Entrepreneurship

In sub-Saharan Africa, TechnoServe is helping food processors to fortify their foods and build nutritious, productive, and prosperous futures for their communities.

Unable to find employment in his community, Francis Kihara ended up in prison. Watch our video to see how the STRYDE program helped him learn the confidence and skills he needed to start a new business and rebuild his life.

Like many other micro-retailers in Mozambique, Juliana Mário has seen her sales decrease because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the support of TechnoServe’s Business Women Connect team, Juliana has learned how to keep her business open and maintain her livelihood through these difficult times.

Kindra Halvorson, TechnoServe's Chief Transformation Officer, explores how COVID-19 is affecting farmers, food processors, and other small businesses within Africa’s complex food systems and how these can be strengthened through coordinated support.

Young people around the world are facing more challenges than ever as they enter the workforce. Many youth are experiencing canceled graduations, lack of job opportunities, and economic uncertainty. TechnoServe helps young people in the developing world access the information, capital, and markets they need to overcome tremendous obstacles and create their own economic opportunities. Today we are sharing the story of Gilbert Tarus, a 25-year-old entrepreneur from western Kenya.

TechnoServe and the Mastercard Foundation partnered to help over 68,000 young people acquire the technical and soft skills needed to generate their own opportunities and increase their incomes through the Strengthening Rural Youth Development through Enterprise program.

To commemorate World Food Safety Day, we take a look at how creative food processor trainings are helping improve consumer safety in Africa — and prove especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

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.