In Mozambique, micro-retailers provide essential food and household goods to consumers. However, these entrepreneurs are facing new challenges as they try to adapt to the impact of COVID-19. TechnoServe surveyed micro-retailers to identify their biggest challenges in this changing environment in order to shape an effective response.
The women behind Mishky Cacao decided to create a safer future for their families and community – transitioning from coca to cocoa production and generating new value by manufacturing chocolate.
Chetana, a 2009 TechnoServe business plan competition winner in southern India, is creating meaningful economic opportunities for disabled people in the community.
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.
The COVID-19 crisis has impacted farmers and entrepreneurs around the globe and has made it much more difficult for organizations to offer in-person support. How can these organizations provide this critical guidance remotely? TechnoServe identified three key principles for providing effective phone-based support when in-person training is not possible.
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.
As the novel coronavirus COVID-19 spreads around the world, it is having a devastating economic impact. TechnoServe’s work developing capacity and building ecosystems to support entrepreneurs in countries across Latin America, Africa, and South Asia yields important lessons for today’s businesses struggling to withstand the crisis.
In Chile, the coronavirus pandemic is threatening the survival of many micro and small businesses. We talked to Corina Rivas, TechnoServe’s Chile country director, about the “very hard” situation on the ground, and how TechnoServe is helping entrepreneurs “reset” their businesses to survive.
Mariam Abdulafeez is a young businesswoman who is using the skills she learned through a TechnoServe business accelerator program to empower others to transform their businesses and their lives.
