The TechnoServe Distinction

What Makes TechnoServe Distinct?

TechnoServe helps people lift themselves out of poverty through a distinct mix of a business approach, deep knowledge of local context, and a data-driven culture committed to impact.

Our business approach employs detailed market analysis to identify opportunities where local farmers and businesses can benefit and substantially increase their incomes.

These analyses allow our programs to leverage the power of markets and corporate partners—local, regional, and global—to create sustainable economic growth.

More than 95% of our staff are from the countries in which they work, enabling them to apply local context to this world-class analysis—and design and deliver interventions that are locally adapted and implementable.

Measuring outcomes rather than process—e.g., how much people’s incomes grew rather than how many people were trained—allows us to adapt programs as needed and supports our ambition for sustainable, lasting impact at scale. 

Learn more about our impact measurements

Our Beliefs

  • Every human being deserves the chance to create a better life.
  • Given the opportunity, people have the ability to lift themselves out of poverty.
  • Increasing incomes improve people’s lives, enabling improved housing, education, nutrition, and other aspects of well-being.
  • Business relationships that are truly commercially viable will last over time and scale up. Free giveaways or subsidies are unlikely to provide a lasting impact.
  • Gender equality and the equal engagement of women are fundamental to the social and economic development of families, communities, and nations.
  • Economic growth that sustains and regenerates nature is both possible and vital.