Our history
The aha that started it all
In the late 60’s, Ed Bullard left behind a successful business in America to volunteer in Ghana. While there, he was captivated by the spirit and character of the Ghanaian people. But he was appalled to see the level of poverty they lived in. Ed knew that the contrast between their poverty and his own prosperity wasn’t due to any innate difference between himself and a poor farmer. It was simply a matter of access: to skills, to confidence, and to connections.
It was from this insight that a different kind of nonprofit was born.
In 1968, Ed launched TechnoServe to help people living in poverty by connecting them to information and market opportunities they otherwise would likely never be able to access. The name, which means “technology in the service of humankind,” has since become synonymous with the distinct ways in which low-income small farmers and business holders are empowered to lift themselves out of poverty.
Today, TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. Today we are active in around 35 countries across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, assisting thousands of businesses and improving the incomes of millions of people.
True to Ed’s vision, we provide business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital, and markets. With more than five decades of results, we have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt the power of private enterprise to transform lives.
A business is not an end in itself. We use business as a means of enabling people to help themselves.
Ed Bullard, TechnoServe Founder
Our Story