Agriculture & Agribusiness › Cashew
To rebuild the country's once-thriving cashew industry, TechnoServe is helping entrepreneurs to establish viable processing plants and training farmers to produce more and higher quality nuts. We have also helped launch a trading company whose activities include branding Mozambican cashews so that they command higher prices on the world market. And we are helping shape policies that will enable the industry to be more competitive globally. To date, these efforts have resulted in the creation of more than a dozen processing factories and 6,000 new jobs in rural areas that previously had few economic opportunities. The expanding industry has the potential to increase the incomes of nearly one million farmers. (To read more about the impact of the cashew industry in Mozambique, click here for English and here for Portuguese)
Key supporters: U.S. Agency for International Development, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (seco)

Agriculture & Agribusiness › Horticulture
TechnoServe is helping Mozambique position itself as a leading producer of high-quality fruits. We help entrepreneurs develop business plans, raise capital, and improve their production so that their farms develop a reputation for quality. TechnoServe links growers to commercial enterprises and export markets; for example, we are connecting banana growers to the world's largest fruit company, offering the potential to increase farmer incomes. We are also working with 7,500 small-scale coconut farmers to increase their incomes by selling the husk and shell portion of the coconut (previously only the white center was considered useful). As the industry develops, the number of farmers that will benefit has the potential to grow significantly, given that more than 800,000 Mozambican families grow coconuts.
Key supporters: U.S. Agency for International Development, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (seco), and Irish Aid

Agriculture & Agribusiness › Poultry
Mozambique's poultry industry has grown fourfold since TechnoServe launched a comprehensive industry development strategy in 2005. We are improving the productivity and quality of small-scale growers and larger processors, while also helping to develop safeguards against biohazards such as avian flu. And we have helped form an industry association which has already successfully advocated for key policy changes. These efforts have already helped some 300 poor families boost their incomes by raising an additional 2.5 million chickens per year. To support this growth, TechnoServe is working with corn and soybean producers to also develop the feed industry.
Key supporters: U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development

Alternative Energy
Growing demand for alternative sources of energy offers Mozambique an opportunity to develop local sources of biodiesel and bioethanol. TechnoServe has therefore launched a pilot processing model with local coconut companies, while exploring regulatory measures that will create the right conditions for growing the industry.
Key supporters: Irish Aid

Tourism
With its miles of beautiful beaches and historic port towns, Mozambique has great potential for ecotourism and related businesses that create jobs and markets for food, traditional crafts and other items. TechnoServe provides a number of eco-lodge ventures with help on business plans, financing and management skills. We are also piloting ways to promote locally owned tourism businesses and regional linkages among travel-related companies in northern Mozambique and neighboring countries to create a destination travel circuit.
Key supporters: The Ford Foundation

Other Sectors
To promote the sustainable use of forests while optimizing the economic and social benefits of this important resource, TechnoServe provides guidance to the wood products industry, with a focus on developing value-added products and improving the management of plantations. These initiatives have generated thousands of new jobs and are expected to play a major role in the country's rural economic development.
Key supporters: U.S. Agency for International Development