Supporting Technology and Entrepreneurship Program
Leader with Associates Award (STEP LWA)

On Monday, November 28^th from 2-3pm (UTC -5), USAID hosted a webinar about the STEP LWA, a  partnership promoting ICT and entrepreneurship training through the Cisco Networking Academy and Cisco Entrepreneur Institute. Members of the Cisco team, World Learning, and  USAID  presented and answered questions about the aforementioned Cisco programs and the LWA mechanism.  The impetus for this webinar was the Nicaragua mission’s  request for more information. The webinar slides may be found on this site under the Tools/Multimedia tab.  For more information on the webinar, or if you would like to have one arranged for your Mission or region, please contact Noreene Janus at: njanus@usaid.gov

We look forward to hearing from you!

The STEP LWA will help you to:

1. Develop the next generation of entrepreneurs

2. Provide ICT skills in high demand and create jobs

3. Support the small and medium business sector

4. Build ICT capacity within specific populations

The STEP LWA provides:

1. A pre-competed mechanism that enables you to shorten the time for procurement

2. Leverage that is pre-negotiated, enabling Missions to focus on results, not process

3. Limited Leader funds for some activities

Welcome to the STEP LWA Blog, a resource to help USAID Missions and their counterparts utilize the STEP LWA mechanism to meet USAID program objectives in technology training, entrepreneurship, and beyond. This blog describes the STEP LWA mechanism and how it works; the Cisco programs that support it, the roles of the partners, and how a Mission can get involved.

To move about the blog, click onto the blue tabs across the top of the page to view their content. You may also  click onto the black subtabs that appear when you scroll over the blue tabs for more detailed information.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Cisco and World Learning have collaborated to help Missions to stimulate workforce development and economic growth in developing countries. The STEP LWA mechanism process is simple to follow and provides Missions with a host of benefits including quick implementation, savings of resources, time, and energy. See Application Process here: STEP LWA Process

The collaboration will work through the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute and Cisco Networking Academy-programs that provide entrepreneurship and information and communications technology (ICT) education, mentoring networks, and technology resources-to help individuals develop and manage successful businesses.

With an aim to train more than 2,500 students over the next two years, improve local businesses, raise local incomes and help grow local economies, USAID is providing $1 million in seed funding in the STEP Leader with Associate Award managed by World Learning to encourage the creation of new Cisco Entrepreneur Institutes and Networking Academy programs in developing countries.

USAID Missions are invited to partner with local Cisco offices to fund country or customized initiatives, such as curriculum enhancement, scholarships, or initiatives that target underserved populations, including youth, women and persons with disabilities. A portion of the funding is also available to translate and localize training content to ensure it meets local business laws and regulations.