Karina Madariaga began collecting and selling recyclable materials at a young age to add to her family’s income. In 1999, she and nine others who made a living salvaging recyclables decided to a form a collection center called Oreste Plath which they would manage themselves. Their work consisted of…
Henry Gaga is a Food Technology Specialist with TechnoServe in Malawi and shares his insight into food processing in Malawi.
While working in an office job in Pretoria, South Africa, Sindi Mbambo recognized an opportunity to help her community live a healthier lifestyle. Sindi noticed her colleagues were too busy or too sick to prepare nutritious food, and were settling instead for quick, insalubrious meals. So she started peeling…
Peruvian entrepreneurs Jacob Tejada, Juan Guzmán and José Mendoza came up with a way to package cattle feed in long-lasting bags, benefiting both maize farmers and cattle farmers.
Seeking to create more economic opportunities in rural communities surrounding its mines, the polymetallic mining complex Minera Antamina initiated a local economic development project in 2007. In cooperation with TechnoServe, the five-year program aimed to strengthen small enterprises and farms in the Ancash region of northern Peru. Working with advisors…
In 2005, Hurricane Stan struck Guatemala, destroying crops and homes. The losses spelled particular hardship for indigenous communities with little education or resources. For an entrepreneurial farmer named Manuel Yax, this crisis simply reinforced his resolve to follow through on his dream: running a business that would generate economic…
Cecilia Natike, 25, is the proud owner of a beauty salon in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, Kenya. She opened her business in 2009 after participating in TechnoServe’s Young Entrepreneurs program.
Brighton Makuvaza's experience as the administrator of TechnoServe’s Agro Innovation Zimbabwe business plan competition has shown him the promise of the agricultural sector to change lives in poor areas of Zimbabwe.
The town of Nagarote, Nicaragua is known as the birthplace of quesillos, a cheese served with tortillas, onions and sour cream. Quesillos is one of Nicaragua’s signature dishes – and few make it better than Fernando Roa, owner of Quesillos Gourmet Mi Finca.
A TechnoServe staffer writes about her experience at a TechnoServe training workshop for cotton farmers in Swaziland.
