Commitment to Transparency & Ethics

"Indego Africa is committed to maintaining the highest standards of transparency and ethical conduct in its operations." - Matt Mitro, Founder & President.

Indego Africa believe that any organization - whether it be a non-profit or for-profit - should conduct its operations in an open manner and in conformity with best practices. Indego Africa is committed to transparency and ethics in a number of ways:

1. Indego Africa discloses its most recent organizational and legal documents on its website, so that its business practices and policies are fully transparent.
2. Indego Africa is completely transparent with its artisan partners in Rwanda.
3. Indego Africa openly shares experiences and work product with other organizations, pushing forward the spirit of cooperation within the development and social enterprise field.

Legal Compliance

As an organization with operations in the United States and Africa, Indego Africa will meet the highest expectations of its stakeholders and will comply with all national laws and international best practices. The legal regime that applies to multinational non-profits like Indego Africa can often be unclear and uncertain. Indego Africa acknowledges the challenges and complexities of legal compliance and pledges to address them by conducting thorough legal due diligence and formulating appropriate operational policies. Indego Africa was founded by a group of lawyers with experience in international law and business practices. This experience translates into improved compliance and greater stakeholder confidence.

Publicly Available Policies

Indego Africa will publish and make available the most up-to-date versions of its internal policies and organizational documents. Large multinational organizations such as the World Bank, OECD and Transparency International have focused consistently on transparency and corruption as major issues impacting the effectiveness of development projects. For its part, Indego Africa will guarantee to its stakeholders that its development projects involve transparent payment systems, rigorous qualification standards for recipients of donations, and adherence to progressive corporate policies that are made publicly available. Development partners, retailers, donors and volunteers should be comfortable and familiar with Indego Africa's business practices and policies.

Non-Profit Reporting

Indego Africa has been recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a federally-registered 501(c)(3) public charity (see Form 1023 application below). Qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entities must demonstrate on an ongoing basis that their purpose and operations directly benefit charitable recipients rather than shareholders or management. Indego Africa also is a registered Texas non-profit corporation and must make a number of disclosures to the State of Texas. Indego Africa views its efforts to meet requirements established by the IRS and State of Texas as an essential adjunct to its commitment to transparency and ethics.

Political Neutrality & Non-Intervention

Indego Africa is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-political organization devoted to bringing African handicrafts to market, providing skills-training to its partners, and educating the public about developments in social enterprise, African progress, women's rights, and related issues. In furtherance of this purpose and in compliance with all laws, Indego Africa and its directors, officers, employees, agents, volunteers, or representatives (“Indego Africa Stakeholders”), while undertaking Indego Africa activities or programs, hereby adopt, and commit to implement and enforce in any country where Indego Africa Stakeholders operate or Indego Africa is incorporated, the following principles:

• No Support for Government or Political Party.
• No Propaganda or Political Intervention.
• No Corrupt Payments.
• No Discrimination.
• Operate Exclusively For Charitable Purpose.

Full Political Neutrality & Non-Intervention Policy>>

Note: All documents are in .pdf format. If you have difficulty downloading the files, please send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The Form 1023 documents are current as of May 5, 2007 and may have changed since that date. All other documents and policies provided on this website should be current as of today's date.