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The agribusiness ecosystem in Africa is shaped by a myriad of complex and interwoven issues. Navigating these complexities and growing sustainable businesses with high social impact value is usually the outcome of a sustained effort to succeed. The knowledge of the African business context, the ability to identify opportunities and the willingness to learn from experience constitute a veritable means for any entrepreneur seeking to scale up an Indigenous agribusiness in Africa. This chapter presents JR Farms as a case study of one of such Indigenous agribusinesses that has successfully expanded within the African market. The case examines the trajectory of JR Farms from its beginnings in Nigeria to its definitive establishment in Rwanda and Zambia. Through the lens of a qualitative case study approach, we write a narrative of the vision, strategies and decisions that transformed JR Farms into a multi-million-dollar development partner for the communities where it operates. Finally, we reflect on these experiences in making recommendations for growing agribusinesses in Africa.

Leadership in education begins with the establishment of a strong link between education and a healthy society. In the world's poorest areas, too often formal education systems have been imported with little thought as to how they integrate with the life of local communities. As a result, development projects aimed at education focus on inputs to schools – teachers, school buildings, textbooks, or exams rather than rethinking the larger question of how education is integrated into the larger purposes of community life, work, and identity. Korea, a new member of OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) desires to take a different approach that reflects the success of its own development and supports local values and structures. A project being designed for Zambia is conceived as an education project yet calls for a modest initial donor investment in agricultural inputs to boost agricultural output in the community. University students from Zambia and Korea will serve as project managers initially, rotating between university classes and field work. At the same time, data will be gathered on how the community learns and grows. This research will begin to build a body of literature on how such projects succeed. The proposed project addresses many of the concerns of development projects and lifelong learning approaches to economic growth. Education is community-supported and directed. Community learning involves the adults individually and collectively.

The melting pot of trade and commerce in present day Zambia dates to the interactions between the peoples who inhabited the territory, their new migratory neighbours fleeing regional conflicts and consequent interactions with European explorers attempting to penetrate the interior region of south central Africa. Today, Zambia is a blend of 73 multi-ethnic groups that have inter-married, coexisted and crossed paths with many central, eastern and southern African societies and empires in the name of trade, expansion and exploration. The Zambian chapter explores what practices were part of their societal structures and what has survived the fusion of migrants whether intra-continental or beyond. This chapter also presents the subsequent post-independence complex society under the Zambian identity and the author reflects on how Africans can manage affairs responsibly.

This article considers what has happened in the 20 years since REIO was founded. The article argues that in sub-Saharan Africa many of those self-same issues currently continue to plague Africans, and that these issues urgently need to be addressed if we are going to improve morality in Africa. In exploring these issues, we considered the circumstances which the Victorian novelist, Anthony Trollope (1815–1882), experienced when he lived in Ireland during the Irish famine. Our article argues as to the very similar circumstances which led to the Irish famine and, currently, lead to the recurrent famines in sub-Saharan Africa. Trollope explored both the causes and the ramifications of the Irish famine in his novel Castle Richmond. According to Trollope, many of the effects of the Irish famine could have been averted if those in the community able to help had had the necessary moral willpower to do so. Trollope was an extremely keen fox-hunter and argued as to the communal benefits of fox-hunting. The article also considers a current devotee of fox-hunting, the Oxford philosopher Roger Scruton, and we explore Scruton’s arguments as to the benefits of local communities. We argue that Scruton’s conservative arguments have much in common with that of the renowned communitarian, Michael Sandel. And that if their arguments were seriously considered much of what the Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo fears for her fellow sub-Saharan Africans might be avoided.

For generations, higher education in much of Sub-Saharan Africa has been disengaged from the problems of local communities largely due to the design of colonial education and the later thinking of industrial models of education where knowledge was received from experts at the top of the knowledge ladder. But new knowledge economics, the possibility of building collective learning frameworks and the need to solve globally linked problems that involve local communities is changing this thinking. Globally linked problems such as disease, environment, social and political stability and globalisation manifest locally and create challenges locally in various ways. This chapter explores the leadership of Zambia’s flagship university in serving the needs of local communities’ sustainable development with research and service resources of its graduate education system and its network. Understanding that knowledge is now formed both by collectives of people at the community level that is linked through major networks, it is particularly important that universities take a leadership role in building linkages to local communities. Specifically, leadership in the following community linkage areas are examined: community service schemes, consultancy services, research and project partnerships, community field tours and capacity development.

This chapter considers social purpose venturing as a vehicle for addressing social exclusion in the rural developing world, illustrated with reference to case examples across a range of East and Southern African countries.

Data was collected during in-depth case study research with social purpose ventures in various African countries. Qualitative research methods were primarily employed including interviews, stakeholder focus groups and observational research.

Six channels through which social purpose ventures contribute to tackling social exclusion amongst rural BoP communities are identified. These include ventures with the BoP as employees, producers, consumers, entrepreneurs, service users and shareholders. Characteristics for successful social purpose ventures are also discussed.

The chapter adds to knowledge in the field of social purpose venturing in the developing world. It identifies various channels through which such ventures help tackle rural social exclusion and also factors influencing their success.

The chapter provides insights for practitioners and policy makers, particularly in relation to facilitating successful social purpose venturing.

This chapter contributes to better practice in rural development in the Global South.

Insights relevant to academic and practitioner audiences are provided, as the chapter addresses a subject area and region that have received limited attention.

The purpose of this chapter is to examine how early childhood development (ECD) programs are being established and supported in The Republic of Zambia, a landlocked country in southern Africa. First, we discuss the rationale for ECD programs. Based on a 10-day field visit to Zambia where we observed ECD programs, interviewed policy officials, and held focus groups with families, educators, and community groups, we reflect on practice and policy implications regarding supporting and increasing high-quality early education programs. Based on the analysis of this field visit, we provide some preliminary recommendations on increasing access to high-quality ECD programs. We also discuss the limitations of this study and the need for additional studies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.