Africa

A recent blog post by The Rockefeller Foundation explains how TechnoServe has been helping to support farmers and other market actors in Kenya during the COVID-19 crisis.

With your support, TechnoServe helped over 300,000 hardworking farmers and entrepreneurs in low-income countries improve their incomes in 2019 — transforming lives, communities, and entire markets. Our annual report takes a closer look at the impact we achieved last year and the inspiring stories behind the numbers.

When we ask mothers around the world why they are working with TechnoServe to improve their incomes, we get a range of ambitious responses. But one response is nearly universal: a better life for their children. This Mother's Day, we are sharing the stories of just some of the many inspiring mothers TechnoServe has worked with around the globe, sharing their challenges and triumphs as they work to provide a better life for the next generation.

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.

Food processors are an essential part of the food system in Africa, providing safe, shelf-stable food to consumers and a reliable market for millions of smallholder farmers. But they are currently facing unprecedented challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We talked to Brent Wibberley, TechnoServe’s director of food processing and nutrition, to learn how the food system in Africa is changing and what TechnoServe is doing to help food processors adapt.

Soon after opening her takeaway business in Maputo, Mozambique, Anabela Amosse realized that she was losing potential customers who could only pay using a mobile phone-based service. Seeing an opportunity to earn additional income and reach new customers, she decided to become an agent. Through her participation in a TechnoServe entrepreneurship course, Anabela learned how to best manage both businesses, increasing her overall income by 220%.

In Kenya, the coronavirus pandemic is presenting new challenges for shopkeepers who must continue supplying their customers with essential goods, even amidst a global crisis. We talked to Alice Waweru, TechnoServe’s entrepreneurship regional program manager, about the challenges these micro-retailers are facing and what TechnoServe is doing to help.

In this series, we check back with TechnoServe program participants who were previously featured on our blog, documenting how their lives have changed and progressed.

TechnoServe’s Catalisa program teaches smallholder farmers like Issufo Momade how to profitably produce vegetables through hands-on training and demonstration plots, which enable even the most risk-averse farmers to see the tangible results of the improved techniques and inputs before making big investments.

The BeninCajù program is working to make Benin’s cashew sector more productive, competitive, sustainable, and inclusive. Today, we’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the daily activities of a TechnoServe gender and access to finance specialist who works on this program.