Building Businesses and Industries

Agriculture & Agribusiness › Cashew
TechnoServe is helping revitalize Kenya's cashew-nut industry, working with entrepreneurs to establish processing plants in struggling rural areas. One plant has already opened, and four more are planned. These will create steady markets for some 30,000 farmers and generate thousands of new jobs. TechnoServe is working with other stakeholders on a pilot program to help 10,000 farmers organize themselves in business groups and produce more and better cashews, with the aim of doubling their incomes. We are also helping key stakeholders to develop Kenya's first national cashew policy.
Key supporters: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the East African Development Bank (EADB)

Agriculture & Agribusiness › Coffee
Kenya's climate, geography and soil conditions help it to produce some of the world's best coffee. But sub-optimal farming and processing practices limit the quality and quantity of coffee that smallholders produce, and poor market links limit their ability to sell it. TechnoServe is working with smallholder coffee farmers to improve their cultivation, milling and marketing practices in order to increase the quality and quantity of their coffee and command higher prices. These interventions will help thousands of farmers to double their incomes over the next few years.

Agriculture & Agribusiness › Dairy
More than 800,000 households rely on Kenya's dairy industry as a source of income, but poorly organized markets keep farmer incomes low. To address this, TechnoServe has been driving the development of sustainable, rural-based milk cooling plants based on a business hub model. This innovative approach transforms the plants into robust and efficient enterprises offering a wide variety of services to otherwise under-served farmers and triggering broader economic activity. More than 13,000 producers are earning nearly $5 million a year for milk deliveries to these hubs, which are also employing dozens of people. Through this work, tens of thousands of family members can meet basic needs like food, shelter, health, clothing and education.
Key supporters: U.K. Department for International Development, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Patrick and Anna M.Cudahy Fund, and the Patton Foundation

Agriculture & Agribusiness › Horticulture
Horticultural products are among Kenya's most lucrative exports and support more than a million small-scale farmers. But few are positioned to sell to better-paying domestic urban markets or export markets. TechnoServe is therefore helping thousands of banana farmers to increase the quality and quantity of their produce and organizing them into business groups that can benefit from economies of scale. We are also helping processors and wholesalers to improve their bottom line, leading to better prices and stable incomes for thousands of suppliers. We also run events to increase the competitiveness of the overall industry.
Key supporters: Rockefeller Foundation, The Kirkhouse Trust, Norfund and the East African Development Bank

Agriculture & Agribusiness › Other
We are helping more than 10,000 farmers of legumes (groundnuts, pigeonpeas and chickpeas) to increase their productivity, form farmer-owned businesses, gain access to financing, and link to buyers. These initiatives have increased farmers' incomes by more than 30 percent and addressed environmental degradation (legumes return valuable minerals to depleted soils). Read about our partnership with The Synapse Fund.
Key supporter: U.S. Department of Agriculture and the BetterWorld Together Foundation

Improving the Business Environment

Capital Access
TechnoServe is working with several leading financial institutions to help them to better understand the creditworthiness of small- to medium-sized clients.