When Virginie Adounon first opened her beauty salon in Bohicon, Benin, she was not keeping track of her sales or giving herself a salary, and she could not save up enough money to make necessary upgrades to her shop. After joining a TechnoServe program called BeniBiz, she gained the skills she needed to run a profitable business.
Digital technology can be a driving force for development. Learn about four digital tools TechnoServe is developing to combat poverty and create a more inclusive, profitable, and sustainable Benin.
TechnoServe and the Beninese government recently organized Benin Cashew Week, an event to celebrate the significance of the cashew industry in Benin.
A new mother in Benin began making reusable diapers and menstrual pads after having her son. She quickly realized there was an opportunity to help other women by creating sustainable menstrual products – and empowering the next generation.
Through TechnoServe’s BeniBiz program, young entrepreneurs like Babatundé Oguidi are getting the training and technical advice they need to run successful micro-enterprises.
Determined to support her family, Dossi Degui turned to TechnoServe for better business skills. Now she sells her artisanal soap around the country--and can't keep up with demand.
In this series, we check back with TechnoServe program participants previously featured on our blog, documenting how their lives have changed and progressed. In our previous story on Elisabeth Atchade, a cashew farmer in Benin, the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant market panic left her with uncertainty about the future of her cashew production. Find out how she is doing now, eight months later.
Cashew has the potential to transform Benin’s economy – and the lives of the smallholder farmers who grow it. However, many farmers lack the technical knowledge they need to get the best harvest from their cashew orchards. TechnoServe is developing a digital chatbot to help farmer trainers quickly access the information they need, allowing them to effectively support more farmers.
For women and girls in the developing world, COVID-19 is exacerbating existing inequities and creating new challenges. In Benin, women cashew farmers like Elisabeth Atchade must juggle many responsibilities, including earning money for the household while also taking on the majority of child care responsibilities. Learn how a TechnoServe program is helping women address these challenges and emerge from the crisis even stronger.
In Benin, cashew farmers are facing many challenges as they try to adapt to rapidly changing conditions due to COVID-19. We talked to Nicholas Mancus, TechnoServe’s chief of party for the BeninCajù program, to learn about the challenges these farmers are facing, how the pandemic is impacting women and men differently, and what TechnoServe is doing to help.
