Hatch Africa

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.

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

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

• Poultry distribution
• Day-old chicks supply
• Smallholder farmer services
• Poultry feed production
• Rural agriculture network

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. Feed Sales: Hatch operates 3 feed mills supplying feed to the Agent network, creating an additional revenue stream from poultry feed sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core 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

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SASSOcoreTechnology or IntegrationSASSO 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 GeneticscoreTechnology or IntegrationHendrix Genetics is a world-leading animal genetics company partnering with Hatch to improve breed performance and technical results.
• MSD Animal HealthcoreTechnology or IntegrationMSD Animal Health provides vaccines and animal health products to Hatch's Agent network, ensuring disease-resistant chickens.
• ZoetiscoreTechnology or IntegrationZoetis provides animal health products and vaccines to support Hatch's poultry operations.
• Ceva Santé AnimalecoreTechnology or IntegrationCeva provides animal health solutions and vaccines for Hatch's poultry operations across Africa.
• Boehringer IngelheimcoreTechnology or IntegrationBoehringer Ingelheim supplies animal health products to support Hatch's disease-resistant chicken operations.
• dsm-firmenichcoreTechnology or Integrationdsm-firmenich provides nutrition solutions for Hatch's poultry operations.
• ADMcoreTechnology or IntegrationADM provides animal nutrition products and feed ingredients for Hatch's operations.
• Trouw NutritioncoreTechnology or IntegrationTrouw Nutrition provides specialized nutrition solutions for Hatch's poultry operations.
• EthioChickencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEthioChicken 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 ChickencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUzima 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 PoultrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremier Poultry is Hatch Africa's subsidiary in Ghana, launched in 2022. Modern breeding and hatchery facilities opened in 2023, emerging as market leader.
• Prestige PoultrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrestige 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

Broad 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hatchafrica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hatch Africa