AgDevCo, a specialist agriculture investor, is investing $10 million in Hybrid Poultry, a top integrated poultry producer in Zambia. This investment aims to transform Zambia’s agribusiness sector. The funding marks a significant step in AgDevCo’s mission to drive sustainable agribusiness growth and food security across Africa.
Hybrid, part of the African Poultry Development Group, operates a vertically integrated model that spans the entire poultry value chain from breeder farms to processed products on supermarket shelves. With operations in Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the company employs over 1,200 people and works with more than 2,000 smallholder farmers supplying day-old chicks across the country.
AgDevCo’s investment will finance the construction of a state-of-the-art poultry processing plant in Zambia a facility set to become one of the largest and most modern in the region. Once complete, it will create 270 new jobs, boost production capacity and position Hybrid to meet rising domestic demand while expanding into export markets such as Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“We are pleased to be partnering with Hybrid to make this major investment in the Zambian poultry industry,” said Jim Henderson, Managing Director at AgDevCo. “The expansion will drive local job creation and skills development while strengthening regional food security.”
For Hybrid’s CEO, Richard Keeley, the new facility represents more than an infrastructure project it’s a blueprint for sustainable industrial growth in Africa.
“This state-of-the-art facility will be the largest of its kind in the region,” Keeley explained. “It allows us to supply the fast-growing Zambian market and expand exports to the DRC. Designed with sustainability at its core, the plant integrates energy-efficient technologies and advanced wastewater treatment systems. We’re proud to welcome AgDevCo as a strategic partner in making this vision a reality.”
The investment comes at a time when Africa’s poultry sector is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by urbanization, population growth, and a rising middle class with evolving dietary preferences. In Zambia, poultry is one of the fastest-growing segments of the agricultural economy a key source of affordable protein and rural employment.
By backing companies like Hybrid, AgDevCo is not only injecting capital but also fostering a new generation of African agripreneurs who combine innovation with sustainability. The organization’s portfolio now includes 88 investments across the continent, with $340 million in assets under management and a track record of leveraging private capital into socially responsible agribusiness ventures.
AgDevCo’s approach blends patient capital with technical support ensuring that every investment contributes to job creation, value chain development and long-term resilience. Its investments have benefited thousands of smallholder farmers through improved market access and knowledge transfer, creating a measurable impact in rural economies.
For Zambia, this partnership signals renewed confidence in the country’s agricultural sector and its capacity to attract long-term, responsible investment. The Hybrid expansion is expected to strengthen Zambia’s position as a regional food hub, reinforcing the role of private capital in advancing Africa’s food security agenda.
As global investors increasingly look to Africa’s food systems for both growth and impact, AgDevCo’s move into the Zambian poultry sector underscores a broader trend: agriculture in Africa is no longer seen merely as subsistence, it’s emerging as a serious business frontier, powered by local innovation, sustainability and partnership.
