Hatch Africa
Hatch Africa is a privately held pan-African poultry company that distributes improved, tropically adapted dual-purpose chickens (SASSO T451) and feed through a 30,000+ rural brooding agent network to smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Hatch Africa does
Hatch Africa is a privately held pan-African poultry company founded in 2010 (originally as Flow Equity and EthioChicken) that produces and distributes improved, tropically adapted dual-purpose chickens to rural smallholder farmers across six sub-Saharan African countries: Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire. The company operates through four country sub-brands (EthioChicken, Uzima Chicken, Premier Poultry, and Prestige Poultry), and is the exclusive distributor of the SASSO T451 dual-purpose breed — a heritage poultry breed developed by SASSO that is disease-resistant, free-ranging, and semi-scavenging, designed to thrive in village conditions and lay 3-4x as many eggs as indigenous chickens.
Hatch operates a vertically integrated production platform comprising 18 breeding farms, 9 hatcheries, and 3 feed mills, supplying chicks, feed, vaccines, delivery, and training to a network of 30,000+ rural brooding agents in FY2024. Each agent typically broods 300+ chicks for 30 days before selling them to local smallholders; smallholders then raise 5-20 chickens per household for consumption and surplus sale. In 2024 the company sold approximately 44 million day-old chicks (45 million in 2023) and its network produced 3.5 billion eggs in rural communities; cumulative since-inception metrics include 303 million chicks sold, 5.1 billion eggs produced, and $4.1 billion in additional income for smallholders. Hatch employs 2,500 full-time staff and is led by co-founders Joseph Shields and David Ellis as co-CEOs, with a CFO (Angel Zhao) and country Managing Directors running regional P&L.
The company's revenue model is a hybrid B2B/B2C distribution: unit-priced day-old chick (DOC) sales to brooding agents, complemented by feed sales through owned feed mills, with the bundled input package (chicks, feed, vaccines, training) creating repeat purchasing. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is set at the agent level with volume-based terms. GTM is community-led: agents are recruited, trained, and supplied regionally, with a stated public-health ambition of "one chicken per person per year" in each market. Capital has come from a mix of impact and development-finance investors including IFC, FMO, Finnfund, Acumen, AgDevCo, IDH Farmfit Fund, ARAF, and Arabica; the latest disclosed round was $9.5 million in January 2024 from AgDevCo and IDH Farmfit Fund, earmarked for Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire expansion, with a stated 2030 target of 340 million chickens sold annually.
Hatch Africa firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hatch Africa
- Legal name
- Hatch Africa
- Website
- https://hatchafrica.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Hatch Africa is a privately held pan-African poultry company that distributes improved, tropically adapted dual-purpose chickens (SASSO T451) and feed through a 30,000+ rural brooding agent network to smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hatch Africa industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Poultry Production and Distribution
- NAICS
- Poultry Hatcheries (112340), Poultry Hatcheries (11234), Broilers and Other Meat Type Chicken Production (112320), Broilers and Other Meat Type Chicken Production (11232), Poultry and Egg Production (1123)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hatcheries & Chick Production (Day-Old Chicks, Pullets) (AFAEADAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Broiler Chicken Production (Meat Birds) (AFAEADAA), Breeder Flocks & Fertile Egg Production (Broiler/Layer Breeders) (AFAEADAC), Breeder Feed (Broiler Breeders & Layer Breeders) (AFADACAD), Poultry Vaccines (HLAMAKAC)
Keywords
Where Hatch Africa is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
Hatch Africa business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Dual-Purpose Chick Sales: Hatch sells fully vaccinated, high-yielding, dual-purpose chickens (day-old chicks and month-old chicks) to Agents who brood and sell to smallholder farmers. Revenue generated from volume of chicks distributed through the Agent network.
- Feed Sales: Hatch operates 3 feed mills supplying feed to the Agent network, creating an additional revenue stream from poultry feed sales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Day-Old Chicks (DOCs) sold to Agents |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Hatch Africa product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hatch Africa produces and distributes fully vaccinated, high-yielding, tropically adapted SASSO T451 dual-purpose day-old chicks to a network of more than 30,000 rural brooding agents across six Sub-Saharan African countries. The agents brood the chicks for 30 days and resell them to smallholder farmers. The company also manufactures and sells poultry feed from its three feed mills, and bundles chicks with feed, vaccines, delivery, and training as a comprehensive input package for its Agent network.
