TechnoServe

Young people around the world are facing significant challenges as they enter the workforce, including lack of job opportunities and economic uncertainty. TechnoServe helps young people in the developing world access the information, capital, and markets they need to overcome tremendous obstacles and create their own economic opportunities. Today we are sharing the story of Kamya Yeseri, a young teacher in Uganda who used the skills he gained in a TechnoServe program to open a school in his community and build a business.

In Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, over 7,000 smallholder guar farmers are improving their incomes and their lives through TechnoServe’s Sustainable Guar Initiative. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our team has come up with creative ways to continue delivering essential training and support to our clients. Today, we’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re adapting our daily activities in India.

TechnoServe is helping farming families in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia respond to the pandemic, recover from the crisis, and build resilience to future threats. Our new report shows how, with the right support, these farmers can overcome immense obstacles and emerge from the crisis in a position to participate in economic recovery.

In Mozambique, micro-retailers provide essential food and household goods to consumers. However, these entrepreneurs are facing new challenges as they try to adapt to the impact of COVID-19. TechnoServe surveyed micro-retailers to identify their biggest challenges in this changing environment in order to shape an effective response.

In Andhra Pradesh, farmers face many challenges that prevent them from earning reliable incomes from their coffee, including small land size and poor agricultural practices. TechnoServe is helping these farmers improve the quality and productivity of their coffee trees and linking them to markets where they can get the best price for their harvests.

With much of the world under lockdown to reduce the spread of COVID-19, many people are changing the way they consume coffee — with significant implications for the entire coffee industry. We talked to Paul Stewart, TechnoServe’s global coffee director, to find out how the pandemic has impacted the coffee supply chain and what TechnoServe is doing to help.

With your support, TechnoServe helped over 300,000 hardworking farmers and entrepreneurs in low-income countries improve their incomes in 2019 — transforming lives, communities, and entire markets. Our annual report takes a closer look at the impact we achieved last year and the inspiring stories behind the numbers.

When we ask mothers around the world why they are working with TechnoServe to improve their incomes, we get a range of ambitious responses. But one response is nearly universal: a better life for their children. This Mother's Day, we are sharing the stories of just some of the many inspiring mothers TechnoServe has worked with around the globe, sharing their challenges and triumphs as they work to provide a better life for the next generation.

In Benin, cashew farmers are facing many challenges as they try to adapt to rapidly changing conditions due to COVID-19. We talked to Nicholas Mancus, TechnoServe’s chief of party for the BeninCajù program, to learn about the challenges these farmers are facing, how the pandemic is impacting women and men differently, and what TechnoServe is doing to help.

Food processors are an essential part of the food system in Africa, providing safe, shelf-stable food to consumers and a reliable market for millions of smallholder farmers. But they are currently facing unprecedented challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We talked to Brent Wibberley, TechnoServe’s director of food processing and nutrition, to learn how the food system in Africa is changing and what TechnoServe is doing to help food processors adapt.