Counting our Chickens
Our social impact partner’s poultry farm in Zambia, like any business, benefits from economy of scale. As the farm grows, the profit margins on their production increase – leading to more net revenue and more funds that can be transferred to support the operations of the Hope Community School. This is why we’re thrilled to announce that the Hope Ventures farm has just completed their first cycle of 20,000 chickens! This puts them on track to raise and sell 120,000 chickens each year.
This growth is monumental, particularly when here at Spark we reflect back to the first cycle on the farm just a few years ago of 1,500 chickens at a time. Since those early days of the farm, the business (like any other growing small-business) has gone through ups and downs, but the team has learned immensely along the way. We’ve established a strong relationship with a major poultry distributor in Zambia called Zambeef (their chicken subsidiary is called Zamchick). And, we see great potential for continued growth at the farm.
This most recent jump in production increases the farm’s overall annual production level by 54% from last year – from 78,000 to 120,000 chickens annually. The annual profit for the upcoming year is expected to top $36,000. Some of that money will be re-invested in the business to continue the growth, but the majority of the profits will fund the high impact programs at Hope Community School.