Product overview
Hatch Africa is a pan-African poultry company operating across six countries (Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire) through four regional sub-brands: EthioChicken, Uzima Chicken, Premier Poultry, and Prestige Poultry. The company distributes its flagship SASSO T451 dual-purpose chickens, providing smallholder farmers with fully vaccinated, high-yielding, tropically adapted chickens. Its Agent-driven business model supplies chicks, feed, vaccines, delivery, and training to a network of over 30,000 rural brooding agents who serve millions of smallholder farmers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SASSO T451 Dual-Purpose Day-Old Chicks (DOCs) Fully vaccinated, high-yielding, tropically adapted, free-ranging, semi-scavenging dual-purpose chickens sold as day-old chicks to brooding agents. Disease resistant and proven to lay 3-4x more eggs and reach market weight 3-4x faster than indigenous chickens.
- Month-Old Chicks (Brooded by Agents) Dual-purpose chicks reared by rural brooding agents for 30 days and sold to smallholder farmers for household raising. 44 million sold in 2024.
- Poultry Feed Poultry feed manufactured at Hatch Africa's three feed mills and supplied to the Agent network, including 40,000 MT per annum in Ethiopia alone. Produced in partnership with nutrition providers such as dsm-firmenich, ADM, and Trouw Nutrition.
- Agent Brooding & Distribution Service Service offering through which rural brooding agents receive a comprehensive input package (chicks, feed, vaccines, delivery, training) and are equipped to brood 300+ chicks per cycle and sell month-old chicks to smallholder farmers in their local communities.
- EthioChicken (Ethiopia Operations) Market-leading Hatch subsidiary in Ethiopia, distributing more than 35 million day-old chicks and 40,000 MT of feed per annum to its nationwide network of agents and smallholder farmers.
- Uzima Chicken (Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya Operations) Hatch Africa subsidiary distributing more than 10 million day-old chicks per annum across Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya through a growing network of rural brooding agents and smallholder farmers.
- Premier Poultry (Ghana Operations) Hatch Africa subsidiary in Ghana supplying high-yielding day-old chicks through its Agent network. Opened modern breeding and hatchery facilities in 2023 and is quickly emerging as a market leader.
- Prestige Poultry (Côte d'Ivoire Operations) Hatch Africa subsidiary in Côte d'Ivoire rapidly establishing its Agent network and operational presence to distribute dual-purpose day-old chicks.
Quantifiable outcome
- Disease resistant chickens that lay 3-4x as many eggs vs indigenous breeds
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use Hatch Africa
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Hatch Africa technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Hatch Africa partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- SASSOcoreSASSO is a global leader in heritage poultry breeding. Hatch Africa is the exclusive distributor of the SASSO T451 dual-purpose breed, which is tropically adapted, free-ranging, semi-scavenging, and thrives in village conditions.
- Hendrix GeneticscoreHendrix Genetics is a world-leading animal genetics company partnering with Hatch to improve breed performance and technical results.
- MSD Animal HealthcoreMSD Animal Health provides vaccines and animal health products to Hatch's Agent network, ensuring disease-resistant chickens.
- ZoetiscoreZoetis provides animal health products and vaccines to support Hatch's poultry operations.
- Ceva Santé AnimalecoreCeva provides animal health solutions and vaccines for Hatch's poultry operations across Africa.
- Boehringer IngelheimcoreBoehringer Ingelheim supplies animal health products to support Hatch's disease-resistant chicken operations.
- dsm-firmenichcoredsm-firmenich provides nutrition solutions for Hatch's poultry operations.
- ADMcoreADM provides animal nutrition products and feed ingredients for Hatch's operations.
- Trouw NutritioncoreTrouw Nutrition provides specialized nutrition solutions for Hatch's poultry operations.
- EthioChickencoreEthioChicken is Hatch Africa's subsidiary in Ethiopia, founded in 2010. It is the market leader in Ethiopia, distributing more than 35m day-old chicks and 40,000 MT of feed per annum.
- Uzima ChickencoreUzima Chicken is Hatch Africa's subsidiary operating in Rwanda (launched 2017), Uganda (2019), and Kenya (2022). Distributes more than 10m day-old chicks per annum.
