Small and Growing Businesses

How can we stimulate entrepreneurship in the developing world? For TechnoServe, this is more than just a theoretical question.

The great Peter Drucker once said, “Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.” The story of Liset and Ximena Contreras embodies this quote and much more.

Henry Gaga is a Food Technology Specialist with TechnoServe in Malawi and shares his insight into food processing in Malawi.

Brighton Makuvaza's experience as the administrator of TechnoServe’s Agro Innovation Zimbabwe business plan competition has shown him the promise of the agricultural sector to change lives in poor areas of Zimbabwe.

The town of Nagarote, Nicaragua is known as the birthplace of quesillos, a cheese served with tortillas, onions and sour cream. Quesillos is one of Nicaragua’s signature dishes – and few make it better than Fernando Roa, owner of Quesillos Gourmet Mi Finca.

A little over two years ago, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) formed to bring together organizations that focus on promoting entrepreneurship in developing countries.

In just two years, Jemima Akusika Hansen has risen from a part-time data entry clerk to the head of human resources at a cashew factory in Ghana. Her progress demonstrates how the cashew industry can create new opportunities for thousands of women in West Africa.

In keeping with the International Women’s Day theme, we’d like to share a story about a remarkable Chilean businesswoman who is helping to improve her community.

Mozambicans love their chicken. But in 2005, there was a good chance that the galinha found in Mozambique supermarkets was imported illegally after sitting in Middle Eastern supermarkets for a year or more.

With targeted support, an artisan in Guatemala crafts a unique woodworking enterprise.