceinte UCM
Antananarivo 101
Follow the activities of the IECD in Madagascar on Facebook
Get in touch with the SESAME programme’s team in Antananarivo:
Contact: François-Xavier de FROBERVILLE, Director of the SESAME programme
E-mail: fx.defroberville@iecd.org
Follow the activities of the SESAME programme on Facebook
Website: SESAME
Get in touch with the CERES programme’s team in Fianarantsoa:
Contact: Caroline VINCENS de TAPOL
E-mail: caroline.detapol@iecd.org
Madagascar has one of the highest poverty rates in the world, with multidimensional poverty affecting 74.2% of the population. One in two people on the large island lives in extreme poverty.
Since 1989, Madagascar has been a flagship country for IECD, which implements landmark projects in education and guidance, vocational training, and support for small businesses.
In 2024, the CERES programme in Fianarantsoa achieved a 93% pass rate in the BEPC (compared with 46% regionally) and 93% in the baccalaureate (compared with 44% regionally). Beyond academic results, the programme focuses on providing young people with holistic personal development, enabling them to make informed choices and integrate successfully into society. As part of the CERES initiative and to expand its impact nationwide, IECD and the PROMES association have been running the SESAME programme since 2013. Its aim is to support motivated vulnerable high school graduates over four years—up to the licence level—guiding their personal development and professional integration.
In the field of training and professional integration, the success of La Rizière Hotel School in the hospitality sector has made it possible to launch the TremplinMAD project with the support of the French Development Agency. This project supports five vocational training centres in hospitality across Madagascar, enabling vulnerable young people to achieve sustainable social and professional integration.
New projects have been launched in training and professional integration, notably in the solar energy sector with the Greenskills project, and the Cap sur l’emploi project, which aims to support young graduates in securing quality socio-professional employment.
Finally, the Small Business Support programme (APE), implemented with its partner Madagascar Entreprises Développement, assists project holders and entrepreneurs in formalising, consolidating, and sustaining their activities. Since 2024, IECD and Madagascar Entreprises Développement have strengthened support for women entrepreneurs through the MAMOA project, in consortium with Initiative International, with financial backing from the French Development Agency and support from Itovia and EBDM.
All of these projects bring together teams based in Fianarantsoa, Toliara, Mahajanga, and Antananarivo.
In 2024, the IECD and its local partners implemented 9 projects.
Madagascar: Supporting women’s entrepreneurship
Madagascar – SESAME program: support for higher education and access to a promising field