CARE Zambia

What CARE Zambia does

CARE Zambia (legally CARE International in Zambia) is a Lusaka-headquartered non-governmental organization that has delivered humanitarian and development programming in Zambia since 1992, operating as the country office of CARE International, a 1945-founded federation active in over 100 countries. The organization runs five programmatic verticals — gender equality, health and nutrition, agriculture and climate, education and empowerment, and emergency preparedness and response — reaching over five million Zambians between 2022 and 2025, with field offices in Eastern, Southern, Luapula, and Muchinga provinces.

The core operating model is direct program implementation through field offices in partnership with community-based organizations, UN agencies (WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF), research institutions (Columbia, Johns Hopkins, University of Zambia), and Zambian government ministries (Health, Education, Agriculture, Community Development, Green Economy, DMMU). Documented flagship projects include Nyenyezi Plus and Nyenyezi SOAR II (early childhood literacy and numeracy, funded by the Mary Jan and Paul Bancroft Foundation), SHE SOARS (sexual and reproductive health for out-of-school adolescent girls, funded by Global Affairs Canada), CBA-SCALE+ (community-based climate adaptation across Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, funded by IKI), R2HC (SBIRT research with Congolese refugees, funded by Elrha), and ongoing El Niño drought response funded by the French Ministry of Finance.

The revenue model is 100% grant-funded by institutional donors including bilateral government agencies, multilateral organizations, and private foundations; CARE Zambia does not sell commercial products or services and has no publicly disclosed financials. The lean 16-employee coordination team implements at scale through local partners and CBOs rather than direct service delivery staffing.

Name

CARE Zambia

Legal name

CARE (Cooperative for Assistance & Relief Everywhere)

Website

https://carezambia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CARE Zambia is the Lusaka-based country office of CARE International, a non-profit humanitarian NGO delivering gender equality, health, education, agriculture, and emergency response programs to over five million Zambians since 1992, funded entirely by institutional donor grants and implemented through government and community partners across four provinces.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid and Development Services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanitarian Health & Emergency Medical Relief NGOs (HLAJAKAE), Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH), Medical Missions & Global Health NGOs (BPAGACAI), Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG)

Keywords

• Humanitarian program implementation
• Community development services
• Gender equality programming
• Emergency response and relief
• Agriculture and climate adaptation

Headquarters

HQ city

Lusaka

HQ country

Zambia

HQ region

Africa

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Institutional Donor Funding: CARE Zambia receives funding from international institutional donors including governments (Government of Canada, French Ministry of Finance), multilateral organizations (UN agencies), and international NGOs to implement development and humanitarian programs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CARE Zambia implements multi-sectoral humanitarian and development programs targeting women, girls, refugees, smallholder farmers, children, and vulnerable populations across Zambia. Its core offering encompasses gender equality, health and nutrition, agriculture and climate adaptation, education and empowerment, and emergency preparedness and response programming delivered through time-bound, donor-funded projects such as SHE SOARS, Nyenyezi Plus, CBA-SCALE+, and R2HC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nyenyezi SOAR II: Education project providing children, adolescents, and young parents with cognitive development, literacy, numeracy, and life skills opportunities
• Nyenyezi Plus
• SHE SOARS
• CBA-SCALE+

Products and services

• Nyenyezi Plus Project A five-year early childhood education and development initiative targeting over 90,000 children and parents across 56 communities in Eastern and Southern Provinces of Zambia. It delivers Early Childhood Development services, Mobile Libraries, and Accelerated Learning programming to build literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills for children and parents.
• Nyenyezi SOAR II An education program providing children, adolescents, and young parents with opportunities for cognitive development, basic literacy and numeracy, and life skills through Early Childhood Development services and accelerated learning packages.
• SHE SOARS Project A sexual and reproductive health and economic empowerment project improving access to SRH information and services for adolescents, particularly out-of-school girls, across Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia.
• CBA-SCALE+ (Community Based Adaptation – Scaling up Community Action for Livelihoods Ecosystems in Southern Africa and Beyond) A climate adaptation initiative working in over 100 communities across Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, enabling 66,000 individuals in Zambia to better cope with climate-related risks through inclusive, gender-specific adaptation measures.
• Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Project A research-based health intervention evaluating the effectiveness of the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) approach for Congolese refugees and host community members in need of Alcohol and Other Drug services in Mantapala settlement, Luapula Province.
• Farmer Field Business School (FFBS) An agricultural training methodology used by CARE Zambia that integrates sustainable farming practices with market access and gender norms, equipping farmers with tools and knowledge for scalable, inclusive agricultural interventions.

