Oikocredit International

Good Nature Agro is a social enterprise based in Chipata, Zambia, focused on empowering small-scale farmers to generate sustainable income. The company recruits groups of farmers who nominate a member to serve as a Private Extension Agent (PEA). These PEAs receive training in agronomy and community engagement, enabling them to provide tailored support and guidance to fellow farmers throughout the growing season. Good Nature Agro supplies quality legume seeds and offers loans to facilitate improved farming practices. At harvest time, the company serves as a reliable market for the produce, specifically certified legume seeds, which allows farmers to earn significantly more compared to traditional cash crops like maize and cotton. Since its founding in 2014, Good Nature Agro has aimed to enhance agricultural productivity and income for local farming communities.

RDG Collective was established in 2018 with the ambition to ‘Empower the Future’ by developing and distributing innovative solar home systems throughout Zambia, where an estimated 2.4 million households still lack access to electricity. While the cost of solar energy remained prohibitively high for almost all off-grid households, RDG Collective came up with innovative products distributed on a pay-as-you-go basis. By eliminating this financial barrier, RDG has enabled an increasing number of Zambian households to access solar home systems, refrigerators, solar water pumps and smartphones to improve and empower their lives.