How we fight poverty
Micro-Retail
Small shops (“micro-retailers”) are vital to local economies, selling $11 trillion worth of goods annually in developing countries. In some countries, small shops sell 80 to 90 percent of all consumer goods, often to base-of-the-pyramid customers that larger retailers miss. If these local entrepreneurs could reach their full potential, their businesses would be game-changers for developing economies. But a lack of business skills and access to markets and financial services holds them back.
Our Work in Micro-Retail
Over the years, TechnoServe has worked with a range of key partners–including the Citi Foundation, the elea Foundation, the Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth, and the Moody’s Foundation–to develop a proven approach to helping small retailers maximize their economic potential. Our results suggest that with the right support, micro-retailers in the developing world can increase their incomes by more than 30%.
Through delivery of a combination of in-shop advisory services and group training, TechnoServe has helped more than 7,000 small shops to increase their sales and profits and create jobs. Our programs work with shop owners on best practices in 1) shop management/customer care, 2) sourcing and inventory management, 3) recordkeeping and 4) merchandising — all critical to improving store operations and increasing profitability. We also help store owners to form business groups that facilitate bulk ordering and direct linkages to suppliers and manufacturers. Our approach is also addressing access to finance constraints, through rotating savings and credit associations and mutual credit guarantees.
Technology can be particularly transformative in this sector, and so we have piloted digital technologies that help shop owners manage inventory, sales, and finances. As TechnoServe seeks to work with hundreds of thousands more micro-retailers in the developing world, we will apply even more digital innovation in order to scale impact.
Who benefits from supporting small businesses in developing countries?
Shopkeepers
TechnoServe has worked with more than 7,000 owners of small businesses in developing countries across Africa, 69% of whom are youth, and 64% of whom are women. Helping these entrepreneurs improve the operations and profitability of their stores has enabled them to achieve average income increases of about 30%.
Local workers
When entrepreneurs learn the skills to grow their business and improve their sales and profitability, they can then hire more local workers and contribute to wider local economic development.
Local consumers of small businesses
Improving the quality, quantity, and variety of products offered in small shops — in addition to the overall shopping experience — helps local consumers obtain more of the products they need in an easier, more timely fashion.
Our work in the area of environmental sustainability has shown that farmers can even increase production, and their incomes as a result, in spite of short-term environmental shocks. In addition, our work to broker relationships between farmers and other market actors expands access to improved seed varieties, technologies such as drip irrigation, and organic inputs that can help build resilience to long-term changes such as drought and heat.
Local businesses
TechnoServe works with processing firms to ensure they are able to provide buyers with the highest quality and volume of product without perpetuating a damaging cycle of natural resource mismanagement and contamination.
TechnoServe helps small business owners like micro-retailers procure and use cost-saving technologies that reduce their environmental footprint, as well as develop and market products that promote a circular economy, such as the following necessities:
- Fertilizer
- Fuel
- Food products made from agricultural byproducts
Communities
Unsustainable environmental practices, like failure to treat wastewater from coffee wet mills or indiscriminate use of fertilizer and pesticides, can negatively impact whole communities.
TechnoServe works with farmers, processors, and communities to develop solutions that amplify economic benefits for farmers and small businesses while maintaining or improving environmental standards in the areas where they work.
Micro-Retail Projects
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Supporting Micro-Retailer Survival During COVID-19
TechnoServe and the Mastercard Foundation recently launched the Micro-Enterprises Strengthened for Pandemic Adaptation and Resilience in Kenya (mSPARK) program, a one-year partnership to support 28,000 entrepreneurs as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately move toward economic recovery.
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Supporting Young Entrepreneurs in South Africa (Box Shop Program)
This initiative offers a unique approach to supporting young entrepreneurs by creating several Box Shop stores in South African townships. This effort will support 240 young entrepreneurs to bring their products to store shelves and encourage more support for buying and building local brands.
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Pan-African Youth Entrepreneur Development (PAYED)
The Pan-African Youth Entrepreneur Development (PAYED) program will provide training and tailored advisory support 600 young entrepreneurs in Kenya, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire to develop opportunities in the micro-retail sector.
Blog Posts
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Donor Spotlight: How a Private Equity Investor Uses His Skills to Fight Poverty in Africa
Private equity investor Joe Manning has volunteered twice as a TechnoServe Fellow—first helping Tanzanian coffee farmers in 2010, then returning 15 years later with his family to support Kenyan entrepreneurs. His hands-on experience has made him a passionate advocate for TechnoServe’s business-focused approach to fighting poverty.
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TechnoServe’s Year in Review: 10 Moments That Shaped 2025
In 2025, TechnoServe navigated challenges, launched exciting new initiatives, published cutting-edge research, and helped entrepreneurial people around the world create economic opportunity. Here are 10 milestone moments that marked the year at TechnoServe.
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How Jobs Are Countering Violent Extremism in West Africa
In West Africa, youth are turning to radical groups as a way to gain social and economic security. Discover how TechnoServe programs are changing this dynamic by offering a pathway to prosperity through sustainable jobs.
See the impact
Climate-Smart Agriculture in India
The Smart Duka program is working with enterprising shop owners in Nairobi’s informal settlements to increase the profitability of their small retail businesses. A partnership between TechnoServe, the elea Foundation, and Citi Foundation, Smart Duka is equipping shop owners with the business knowledge and management skills they need to optimize their stores’ operations and financial performance.
There is always more to what any man can do, but at some point in our lives we will always need a mentor. For me, PAYED saved me. This program has actually marked my new beginning.
Christian Above, Entrepreneurs in Nigeria
JOIN THE MISSION
Help Struggling Farmers and Small Business Owners Lift Themselves Out of Poverty
