Asia

One Year of COVID-19: Gomti Devi, Farmer in India

In this series, we check back with TechnoServe program participants previously featured on our blog, documenting how their lives have changed and progressed. Gomti Devi is a smallholder guar farmer in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, whose gender-inclusive training from TechnoServe helped her withstand the COVID-19 crisis. Having learned how to sew and to grow food, Gomti saved money, reduced her risks, and gave back to protect the wider community. Find out how she is doing now, almost a year later.

Agriculture, COVID-19, Women's Economic Empowerment
Resilience During COVID-19
Meet 5 inspiring Women Leaders

Meet 5 Women Leaders & Vote for Your Favorite Inspiring Story

On Monday, March 8, the world will celebrate the tremendous achievements of women across the globe. In the last year, the COVID-19 crisis has illuminated the essential role women play in society and the disproportionate burdens they carry in their everyday lives. Read five inspirational stories of women leaders who have overcome significant challenges to create a brighter future, then vote on your favorite story.

Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, Women's Economic Empowerment
A group of women, all impacted by unpaid care work in their own way, gather water in Nigeria

What is Unpaid Care Work and How Does it Impact Women in the Developing World?

When the first cases of COVID-19 emerged early last year, the phrase “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” took on new meaning. But for many women around the globe, “staying home” was not a pre-pandemic choice, and it will remain a reality long after the health crisis is over. Learn how TechnoServe is working to find and implement solutions that free up time for women to pursue their economic dreams outside of the home.

Women's Economic Empowerment
A photo of a woman standing in a field of coffee wearing a mask in Peru. Text says

Hope and Resilience During COVID-19: Part 2

For over 50 years, TechnoServe has helped hardworking women and men in the developing world gain the skills, connections, and confidence to create self-sustaining businesses and build a path out of poverty. In part two of this series, we ask a few of these farmers and entrepreneurs to share how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their lives and how they are coping with its effects.

Agriculture, Cashews, Youth Economic Opportunity
COVID 19
User personas lead to better tech solutions, such as the ones used in TechnoServe's program, Mobile Connected Farmer Alliance (CFA). M-Pawa user. Mbeya Region, Tanzania. September 2015.

Tech vs. Poverty: How to Create Better Solutions for the Right End User

Technology has the potential to address many of the world’s most pressing development challenges. But some of the biggest failures incorporating technology in development contexts result from solutions that don’t fit the target users’ needs and capabilities. In his first regular column on applying technology to solve development problems, Director of TechnoServe Labs Dave Hale discusses the first step for developing technology solutions: understanding the end user.

Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, Labs, Technology
TNSLabs