This project delivered a workshop for a group of local businesses, as well as a series of one-to-one consultations for Facility-supported companies, to help them understand the impacts of climate change on their operations and how best to respond.  The workshops identified sources of support available and guided businesses to devise an appropriate strategy to respond to climate change, for example by adopting climate-smart agricultural practices to enhance resilience, reduce emissions and increase productivity.  A framework development tool and a lessons learned report are available for businesses in other countries and sectors to use. Visit the event page for this workshop.

BioCarbon Partners Limited aims to develop viable, market-driven alternatives to charcoal trade, to reduce its impact on deforestation and climate change, and to generate carbon credits under the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) scheme. REDD+ is an international financial scheme which seeks to make deforestation activities more costly than preservation activities, thereby ensuring forests in developing countries stay standing. The Facility worked with to BioCarbon conduct a value chain analysis of the charcoal trade in rural areas around Lusaka, and draw up a business plan based on these findings. For more detail on this project download the Project Resource, or Georgie Turner's blog on how sustainability can be achieved in the charcoal value chain in Zambia.

This initiative was led by ARK, a social investor backed by the alternative investment industry. Facility support developed an initial scoping study, building on ARK’s existing investments in dysentery control in Zambia ($12.2million in partnership with Gates Foundation, GAVI and GlaxoSmithKline), to investigate the role of the private sector in improving supply of and demand for essential health commodities such as ORS and zinc for low income consumers in Zambia. More about this venture in blog by Susannah Hares, Head of Innovation at ARK: How do you solve a problem like diarrhoea.

This workshop, held in September 2012, targeted high-level decision makers from companies in Zambia and consists of a series of activities including: 1) advanced partnership brokers training; 2) a seminar on the business case for partnering; 3) an Innovation Spaces event, aimed at stimulating innovative approaches to market challenges or new ventures through cross-sector collaboration; and 4) partnership brokering consultations for individual companies. For more, read Thinking strategically about partnerships and social impact metrics

This short project is delivering a business plan for a group of agribusinesses in the beef, dairy, poultry, pork and aquaculture sectors, for setting up a livestock centre of excellence that will train small-scale farmers, veterinarians and extension personnel. There is growing consensus that livestock agribusinesses could lower the cost of training and extension services provided to farmers if they pooled resources. The centre will be jointly managed and be managed by trainers from the agribusinesses themselves. It will include a demonstration farm and a consulting team, which will generate revenue for training smallholder farmers. Further revenue will be derived from training for veterinarians and extension officers and sales of livestock from the demonstration farm.

Sun International invests in and manages businesses in the hotel, resort and gaming industries, specifically focusing on the development, management and operation of hotels and resorts in Africa and South America. Like many other hotels in Livingstone, Sun International buy their meat and poultry from Lusaka as there is no local abattoir to process meat from local livestock in a clean and safe environment. As part of their social responsibility programme, Sun International aim to source meat for their restaurants from local livestock farmers. Engaging farmers in their value chain will create new, sustainable income opportunities for smallholders who may have limited access to markets for their livestock. Locally sourced meat will be fresher and cheaper than meat imported from Lusaka, which will increase the quality of Sun International’s supply. Facility research for this project identified the business case for setting up an abattoir in the area and the opportunities for locally sourcing chicken, quail, goose, duck, game and beef. Sun Hotels is also receiving more intensive support from the Facility; click to view the project profile or a complete prospectus of Sun Hotels' projects with smallholders.