Corporate Sustainability Page Hero Image: Cocoa farmers holding dried cocoa beans in Ghana
Overview Video: Project Nurture Our Work Who Benefits

Corporate Sustainability

As business investment continues to outpace foreign aid in many developing countries, engaging smallholder farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs with corporate supply chains in a profitable, equitable way is critical to reducing poverty. Sustainable sourcing and strong community relationships are increasingly recognized as key drivers of corporate success and are no longer optional for companies seeking to do good business in the developing world. Aligning the interests of these companies with those of local people working to escape poverty creates self-sustaining relationships that deliver lasting value both for the companies and for the enterprising women and men they work with.

 

Jonathan Barnow, TechnoServe Vice President, Strategic Initiatives

Jonathan BarnowVice President, Strategic Initiatives

corporate sustainability

Watch the video below to learn more about how TechnoServe fights poverty and helps to create corporate sustainability.

 

Our Work in Corporate Sustainability

TechnoServe’s focus on scale and sustainability has led us to work intensively with multinational corporations, some of whom have supply chains that can reach millions of individuals. Despite a commitment to sustainable sourcing, many companies struggle to implement these programs in practice, faced with challenging realities on the ground.

TechnoServe works with these companies to design inclusive business models that drive benefits for the company as well as for suppliers, local businesses, and emerging market customers. While we strive to be innovative, we ground our ideas in the needs and realities of the communities in which we operate and in the technical expertise we have developed in more than 50 years of this work. 

Most critically, we then work with these partners on the ground to turn these new business approaches into a reality. As a result, depending on the program, farmers are able to access higher- value and more secure markets and be more resilient to climate risks; local enterprises are able to secure larger contracts; and micro-retail shops are able to get support and finance from the companies whose products they sell. TechnoServe then replicates the most successful models across geographies, developing ways to drive even more impact for their business and the small-scale producers they work with.

These new business models cannot happen in isolation from the broader community context–and partnerships are key to making it work. TechnoServe engages local and national government to ensure these new approaches align with government priorities. We identify and work with local finance institutions to ensure farmers and entrepreneurs are able to invest and grow their businesses. Finally, we strengthen local organizations to ensure that new business models reinforce local community structures and do not replace them.

Featured Corporate Sustainability Projects

See more corporate sustainability projects

Who Benefits

Smallholder farmers

TechnoServe trains smallholder farmers in best agronomic practices that improve the quality and quantity of their crops, as well as connecting them to better buyers like food and beverage companies. This gives farmers reliable markets and higher prices for their crops, improving their incomes for the long term.

Local businesses

Small enterprises connected to the supply chain of larger companies gain stable, well-paying customers and opportunities for greater revenue and growth.

Consumers

TechnoServe’s work with smallholder farmers enables consumers throughout the world to enjoy access to higher-quality foods and beverages produced in a more sustainable, equitable way. 

International companies

Corporations that invest in working with smallholder farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs can improve the overall sustainability of their supply chains in developing countries, reducing risk, costs, and environmental impact. In addition, as consumers increasingly demand and monitor corporate sustainability practices, companies that have taken meaningful action on this front are being rewarded by the marketplace.

Featured Corporate Sustainability Blog Posts

See more corporate sustainability blog posts

From the Farm to Your Cup

TechnoServe Ethiopia Country Director Mefthe Tadesse explains how both smallholder coffee farmers and corporate buyer Nespresso benefit from a sustainable supply chain.

Related Resources

Private Sector Guide to Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships to Build Inclusive Business Models

This white paper published by TechnoServe and Concordia presents four challenges and solutions for delivering inclusive business for a sustainable food supply.

English PDF

Project Nurture: Partnering for Business Opportunity and Development Impact

Prepared by the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, this report examines how Project Nurture demonstrates the potential for building sustainable and inclusive value chains through cross-sector partnerships.

English PDF

TechnoServe and Unilever: Global Partnership to Drive Regenerative Transformation of Agricultural Supply Chains

Unilever and TechnoServe have partnered to promote Regenerative Agriculture practices across Unilever’s global supply chain, leveraging Unilever’s ambitious sustainability goals and TechnoServe’s extensive experience working on Regenerative Agriculture with farmers worldwide.

English PDF

TechnoServe Initiative for Inclusive Agricultural Business Models: SAB Miller / AB InBev

This case study documents TechnoServe’s experience in identifying ways of enhancing commercial and social value through local sourcing in Africa for SABMiller and AB InBev.

English PDF