TechnoServe

Technoserve works with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. A nonprofit organization operating in 29 countries, Technoserve is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. By linking people to information, capital, and markets, we have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities.founded over 50 years ago, Technoserve has been named the #1 nonprofit for fighting poverty by the impactmatters charity ratings agency.during the course of 2019, our work benefited 31,493 farmers, businesses, and employees, improving the lives of an estimated 1.6 million household members. We helped these beneficiaries generate more than $200 million in additional revenue and wages. Women's economic empowerment is a central focus of Technoserve's work, and 38 percent of all of our beneficiaries were women in 2019.below, we provide updates from several key projects and practices, representing a cross-section of Technoserve's work in agricultural value chains and entrepreneurship around the world:in 2019, we launched Technoserve labs. Based in silicon valley, this initiative partners with technology companies to identify, test, and implement solutions that can transform the lives of smallholder farmers, entrepreneurs. Working with Technoserve labs, programs are innovating in the use of remote training to reach entrepreneurs and farmers, drone imaging and mapping to improve crop production and sustainability, and technological solutions that make agricultural value chains more transparent and efficient.in december 2019, Technoserve and the mastercard foundation concluded the strengthening rural youth development through enterprise (stryde) program, a landmark initiative that created new economic opportunities for nearly 70,000 young people in rural regions of kenya, uganda, tanzania, and rwanda. By combining training on personal and business skills with tailored aftercare, the program helped youth start new businesses, expand existing micro-enterprises, and find wage-paying jobs, leading to an average income increase of 84%.in benin, Technoserve is leading the benincaju project, which was launched in 2016 and is funded by the u.s. department of agriculture. By providing agronomy training to farmers, building the capacity of cashew-nut and cashew-apple processors, harnessing new technology, and improving access to finance and markets, the program is helping to make the cashew sector an engine for benin's economic development. To date, the program has provided training to more than 43,000 farmers and has helped to generate an additional $23 million of revenue for farmers and cashew processors. From honduras to zimbabwe and peru to ethiopia, Technoserve is working to build a sustainable global coffee sector. Technoserve's programs help farmers improve the quality and yields of their coffee and strengthen the value chain, helping to ensure that coffee growers earn better prices and improve the resilience of their farms. In 2019, Technoserve's coffee programs helped 85,290 farmers earn nearly $50 million in additional income. The strengthening african processors of fortified foods (sapff) program, a partnership between Technoserve, partners in food solutions, and the bill & melinda gates foundation, is working to boost nutrition and food security by improving consumer access to fortified food in nigeria, kenya, and tanzania. The program works with food processors to adopt food fortification and increase their capacity to produce safe, nutritious food. In 2019, sapff convened the 2nd annual nigeria food processing and leadership forum, where it was announced that the program's private-sector partners had increased the share of wheat flour that was fortified from 58 percent to 74 percent; fortified edible oil from 63 percent to 75 percent; and fortified sugar from 32 percent to 84 percent; and that 100 percent of the salt being produced was fortified.technoserve's entrepreneurship practice supports the micro, small, and growing businesses that create employment and economic activity in local communities. Using careful adaptation, a market-driven approach, effective capacity development, and rigorous measurement and continuous learning, this work helped 45,000 people earned an additional $67 million in 2019.