The company’s vision is to reach every farmer and achieve one chicken per person per year in each country where it operates.
Hatch Africa's vision is to make farmers healthier and wealthier. AgDevCo first invested $3.0m in 2017 to help the company establish operations in Rwanda, following the success of Hatch Africa's innovative business model of distributing dual purpose breeds of day-old chicks to millions of smallholder farmer households in Ethiopia. Since then, the investment has grown to $24.8m across mezzanine debt and equity instruments to scale Hatch Africa's operations in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire. The company's ambition is to reach every farmer and achieve one chicken per person per year in each country where it operates.
Beyond capital, AgDevCo has supported Hatch Africa through technical assistance across several areas. On digitalisation, this has included the development of a customer ordering app and a field team app, alongside an online learning platform for the sales team. AgDevCo has also funded extensive village training programmes targeting agents, who purchase day-old chicks from Hatch Africa, and smallholder farmers, who purchase month old chicks from agents, to build capacity on good poultry practices and reduce chick mortalities. Training delivery includes a train the trainer model for Hatch Africa's sales team and external veterinary specialist support for the company's technical field team. This programme spans all six countries in which Hatch Africa operates: Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire.
Technical assistance has also been deployed to strengthen Hatch Africa's governance structure, including business integrity training and the appointment of a new external audit and risk committee member. Additional support has improved financial systems and internal controls, with a particular focus on Uzima Rwanda, as well as harmonising ESG practices across the group.
Finally, Hatch Africa is participating in a technical assistance programme to design and develop a job quality framework and assessment tool. Working with an external specialist, the company will produce costed action plans based on assessment findings and aligned with its broader strategy.
| Investment | Total invested | Start date |
|---|---|---|
| East Africa Magical Farms | $8,600,000 | 2023 |
| Hatch Africa | $24,800,000 | 2024 |