This study, prepared by Triple Line as part of a wider study of the transformational impact of AgDevCo’s portfolio, explores how AgDevCo’s investment has contributed to the expansion of the value chain and encouraged commercial farming in Zambia’s neglected Northern Province.

Saise is Zambia’s first seed potato producer and one of the only commercial farms in the Northern Province – one of the poorest parts the country. The company aims to create jobs and raise incomes in a region where most people are subsistence farmers and where formal employment is rare.

Our study used a network analysis approach to understand the ways in which each investment is connected to different actors, from their employees to suppliers and buyers. Quantitative and qualitative data was used to construct simple maps of the pre- and post-investment networks, which allowed us to build a visual picture of how the AgDevCo investment has had an impact, and how this has changed over time.