African Development Foundation

A United States Government Agency

USADF Holds a Mini Fair in Lusaka Highlighting Grantees' Work:

USADF President Speaks with Grantees

WASHINGTON - June 1, 2010 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 1, 2010 – The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) held a mini-craft fair today at the Buseko Wood and Grass Cooperative, located in Lusaka.  The fair highlighted ten USADF grantees in Zambia.

Speaking at the event, USADF President Lloyd Pierson stated that “USADF is proud of the successes of each grantee.  The mini fair is a wonderful opportunity to meet with grantees, see their products, and hear how USADF funding has changed their lives.  The core of what USADF does is investing in African ideas to generate higher incomes and sustain a better life and this is highlighted at the fair.” 

The following are profiles on the grantees that were present at the fair:

Buseko Timber and Grass Cooperative (BTGC)
BTGC processes raw grass and timber for sale at Buseko Market.  BTGC has a customer base of carpenters, hardware stores, lodge owners, and others, but it struggles to meet their demand in terms of the quantity of wood and the type of processed products.  The USADF grant is helping BTGC develop modern wood processing techniques and begin moving towards value added production like carpentry and furniture production.

Central Growers Association (CGA)
CGA was formed to provide its members, who are small-scale rural farmers, with alternative income generating opportunities, technical assistance in agriculture and marketing. USADF funding is helping CGA expand its paprika operation with increased yields, higher sales, and more income to member farmers engaged in paprika production.

Mpima Dairy Producers Cooperative Society (MDPCS)
MDPCS was founded in 2004 by small-scale dairy farmers approximately 20 kilometers from Kabwe Town in Zambia’s Central Province.  MDPCS coordinates the production of raw milk by its individual members, and the sale of milk to vendors in Kabwe District. The grant is helping Mpima Cooperative expand operations and move up the chain of value addition by pasteurizing milk.

Mumbwa District Farmers Association (Mumbwa DFA)
Mumbwa DFA is located in the Mumbwa district of the Central Province and has 1,500 registered small scale farmer members.  Funding is helping the Association buy from more low-income paprika farmers, provide input loans to farmers and improve marketing efforts.

Zambia National Federation of the Blind (ZNFB)
ZNFB  is a Lusaka-based umbrella organization that mobilizes funds to support affiliated blind groups across Zambia.  Affiliated groups are local cooperatives that advance ZNFB’s goals by promoting education, employment, recreation, and entrepreneurship of blind people in Zambia. The grant supports three blind groups near Ndola that produce knitted goods, such as door mats and clothing. The goal of the project is to help the three blind producer groups in Ndola establish formalized production and marketing to begin on the path towards sustainability, and also to enhance ZNFB’s capacity to provide assistance to affiliated groups.

Chifundo Milling (Yapya Youth Empowerment Project)
This project supports youth initiated and led Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Zambia. The Company is located in Lusaka West in a central market area in Lilanda Township. The project will enable Chifundo to expand its production of meal and milling services, which will allow the Company to create more jobs and increase access to milling services for Lilanda township residents, who are primarily low-income subsistence farmers.

TradeWise Edible Oils Limited (Yapya Youth Empowerment Project)Another Yapya Project, TradeWinds has been involved in the bulk buying and selling of sunflower, soya, and vegetable oil. This project will enable TradeWise to expand to cooking oil production from seeds so it can take advantage of increasing market demand. This expansion will ensure that TradeWise creates more jobs and will provide a stable income for low-income farmers selling their seeds to TradeWise.  

Chipepo Fisheries Company (CFC) Limited
CFC is a company owned by seven fishing cooperatives near Lake Kariba and the Chipepo Royal Establishment, a community-based organization in Chipepo.  CFC buys fish from members of the cooperatives at points along Lake Kariba, transports the fish to Chipepo, and sells it at its Fish Marketing Center.  CFC benefits remote fishing communities by connecting them to outside markets and providing training in fish management techniques.  USADF funding is helping CFC member fishermen learn sustainable fishing techniques and improve technical and business capacity so CFC can take advantage of the market opportunities for fish.

Mpongwe Bulima Organics Cooperative Society (MBOC)
MBOC is a Zambian farmer owned cooperative headquartered in the Mpongwe District in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. MBOC is a community-owned business with 102 paid up members, of which 54 are women.  The Cooperative is engaging in the marketing of groundnuts that it purchases from its members and other small scale farmers in the province.  This grant has helped MBOC purchase more groundnuts from more farmers, improve marketing and improve transportation of raw material to market.

USADF began programming in Zambia in 2003. Zambia’s current portfolio stands at thirty-two investment projects totaling more than $6 million dollars. For more information about the portfolio, please visit the country’s quick source page at http://www.adf.gov/USADF-QuickSourceCountryPortfolioPage-Zambia.htm.

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunities to the most marginalized populations in Africa. Currently USADF operates in 20 African countries. Over the past 25 years, USADF has funded in excess of $200 million in African initiated and led development projects.  For more information on USADF, its programs and application guidelines, visit www.usadf.gov.

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