Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) is a consortium of 30 member NGOs that generate more prosperity through partnerships that bring together highly skilled volunteers with people around the globe seeking opportunities for self-reliance. Since 2004, VEGA has partnered with the U.S. government on 59 economic growth programs in 47 countries, saving more than $32 million taxpayer dollars and nearly doubling the program value through cost share and leverage, including more than 44,000 days of volunteer service.

VEGA was founded in 2004 as a procurement partner responsive to a call from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for a consortium to coordinate highly skilled volunteers into economic growth programs.

VEGA Members each bring unique people, programming expertise, ideas, and breadth to the Alliance that allows VEGA programs to scale in new and exciting ways.

Based in Washington, D.C., we manage programs all over the developing world.

Our programs aim to build the capacity of local organizations to scale services, create jobs, increase commerce and trade, improve management, and form sustainable partnerships.

Expert volunteers from the U.S. participate in our programs. These individuals typically have several decades of experience and bring to the programs a passion and productivity that are unmatched.

During assignments, they build strong relationships with our local partners to address their specific demands and help them build capacity, scale-up more rapidly and incorporate innovative solutions.  Local partners include everyone from entrepreneurs and cooperatives to central banks and government agencies.

We share the successful stories and impact from our members’ programs, contributing to conversations that advance best practices in international development.

Our program start-up model can be utilized by government agencies, private sector partners, and other organizations to mobilize technical assistance for economic growth programs.

We believe that increasing economic growth is the best way to help people lift themselves out of poverty and improve their quality of life. That’s why our programs are committed to serving women, youth, and others who are ready to be entrepreneurs or learn new business skills.