Shalem buys from a network of 28,000 small-scale farmers (15,000 women). In the past 3 years it has delivered more than 10,000 tons to the brewing industry – ‘2SCALE sorghum’ is the main ingredient in the popular Senator beer. Shalem has also diversified into food processing, with its Asili Plus brand of protein-enriched sorghum flour (2SCALE linkages were key in product formulation and marketing). It leads a Farmer Field School program that has trained more than 20,000 farmers; sorghum yields have increased by 55% on average, and by 200% in some areas.
The session in Cape Town focused not so much on the impacts generated but on the process. How to identify and vet inclusive business champions? What was the cost of providing support, how much co-financing did 2SCALE provide? How were training programs structured? How sustainable was the intervention? The presentation generated considerable discussion and positive comparisons with similar programs elsewhere. Clearly, 2SCALE’s inclusive business approach works. And feedback from the conference suggests that it can – and will be – integrated into development practice in other countries in Africa.