Serving through TechnoServe
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| Paul and Susan Tierney in Ghana. |
With a mission to create economic value in Latin America and Africa by supporting local entrepreneurs, TechnoServe uses its $15 million budget and four hundred employees to provide business resources to budding businesspeople in underdeveloped areas in ten countries. “The relationship is similar to that of investment bankers and entrepreneurs,” explains Tierney, who is chairman of TechnoServe. “It's a very effective way to develop business in rural settings.”
Whether working with coffee farmers in Nicaragua or banana growers in Mozambique, TechnoServe encourages its clients to “look at production as a business and figure out what their competitive advantage is,” Tierney explains. He has led efforts to modernize the organization, which was founded in 1968 and is based in Connecticut. “We work backwards from the market. We help our clients by getting them to ask the right questions — ‘Who is buying cashews?' and ‘What is the best way to enter that market?,' for example. It isn't rocket science, it is basic technical help.”
While Tierney thoroughly enjoys the opportunity he has to make site visits, he realizes that his most important role is to attract resources to support the experts in the field. In addition to managing fundraising efforts, he has developed an extern program where volunteers from companies like Liz Claiborne, McKinsey, and Young & Rubicam work with entrepreneurs to develop brands and attract finances. Tierney has assembled a top-notch board of directors who bring management and strategy expertise to the organization. Getting this group together, he says, is very rewarding. “We meet and brainstorm, and then we take trips to see if what we think jibes with reality.” With Worth magazine naming TechnoServe one of “America's 100 Best Charities” last year, it appears that they are on the right track.
For more information on TechnoServe, visit www.technoserve.org.
Tierney Profile: Straddling Two Worlds: Paul Tierney
