Cooperative Multi-Industry Effort To Reduce Chronic Hunger Is The First Of Its Kind

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, JUNE 1, 2006 —TechnoServe joined business leaders at the World Economic Forum on Africa to launch the first-ever National Council of the Business Alliance Against Chronic Hunger. This diverse group of business leaders, politicians and representatives from civil society will work together to create innovative and scalable market-based solutions to the persistent problem of chronic hunger in Kenya.

The Alliance will collaborate with TechnoServe and with the Millennium Villages Project. TechnoServe will identify opportunities for small and medium enterprises to improve food availability while providing employment and income to poor rural residents. TechnoServe will also help such businesses, for example by offering technical and business advice, and helping to raise capital and establish link to markets.

At the World Economic Forum on Africa today, companies across the value chain pledged their support to the initiative: Unilever, Sealed Air, Monsanto, Pick 'n Pay, Motorola, HP, Haco Industries and Sameer Group Investments.

The Alliance will focus its initial efforts on Siaya, the poorest district in Kenya. About two-third of its residents live in extreme poverty and less than a quarter have access to safe drinking water. A fifth of children die before reaching their fifth birthday. "In many ways Siaya has been a forgotten region," said Martha Stack, Director, Consumer Industries at the World Economic Forum. "But despite these grim statistics, our business leaders are committed to working with government leaders, NGOs and international organizations to build a sustainable economy in Siaya. We will help to empower the residents to lift their community out of extreme poverty."

In discussions at the World Economic Forum on Africa, participating companies discussed specific actions they can take in the Siaya district in the near term. They will evaluate the business case for both local entrepreneurs and larger-scale companies to engage in these opportunities before convening in Nairobi in early September.

The Business Alliance marks the outcome of a year-long series of meetings and analyses facilitated by the Forum to define the role of business in reducing chronic hunger. At the Forum's Annual Meeting 2006 in Davos, business and public leaders presented a joint action plan to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who pledged United Nations support for the initiative.

About TechnoServe: TechnoServe helps entrepreneurial men and women in the developing world to build businesses that provide jobs, income and economic opportunity. Since its founding in 1968, the U.S.-based nonprofit has helped to create or improve more than 2,000 businesses, benefiting millions of people in 32 countries. TechnoServe is currently working to build and expand businesses in Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Swaziland, Uganda, Ghana, Madagascar, Rwanda, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire and India. TechnoServe was recognized as one of the world's "Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs" by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

About the World Economic Forum: The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. (www.weforum.org)

For more information, please contact:
Luba Vangelova, Director of Marketing Communications, TechnoServe/Washington, DC Tel: +1 202-719-1302; Email: lvangelova@tns.org