Vote for the Photo of the Month: March 2025
Our monthly photo series highlights the beauty and emotion in the lives of our clients around the world. This month, in honor of International Women’s Day, we’re featuring three women making a tangible difference in their families and communities with support from TechnoServe.
PHOTO 1:
Farizana Hawa Candango, a 27-year-old farmer in central Mozambique, once struggled to grow vegetables and rice on her small farm. Initial crop failures and limited loan access as a young woman made the situation more challenging. But with her husband’s support and technical assistance from TechnoServe’s Mangwana program, she eventually became a leading producer in her region.
Beyond her success, Farizana dedicates herself to supporting vulnerable women in her community. Every three months, she trains cohorts of 10 young, widowed, and single women in agricultural production, sharing profits equally between the women and her farm. She provides financial education and encourages them to start businesses with their earnings. Having already worked with 30 women, Farizana aims to expand her reach while pursuing ambitious plans for her farm, including implementing a hydroponic system that would allow year-round production and increased income.
PHOTO 2:
Joyce Chika, founder of No. 1 Lady Tours and Safaris in Botswana, transformed her small travel agency into a thriving safari business despite facing significant barriers as a woman entrepreneur. Initially, Joyce worked only as a travel agent who earned small commissions through third-party operators. Then, she joined the Tokafala program and gained essential business management skills that helped her secure funding, purchase her vehicles, and expand her services. The result was a remarkable 900% revenue increase between 2022 and 2024.
Joyce is also committed to uplifting others in her community, particularly aspiring entrepreneurs. She mentors and subcontracts young people starting tourism businesses, helping them build experience and credibility in an industry where women face skepticism and bias. Joyce also sponsors a young man studying culinary arts and supports her grandchildren’s university education in Zambia. Looking ahead, she plans to expand into hospitality and create more employment opportunities for local youth, ensuring tourism in Botswana continues to grow with strong local leadership.
PHOTO 3:
Hermelinda Cruz Ruiz, a 59-year-old coffee grower from Los Coles village in western Guatemala, has built a fulfilling life centered around her coffee farm and family. For 40 years, she has cultivated quality coffee in the mountainous region of San Pedro Necta, using her earnings to support and educate her three children. As a respected member of Aprocafco, a local coffee producers’ association, Hermelinda has worked diligently to secure better prices for her coffee while creating a vibrant home where three generations of her family now gather.
Hermelinda joined the Empowered Families, Thriving Communities project, part of Nespresso’s AAA Sustainable Quality Program, implemented by TechnoServe and funded by Nespresso. The project’s workshops on family well-being inspired her to start a flourishing vegetable garden, which she tends with her son and grandchildren. Her greatest pride comes from seeing her children succeed professionally—two have graduated with professional degrees, including one who became a nurse—fulfilling her dream of providing them with opportunities she never had.
