TechnoServe
Business Solutions to Poverty
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
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
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.
SAPFF
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.
Campus to Corporate Careers
C2C is an on-the-ground, college-embedded career program for disadvantaged urban youth in Mumbai.
Madre Tierra
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.
Reviving Puerto Rico's Coffee Industry
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.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsFinance 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
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
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.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
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.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
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.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
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
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- 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.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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 directorsas of 08/30/2023
Michael J. Bush
Managing Member, BIV Investments
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
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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
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
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/24/2023GuideStar 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
- 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.
- 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.