managed to reach 4.6 million rural households in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda, The company plans to grow its impact six-fold by 2030, increasing the number of chickens sold annually from 45 million to 340 million. AgDevCo's managing director for East Africa, Rebecca Sankar expressed her interest to continue funding Hatch as it grows beyond Ethiopia. “This is our third round of investment into the company, in each case supporting greenfield expansion,” said Sankar. “We look forward to working with the management team to deliver more impact, including higher incomes and improved nutrition for rural households, across East and West Africa." IEF’s focus to accelerate impact The International Egg Foundation (IEF) is a global charity that has worked to increase egg production and consumption in developing countries including projects in Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, and now starting in Honduras. The organisation’s recently appointed CEO, Cassy Price is set to be a key driving force behind IEF’s next chapter. “Our next focus is to significantly accelerate our impact through the creation of ‘egg hub’ business models which will sustainably increase egg consumption and support the entire value chain,” said Price. “Ensuring long term economic viability in all our egg production projects is the key.” The foundation is seeking support from more organisations and individuals who are keen to make a difference. n POULTRY Hatch Africa raises US$9.5mn from AgDevCo and IDH Farmfit Fund to expand high-growth poultry.business in sub-Saharan Africa. May/June 2024 | www.africanfarming.net 12 Image Credit: Adobe Stock