SPOTLIGHT

Investing in the Future

A poultry cooperative is being helped to grow and create new income opportunities in a region hard-hit by South Africa's apartheid history.

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Developing Entrepreneurs

Business Plan Competitions
TechnoServe is helping aspiring entrepreneurs to turn business ideas into viable business plans through Believe Begin Become, a national business plan competition. Thanks to training and networking (as well as seed capital for the winners), the participants are better-equipped to create thriving small and medium companies that generate jobs and incomes across many sectors of the economy.
Key supporters: Standard Bank, Lenovo and various private, academic and governmental organizations.

Building Businesses and Industries

Maputaland Business Development
The impoverished KwaZulu-Natal region, where only one-third of the potential workforce is employed, is home to South Africa's only cashew-nut processor. But the company was losing money, putting 200 jobs at risk. TechnoServe is working to turn the company around by helping it refine its strategy and operations plan. We are also bringing in cashew expertise from Mozambique and Tanzania, and helping the owners secure financing, acquire better machinery, and improve their marketing. As a result, the company is now on a path to profitability. In the same area, TechnoServe has also been working to set up a pineapple and vegetable farm. We are helping the company develop a business plan and financial model, devise a rotation scheme, and secure financing and a buyer for its products.
Key supporters: W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Maputaland Farmers Association

Maruleng and Bushbuckridge Economic Development Initiative
The Maruleng and Bushbuckridge district of Mpumalanga and Limpopo Province is a poor region shaped by an apartheid history of forced migration to so-called "homelands." Unemployment ranges from 40 to 80 percent. We are working with South Africa's first organic banana juice company. We are also providing business and technical support to help a poultry cooperative expand to meet growing demand by helping the members cut costs, expand their product line into feed and poultry vaccinations, and achieve their goal of owning their own land and facilities. Work is also underway to help a company process commercially viable products from the fruit of the indigenous marula tree; their buyers include The Body Shop. Also in the area, TechnoServe is helping to establish a new farmer cooperative that will sell high-value, off-season vegetables to regional and European markets.
Key supporter: South Africa's Business Trust

Siboshwa and Mangweni Business Development
A quarter of Mpumalanga's 3.2 million people live below the poverty line. Here, TechnoServe is working with two sugar-cane cooperatives. We are helping one of them to make the transition from dairy farming to sugar-cane production. The other cooperative has more than 200 members who will benefit from profit-sharing; it is also expected to create about 30 full-time jobs. We have helped the cooperative develop a business plan and secure financing. A business advisor is also helping the members develop the necessary skills to manage the farm.
Key supporters: Ford Foundation, JPMorgan and ABSA

Improving the Business Environment

Leadership Development
Promising young South African leaders attend the Africa Leadership Initiative seminar series, run by TechnoServe and the Aspen Institute. It is designed to encourage them to address Africa's biggest challenges.
Key supporter: Letsema Foundation