Micro-retailers play an important role in local communities by providing essential goods and services. However, these entrepreneurs also face numerous obstacles when running their businesses, and those challenges only became more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic. Enter Judith Namayi Amboka, a community mobilizer dedicated to helping entrepreneurs in her community access the knowledge and tools they need to thrive.
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.
In northern Nigeria, gender norms often limit women’s abilities to control resources, including land and finance. A TechnoServe program is helping women rice farmers like Rahma Umar increase their incomes and opportunities through improved rice production.
Numbers show that when entrepreneurs receive support, they can innovate, adapt, and overcome enormous obstacles. But there are millions of entrepreneurs in the world still facing the prospect of losing their business amid the lingering crisis. Civil society, government, and the private sector must work together to reach these women and men.
Eight years ago, Fedila Hussein and Mustafa Tesfaye struggled to earn a living from coffee. Their coffee trees were old and were not producing enough to cover the living expenses of their family of six. After participating in a TechnoServe program, Fedila and Mustafa learned important techniques to improve their coffee yields. Today, their farm is flourishing, and they have seen a 23-fold increase in their coffee production.
In this series, we check back with TechnoServe program participants previously featured on our blog, documenting how their lives have changed and progressed. Catarina Bié is a small business owner in Maputo, Mozambique. After receiving digital business training from TechnoServe, Catarina learned how to adapt her business to survive the crisis. Find out how she is doing now, seven months later.
Julia Podevin is a former TechnoServe Fellow who worked in Ghana in 2011. During her time with TechnoServe, she looked for ways to link financial institutions, such as rural banks, with the agricultural sector. In this Q&A, Julia shares why she became a Fellow, what her experience was like on the ground, and why she continues to support TechnoServe.
Angela Choi is a former TechnoServe Fellow who worked in Zimbabwe in 2017 performing an agricultural value chain analysis. In this Q&A, Angela shares how she got involved, what inspires her about TechnoServe’s work, and what she learned from her time as a Fellow.
Women play an essential role in the success of small farms and agricultural businesses around the world. But despite the vital role of women farmers, they continue to face inequality and obstacles to earning a decent living. Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO of Nespresso, William Warshauer, CEO of TechnoServe, and Mefthe Tadesse, East Africa Regional Director for TechnoServe, discuss ways to promote gender equality in coffee farming.
In Mozambique, women often face barriers that limit their ability to achieve financial independence. TechnoServe is working to identify economic opportunities for women and find business partners with the incentive and ability to break down the barriers Mozambican women face on a daily basis.
