In the "Ask a TechnoServe Expert" series, our staff members answer your questions about the critical global issues they work on every day. In this edition, Entrepreneurship Regional Program Manager Alice Waweru addresses how the COVID-19 crisis impacts small businesses in the developing world.
When Endurance Boms first opened her small beauty shop in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, she struggled to keep track of her sales and inventory. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, her sales slowed to a crawl. A TechnoServe program gave Endurance the business training and support she needs to achieve success as a Nigerian entrepreneur. Now, she can confidently maintain a reliable income source – even during a global crisis.
Sara Ollo Adico was determined to contribute to her community in Côte d’Ivoire by opening an early childhood school and nursery. Learn how participating in a TechnoServe business plan competition helped her make the leap from concept to reality.
As a single parent, Justine once struggled to make ends meet. Her work mainly consisted of washing clothes for her neighbors, which barely provided enough money for necessities. After joining a TechnoServe program working to reduce youth unemployment in her area, she gained the skills she needed to start her own tailoring business.
After establishing her own business success, Ndinagwe Mboya taught other businesswomen in Tanzania vital skills in savings and entrepreneurship, helping them grow their businesses and transform their lives.
When Juliana Solís Barón first opened her coffee shop in Peru’s San Martín region, she had no idea what to expect. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, running a coffee shop for the first time presented many challenges. But building a stable, prosperous coffee sector in this once-dangerous area is helping farmers and entrepreneurs like Juliana to improve their incomes and lives.
In Benin, the cashew industry has the potential to help hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers lift themselves out of poverty. However, poor agricultural practices often limit their productivity and incomes. TechnoServe is using remote sensing and machine learning to map cashew production and target agricultural training to farmers who need it most.
In this series, we check back with TechnoServe program participants who were previously featured on our blog, documenting how their lives have changed and progressed. María Castillo is a farmer and the president of the Mujeres Valientes association, which sells drought-resistant beans and other agricultural supplies to farmers in southern Honduras.
This World Food Day, we spoke with Dr. Andreas Bluethner, Director of Nutrition at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to discuss how COVID-19 is threatening nutrition in the developing world – and how interventions such as improved food fortification can help tackle this critical challenge.
Young people in Brazil often struggle to find employment opportunities, particularly in rural areas. TechnoServe, Anglo American, and the Inter-American Development Bank are helping people like Mariana dos Santos Pinho gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to find meaningful employment and take charge of their lives.
