A public-private partnership converting government-held grain into fortified Super Cereal for 5,000 primary school learners — designed to prove the model works.
School enrolment in Choma has risen sharply under Free Education — but attendance remains constrained by hunger and micronutrient deficiency. In 2026, three factors converge that won't align again soon.
Iron-deficiency anaemia, zinc deficiency, and Vitamin A insufficiency impair cognitive development and drive dropout rates among school-age children in Southern Province. National nutrition surveillance stops tracking after age five — so the scale of the problem in schools is largely unmeasured.
Zambia co-hosts the Global Child Nutrition Forum in Lusaka, November 2026 — up to 400 representatives from 80 countries. Zambia has the opportunity to present a functioning district model on home ground. Hosting rotates — this window is unlikely to come around again.
The national Home-Grown School Meals programme targets 5.6 million children across 106 districts — but there is no locally-owned, cost-verified, digitally-audited model to replicate at scale. Choma is being built to be that model.
With Zambia's IMF Extended Credit Facility concluded in January 2026, there is a window to demonstrate innovative debt-neutral financing before a successor arrangement is negotiated. Every mechanism in the CCSMP is designed for this constraint.
A toll-processing supply chain that converts government commodity into a verified school nutrition service. Every bag is tracked from factory to learner.
The Food Reserve Agency releases raw maize and soya to Choma District Administration under a formal transfer agreement with documented valuation.
GovernmentYumi Milling Ltd receives commodities and performs turnkey processing: cleaning, dehulling, HTST extrusion, WFP IS937 vitamin premix fortification, and ZABS-compliant packaging. This is a service contract, not a commodity tender.
Private SectorEach finished bag is QR-coded at the factory and entered into the digital traceability system. Offline-capable, built for rural school infrastructure.
DigitalFortified Super Cereal is transported from the factory to 15–20 participating primary schools across Choma District.
LogisticsSchool focal points independently scan QR codes on receipt. The system automatically reconciles against dispatch waybills. Any unconfirmed delivery triggers an exception within 24 hours.
DigitalA digital dashboard aggregates QR scan data, flags stock-outs and reconciliation failures, and produces weekly reports for DNCC review.
DigitalThe system is designed so that it checks itself at every step. An external verifier's job becomes confirming the system works — not re-measuring every transaction from scratch.
The QR handshake system provides automated, census-based, continuous tracking. Every bag tracked from factory to school. Dispatch and receipt are reconciled automatically, exceptions flagged within 24 hours.
Physical verification through scheduled and unannounced school visits, stock card spot-checks, delivery note verification, and exception follow-up.
Independent data quality verification and pre/post attendance analysis. A signed attestation that the traceability data is reliable — the foundation of the GCNF evidence package.
Phase 1 produces the evidence. Phase 2 structures it into investable instruments. Every financing mechanism is designed for Zambia's post-ECF fiscal reality.
Execute Phase 1. Collect census-based delivery data, attendance signals, and system integrity evidence. Compile GCNF evidence package by 30 September.
MoFNP legal opinion on Human Capital Bond. Engage outcome funders. Negotiate independent outcome verifier. Draft bond term sheet.
Cabinet Memo for FISP ring-fencing. IMF confirmation. ZPPA framework agreement for scaled procurement.
Scale processing capacity. Train 350+ school focal points. Launch Phase 2 universal district rollout at Term 1, 2027.
Nothing is locked. Every partner joins with full visibility from the start — this is vision stage, and we think that's a strength, not a caveat.
District and provincial institutions providing the mandate, coordination, and public authority that makes this programme legitimate and scalable.
Partners who can help structure, fund, or facilitate the bridge financing and outcome-based instruments that take this from pilot to district-wide coverage.
Researchers who can independently verify data quality, analyse attendance outcomes, and contribute to a publishable evidence base on school-age nutrition in Zambia.
Whether you represent a government institution, development partner, investor, or research body — we'd welcome the chance to talk.