Heifer International South Africa

What Heifer International South Africa does

HPSA (formerly Heifer Project South Africa) is a private nonprofit organization founded in 2001 and headquartered in Botha's Hill, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The organization focuses on ending hunger and poverty in rural South African communities through agricultural development, livestock programs, and food security initiatives. It operates six active community programs — the Jozini Agricultural Development Project, Phuhlisanani, Gqunu & Ngxakolo, Sukuma Poultry Project, Zusiphe, and the Blouberg Integrated Food Security and Household Farming Project — spanning the KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces.

The organization's service delivery model combines direct livestock provision (notably goats), agricultural inputs, farming training, veterinary services via dip tanks, market access through livestock auctions, and agricultural retail through Agrivet Shops. Beneficiaries are rural farming households in underserved areas including Nongoma, Hlabisa, Jozini, Gqunu, Ngxakolo, and Blouberg. The organization rebranded from "Heifer Project South Africa" to "HPSA" in 2018 as part of an internal review process.

HPSA is funded entirely through charitable donations, with no disclosed pricing model, revenue, or institutional donor information. The organization operates with a lean team of approximately 5 employees and uses social media (Facebook, Twitter), email newsletters, and a blog as its primary external communications channels. Donor transactions are processed through the givengain.com third-party platform. There is no disclosed technology infrastructure, mobile application, or digital product beyond the basic organizational website.

Name

Heifer International South Africa

Legal name

HPSA

Website

https://heifer.org.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HPSA is a South African nonprofit founded in 2001 that delivers agricultural development, livestock, and food security programs to rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, funded through charitable donations via the givengain.com platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Agricultural Development

NAICS

Support Activities for Animal Production (115210), Support Activities for Animal Production (11521), Support Activities for Animal Production (1152)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Agriculture & Food Security Development (BPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA), Livestock & Farm Animal Veterinary Services (AFAEANAB), Routine On-Farm Veterinary Services (Exams, Treatment, Prescribing) (AFACADAB)

Keywords

• Agricultural development
• Rural community development
• Food security programs
• Livestock farming support
• Nonprofit hunger relief

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HPSA delivers agricultural development and food security programs to rural communities in South Africa through livestock provision, training, and integrated household farming projects across six regional sites. It also operates supporting rural supply and market-access services, including Agrivet shops selling farming and veterinary inputs, goat dip tanks for livestock health, and livestock auctions for farmer market access. The organization is funded primarily by charitable donations channelled through an online giving portal.

Product overview

HPSA operates as a nonprofit organization (formerly Heifer Project South Africa) focused on ending hunger and poverty in South Africa since 2001. The organization delivers a portfolio of community development programs centered on agricultural development, food security, and livestock management. Key programs include the Jozini Agricultural Development Project, Phuhlisanani, Gqunu & Ngxakolo, Sukuma Poultry Project, Zusiphe, and the Blouberg Integrated Food Security and Household Farming Project. Supporting services include Agrivet Shops providing veterinary and farming supplies, Goat Dip Tank facilities for livestock health, and Livestock Auctions enabling farmers to market their animals. The organization also facilitates donations through the GiveNow platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jozini Agricultural Development Project

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• One Acre Fund: Large nonprofit providing smallholder farmers with inputs, training, and market access across Africa. Closely comparable to HPSA's integrated service model (inputs + training + market linkage), though operating at vastly greater scale.
• TechnoServe: International development nonprofit working on agricultural value chains, smallholder farmer productivity, and rural enterprise in Africa and Latin America. Comparable in mission, beneficiary profile, and donor base to HPSA.
• CARE International: Major international development NGO with food security and rural livelihoods programs globally, including in Southern Africa. Comparable in donor base, integrated rural programming, and reliance on small-team field operations.
• Heifer International: The global parent network for livestock-based rural development; HPSA is plausibly affiliated. Heifer International runs similar livestock-distribution-plus-training models across dozens of countries and is the natural comparison for HPSA's donor profile and program design.
• Mercy Corps: Global humanitarian and development NGO with significant rural livelihoods and food security programming, including in Southern Africa. Comparable to HPSA in mission, target population, and approach to integrating agriculture with community resilience.
• Save the Children South Africa: Large international NGO with a South African country office addressing child hunger, rural poverty, and household food security. Comparable in that rural hunger/poverty alleviation and donor-driven funding models overlap directly with HPSA's mandate.

Emerging players

• WWF South Africa: Conservation nonprofit with growing sustainable agriculture and food-systems programming in South Africa. Comparable as a domestic nonprofit working on sustainable rural livelihoods, though with a stronger environmental framing.

Direct peers

• Vumelana Advisory Fund: South African nonprofit supporting land reform beneficiaries and rural livelihoods. Comparable as a domestic nonprofit addressing rural economic empowerment and food security in the same South African context.
• Food & Trees for Africa: South African nonprofit focused on food security, sustainable agriculture, and community upliftment. Directly comparable as a domestic nonprofit operating in the same food-security/development space and competing for the same donor and corporate-CSR pool.

Regional players

• African Farmers Association of South Africa (AFASA): South African membership organization advocating for and supporting smallholder and emerging farmers. Comparable beneficiary base (rural agricultural communities) and overlap on training, market access, and livestock topics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HeiferProjectSA
• Facebookfacebook.com/HeiferProjectSouthAfrica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heifer-international-south-africa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Heifer International South Africa