Quantifiable outcome

• VSLA participants are twice as likely to start and sustain a business compared to non-participants
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• French Ambassador to ZambiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2024Government representative supporting and witnessing drought response initiatives
• Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 August 2024Government unit partnered for drought response, distributing cash and food assistance to affected communities
• Government of the Republic of ZambiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 August 2024Partnered through DMMU and various ministries for humanitarian response to El-Nino-induced drought affecting 9.8 million Zambians
• Barclays BankminorOthers · 1 January 2022Recent donor and partner supporting CARE Zambia's development and humanitarian programming
• Children Sentinel Trust Zambia (CSTZ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Lead implementing partner for Nyenyezi Plus early childhood education project. CSTZ works with CARE Zambia to implement comprehensive early childhood development programs.
• Ministry of Health (Zambia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Government partner implementing health and nutrition programs. CARE provides technical assistance for budgeting, planning, and monitoring of public health service provision.
• Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Government partner for social protection and community development programs
• Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Government partner for agriculture and climate programs. Collaborates on Farmer Field Business School workshops and sustainable farming practices.
• Ministry of Local Government (MLG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Government partner for local governance and development programs
• National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Government partner for nutrition programs complementing national programs like The First 1000 Most Critical Days Program
• Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Implementing partner for nutrition and food security programs
• International Institute for Sustainable DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Implementing partner for CBA-SCALE+ project, supporting climate adaptation and sustainable development
• International Union for Conservation of NaturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Implementing partner for CBA-SCALE+ project focused on conservation and nature-related measures
• Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Implementing partner for CBA-SCALE+ project on agriculture and natural resources
• CARE ZimbabwecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Regional partner implementing CBA-SCALE+ project in Zimbabwe alongside Zambia
• CARE MozambiquecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Regional partner implementing CBA-SCALE+ project in Mozambique alongside Zambia
• Alliance for Nutrition and ReconstructioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Implementing partner for CBA-SCALE+ project
• NutriAid TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Implementing partner for CBA-SCALE+ project focused on nutrition
• Zimba District CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Local government partner for CBA-SCALE+ implementation
• Ministry of Green Economy and EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Government partner for CBA-SCALE+ and climate programs
• Centre for Reproductive RightscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 July 2021Implementing partner for SHE SOARS project, providing evidence-based sexual and reproductive health information
• Restless DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 July 2021Implementing partner for SHE SOARS project working on sexual and reproductive health and rights
• Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Health & RightscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 July 2021Implementing partner for SHE SOARS project
• Ministry of Education (Zambia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2021Government partner for Nyenyezi SOAR II education programs, coordinating on early childhood development and accelerated learning
• Department of Chiefs and Traditional AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2021Government partner for Nyenyezi SOAR II, engaging traditional leadership in education initiatives
• Women in Law and Development in AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Implementing partner for R2HC project working with refugees on health interventions
• University of ColumbiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Research partner for R2HC project evaluating health interventions for refugees
• John Hopkins UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Research partner for R2HC project on health in humanitarian crises
• University of ZambiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Academic partner for R2HC project on health interventions

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• WaterAid Zambia: INGO implementing WASH and hygiene programs in Zambia in partnership with government and local actors; comparable country-office structure, donor base, and direct implementation model.
• World Vision Zambia: International NGO with a country office in Zambia implementing child-focused health, education, nutrition, and emergency response programs through government and community partnerships; comparable in target segments and donor mix.
• Save the Children Zambia: Global INGO with a Zambia country office delivering health, nutrition, education, and child protection programming alongside government partners; similar multi-sector model and institutional donor relationships.
• Plan International Zambia: INGO focused on girls' rights, SRH, education, and child protection in Zambia through direct implementation and partner networks; comparable beneficiary segments and donor-funded project model.
• ActionAid Zambia: INGO implementing women's rights, food security, climate adaptation, and emergency response programs in Zambia through community-based approaches; closely comparable model and target populations.
• Oxfam in Zambia: INGO operating in Zambia on gender equality, food security, climate adaptation, and humanitarian response, often in partnership with government ministries; analogous programming portfolio and donor base.

Broad incumbents

• CARE International: Global parent confederation of CARE Zambia and 100+ other country offices; operates the same gender-responsive, community-led humanitarian and development model across geographies, providing shared branding, methodology, and donor access.

Others

• UNICEF Zambia: UN agency that directly funds implementation partners in Zambia across health, nutrition, education, and child protection; functions as a peer funder and sometimes co-implementer, with overlapping programming scope.
• WFP Zambia: UN agency partnering with CARE Zambia on food security and emergency response; a peer in the Zambia humanitarian ecosystem with overlapping target beneficiaries and program modalities.

Regional players

• Habitat for Humanity Zambia: INGO operating in Zambia on housing, WASH, and disaster-resilient shelter, often through community-based partnerships; relevant for emergency response and community-led implementation comparisons.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/care-zambia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CARE Zambia