Micro-Retail

When Endurance Boms first opened her small beauty shop in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, she struggled to keep track of her sales and inventory. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, her sales slowed to a crawl. A TechnoServe program gave Endurance the business training and support she needs to achieve success as a Nigerian entrepreneur. Now, she can confidently maintain a reliable income source – even during a global crisis.

For people around the developing world, small shops are an important source of food and other essential goods. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, these shops have been under threat, leaving many people without a place to purchase affordable food. With the right support, these micro-retailers can stay in business and continue serving their communities.

TechnoServe and the Mastercard Foundation are partnering on a new program to support entrepreneurs in Kenya as they navigate the COVID-19 crisis and ultimately move toward economic recovery.

Global food systems are becoming increasingly vulnerable as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Widespread lockdowns and restrictions on movement have made it more difficult to grow, transport, process, and sell food. Take our quiz to learn more about the effects of COVID-19 on food insecurity around the world.

In the "Ask a TechnoServe Expert" series, our staff members answer your questions about the critical global issues they work on every day. In this edition, Chief Transformation Officer Kindra Halvorson addresses questions about how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting food security in the developing world.

For the past three years, TechnoServe has partnered with Citi Foundation to celebrate Global Community Day — an opportunity to give back to local communities through service. This year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Citi is partnering with TechnoServe’s Smart Duka program to distribute care packages to children’s homes and senior homes in Nairobi, Kenya.

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.

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.

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.

Through TechnoServe’s work with over 8,000 shopkeepers in more than half a dozen countries, we have identified four skills that all microretailers need in order to transform their businesses – and their lives.