Agriculture and agribusinesses play an important role in the Zambian economy, contributing to about 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Contributing greatly to the industry are small holder farmers. However, a great number of these farmers, by virtue of being informal and unregistered, struggle to access consistent formal markets, formal finance, insurance and quality information. The transition of small holder farmers from the informal to the formal economy is the core reason why Springfield Agro was founded, a social enterprise that championing the growth of agriculture through the support of farmers and agribusinesses.
In 2021, Zindaba Chirwa Hanzala was competitively selected as a finalist for the State Department's Academy for Women Entrepreneur program. She received a US$10K grant to modernize the operations of Springfield Agro and implement a digital platform. Zindaba and her team utilized the USADF grant funding to create Mulimi Agro, a platform that offers financing, insurance literacy, technical support, market linkage, and other services.
By the end of the project, 50 farmers were on-boarded to the digital financial services platform and 150 farmers received financial literacy training. The Mulimi team were successful in establishing partnerships with banks and micro-finance institutions to provide access to financial resources for their farmer members, including working partnerships with GIZ to provide insurance products and with ZANACO bank to provide financing and capacity building services. Through their digital platform, ongoing partnerships and awareness campaigns, the Mulimi team supported over 3,500 Zambian farmers, improving their ability to access critical resources and the formal market.