PLATINUM2023

TechnoServe

Business Solutions to Poverty

aka TechnoServe   |   Arlington, VA   |  http://www.technoserve.org

Mission

To fight poverty by helping people build regenerative farms, businesses and markets that increase incomes.

Notes from the nonprofit

Ending global poverty depends on creating a sustainable impact. TechnoServe rigorously collects and analyzes data from our projects to continually improve our approach and scale up progress. See our impact here: technoserve.org/impact

Ruling year info

1969

President and CEO

Mr. William Warshauer

Main address

1777 N Kent Street Suite 1100

Arlington, VA 22209 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

13-2626135

NTEE code info

International Economic Development (Q32)

Economic Development (S30)

International Agricultural Development (Q31)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2021, 2020 and 2020.
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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty. We work directly with farms and businesses and across whole market systems to make them more sustainable—environmentally, socially, and commercially.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

MOCCA

Maximizing Opportunities in Coffee and Cacao in the Americas (MOCCA) is a five-year initiative, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food for Progress Program, aimed at helping more than 100,000 farmers to overcome the barriers limiting their capacity to effectively rehabilitate and renovate their coffee and cacao plants.

Population(s) Served

Strengthening African Processors for Fortified Foods (SAPFF) takes a holistic approach to addressing technical challenges and works to strengthen the enabling environment that promotes the competitive, healthy and effective production of fortified foods.

Children suffering from hidden hunger are at risk of delayed cognitive development and other health risks that reduce a person’s productive capacity. These effects can continue into adulthood, increasing risk of perpetuation, and prohibiting generations from leading healthy, productive lives. By increasing compliance, the SAPFF Project will increase access to nutrients, and ensure the maximum impact of these activities by focusing on key food staples, such as wheat and maize flour, edible oils, sugar and salt. These fortified products have the scope and scale to make a large impact, especially for base-of-the-pyramid consumers, allowing them to leave the cycle of malnutrition and live healthy, productive lives.

Population(s) Served

C2C is an on-the-ground, college-embedded career program for disadvantaged urban youth in Mumbai.

Population(s) Served

Madra Tierra is an initiative that aims at implementing an innovative and sustainable model to empower Mexican smallholder strawberry farmers through a transformative set of training, technologies, access to capital, and connection to markets.

Population(s) Served

In the devastating wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico lost an estimated 80 percent of its coffee trees, crippling an important sector of its economy. This $85 million loss for the country's industry, left farmers struggling to provide for their families. TechnoServe aims to help rebuild this industry, training thousands of smallholder coffee farmers to significantly increase their yields and help them access better farming supplies, financing, and markets.

Population(s) Served

Where we work

Finance Mobilized: Number of dollars of investments in businesses attributable to the organization's efforts

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

We measure the amount of loans and equity and the number of men and women who obtain private sector investment. *We changed impact measurement methodology in 2016.

Number of farmers, businesses and employees benefiting directly from the organization's work

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

We report the number of women, men and businesses who generated increased revenue and wages attributable to our work. *We changed impact measurement methodology in 2016.

Additional revenue and wages generated attributable to the organization's efforts

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

TechnoServe catalyzes new revenue and wages for a substantial number of enterprising men and women. *We changed impact measurement methodology in 2016.

Percent women benefiting from TechnoServe programs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Proportion of female beneficiaries, including female farmers and women-led businesses.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

TechnoServe will transform business in low-income communities to dramatically reduce poverty while having a positive impact on climate change and nature. Over the next ten years, millions of TechnoServe clients will earn $3 billion more in sustainable incomes.

In order to a create transformative impact at scale, TechnoServe helps grow strong markets that create income and jobs in poor communities by being a catalyst and partner at all points in competitive markets. We work with individuals and businesses to address the constraints that prevent a market system from operating efficiently, including skills, technologies, availability of information, market linkages, access to finance, infrastructure, governance or policies. We address these constraints by:

1. Developing capacity: helping individuals and communities acquire skills, share knowledge and apply the technologies needed to build successful farms and businesses.
2. Strengthening market connections: coordinating among industry players and connecting emerging businesses and farms to capital, networks, and suppliers.
3. Improving the business environment: encouraging self-sustaining economic activity by addressing the policies, information, and incentives that help markets function better.

TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty. Smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs gain the skills, connections, and confidence they need to create viable businesses, improve their incomes, and build brighter futures. We work directly with farms and businesses and across whole market systems to make them more sustainable—environmentally, socially, and commercially.

TechnoServe works with our clients to overcome fundamental barriers to better incomes, like gender inequality, climate threats, and systemic market challenges.
Our new strategic plan will deliver significantly more impact to significantly more clients around the world. Key parts of this strategy include:

1. Improving Incomes and Ecosystems: to respond to the growing threat our clients face from climate change and
environmental degradation, TechnoServe will embed “regenerative business” practices across all our programs.
This approach helps people increase their incomes while also improving the environment and reducing their
emissions footprint.

2. Strengthening Food Systems: poor people around the world rely on local food systems for their incomes and
their sustenance. As food systems strain under climate change and other threats, TechnoServe will scale up our
work to help make these food systems more inclusive, more sustainable, and more nutritious.

3. Expanding Job Opportunities, Especially for Youth: reliable employment is critical for security, health, and
economic development. But millions of people in low-income countries—especially the world’s record numbers
of youth—struggle to find good jobs. Drawing on its business training expertise, TechnoServe will expand its
work helping people secure productive employment, enabling businesses to create new jobs, and empowering
youth with marketable skills.


To learn more about how TechnoServe rigorously measures its impact, visit: http://www.technoserve.org/our-work/impact

Financials

TechnoServe
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

TechnoServe

Board of directors
as of 08/30/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Michael J. Bush

Managing Member, BIV Investments


Board co-chair

Rachel Hines

Former Managing Director, J.P. Morgan

Peter Flaherty

Arcon Partners,LLC

Jennifer Bullard-Broggini

Kieger AG

Kurt Peterson

Reed Smith, LLP

Aedhmar Hynes

Text 100

Michael Bush

3 Day Blinds

Gerald Baldwin

Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc.

Thomas Barry

Zephyr Management, L.P.

Titus Brenninkmeijer

Solgenix, LLC

Rachel Hines

JP Morgan

Charles Moore

Trilantic Capital Partners

Imoni Akpofure

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Nigeria

Mia Funt

ByHeart

Monica Adractas

Venture Capital Funds

Kanika Bahl

Evidence Action

Jean-Marc Duvoisin

SVP at Nestle

Russell Faucett

Gyrafalcon Advisors

Michael Spies

Tishman Speyer

Timothy Kingston

Goldman Sachs

Bob Bechek

Bain & Company

Scott Baker

Reed Smith LLP

Robert Manly

Retired, Smithfield Foods, Inc.

Monica de la Torre

Fundacion Colibri

Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga

Former Managing Director, Goldman Sachs

Kofi Adjepong-Boateng

Senior Advisor, Credit Suisse

Daniel Aminetzah

Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 11/16/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/24/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.