Liberia, Aug. 7 -- The idea behind FIXAARS starts from an uncomfortable but familiar observation: training a generation of skilled tradespeople does not, by itself, employ them. A young Liberian can finish a plumbing, electrical, carpentry or refrigeration program at a respected TVET institution and still struggle to find paying customers, while the household two streets over struggles just as hard to find a technician they can trust. "Liberia does not merely need more training programs. Liberia needs a functioning market around the training," FIXAARS said in announcing the launch. "Training gives people skills. A market gives those skills customers, income, business ownership, dignity, and economic value."

It is a gap Liberia shares wit...