Women's Economic Empowerment

Learn how TechnoServe's entrepreneurship practice is supporting small businesses with survival and recovery in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.

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.

When we ask mothers around the world why they are working with TechnoServe to improve their incomes, we get a range of ambitious responses. But one response is nearly universal: a better life for their children. This Mother's Day, we are sharing the stories of just some of the many inspiring mothers TechnoServe has worked with around the globe, sharing their challenges and triumphs as they work to provide a better life for the next generation.

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%.

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.

In honor of International Women’s Day, TechnoServe shared insights and stories about the inspiring women we work with around the globe.

The women TechnoServe works with around the world represent thousands of inspirational stories. To mark International Women’s Day, we asked some of them about the challenges they face, their hopes for the future, and their advice to the next generation of women.

In honor of International Women’s Day, we sat down with Katarina Kahlmann, TechnoServe’s new chief program officer, to talk about her background, her experience in a male-dominated industry, and her hopes for gender equality in the next 25 years.