- Premier PoultrycorePremier Poultry is Hatch Africa's subsidiary in Ghana, launched in 2022. Modern breeding and hatchery facilities opened in 2023, emerging as market leader.
- Prestige PoultrycorePrestige Poultry is Hatch Africa's subsidiary in Côte d'Ivoire, opened in 2023 to address significant untapped potential for the business model.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hatch Africa competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Hendrix Genetics: Global animal genetics company and parent of SASSO—Hatch's exclusive breed supplier. Comparable as the upstream genetics platform Hatch depends on, and a partner in breed improvement initiatives; competes with Aviagen and Cobb-Vantress in the breeding layer.
- Astral Foods: South Africa's largest integrated poultry producer, with breeding, hatchery, feed mill, broiler, and processing operations. Provides a public-market benchmark for poultry sector economics and unit costs, though focused on South African commercial channels rather than smallholder distribution.
- Cobb-Vantress: One of the world's largest poultry breeding companies supplying broiler genetics globally. Comparable as a potential alternative genetics partner for poultry producers, including Hatch, and a reference point for the value of proprietary breeding stock.
- Quantum Foods: South African poultry and egg producer with integrated breeding, hatchery, and feed operations across Southern Africa. Comparable vertically integrated poultry model, though serving commercial South African customers rather than rural smallholders.
- Country Bird Holdings: South African poultry group operating broiler breeder farms, hatcheries, feed mills, and processing facilities. Provides a comparable integrated poultry reference point for capex intensity, breed sourcing decisions, and operational scale.
Emerging players
- One Acre Fund: Large-scale smallholder agricultural input distribution and finance organization serving Sub-Saharan African farmers. Comparable in distribution model and smallholder customer base, though focused on crop inputs rather than livestock; represents an adjacent agricultural-services peer.
Direct peers
- Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery: Nigeria's leading poultry hatchery and integrated poultry business, also distributing dual-purpose day-old chicks to smallholder farmers. Directly comparable in business model—hatchery operations, smallholder distribution, and dual-purpose breed focus—and competes in the same Sub-Saharan African poultry-for-rural-prosperity category.
- CHI Limited (CHI Farms): Nigerian integrated poultry and meat processing company operating hatcheries, breeder farms, and feed mills to serve the Nigerian market. Comparable vertical integration structure (breeding → hatchery → feed → distribution) and serves similar commercial and smallholder customers in West Africa.
Regional players
- Kenchic: Kenya's largest poultry integrator, producing broilers, layers, and processed poultry products with own hatchery and feed mill operations. Operates in one of Hatch's core East African markets and provides regional benchmark for hatchery/poultry economics, though Kenchic is more processing- and retail-oriented.
- Sigma Foods (Uganda): Ugandan poultry and animal feed producer serving East African markets. Comparable as a poultry-and-feed integrator in one of Hatch's active geographies (Uganda), competing for similar smallholder and commercial customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hatch Africa social profiles
Digital presenceHatch Africa financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hatch Africa leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Hatch Africa subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Hatch Africa funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hatch Africa M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hatch Africa
What does Hatch Africa do?
Hatch Africa produces and distributes fully vaccinated, high-yielding, tropically adapted SASSO T451 dual-purpose day-old chicks to a network of more than 30,000 rural brooding agents across six Sub-Saharan African countries. The agents brood the chicks for 30 days and resell them to smallholder farmers. The company also manufactures and sells poultry feed from its three feed mills, and bundles chicks with feed, vaccines, delivery, and training as a comprehensive input package for its Agent network.
Is Hatch Africa a public or private company?
Hatch Africa is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Hatch Africa founded?
Hatch Africa was founded in 2010. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Hatch Africa based?
Hatch Africa is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Hatch Africa make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Dual-Purpose Chick Sales are the primary driver. The others are feed Sales.
Who are Hatch Africa's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Hendrix Genetics, Astral Foods, Cobb-Vantress, Quantum Foods and Country Bird Holdings. One Acre Fund is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery and CHI Limited (CHI Farms). Regional players are Kenchic and Sigma Foods (Uganda).
Does Hatch Africa have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hatch Africa.
What industry is Hatch Africa in?
Hatch Africa's product category is Poultry Production and Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAEADAD, Hatcheries & Chick Production (Day-Old Chicks, Pullets), with a secondary code of AFAEADAA, Broiler Chicken Production (Meat Birds). Its NAICS code is 112340.