Babban Gona is a high-impact, financially sustainable and highly scalable agricultural social enterprise that is part-owned by the farmers we serve. In recognition of the impact it has achieved thus far, it is the first for-profit social enterprise in history and the first Nigerian organisation to receive the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. The Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship is considered the equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize in the Social Entrepreneurship industry.
We developed and grew the agricultural franchise model in partnership with our Board Chairman, His Highness, Muhammad Sanusi II (Emir of Kano), Nestle, DfID, AGRA, BMGF, Skoll, GIZ, USAID and Rockefeller Foundation amongst others. We franchise thousands of mini farmer maize and rice cooperatives across Northern Nigeria using an innovative and internationally recognized agricultural franchise model. Through these franchises, Babban Gona has cost-effectively provided high-quality inputs, credit, training and development, and marketing services to over 39,000 smallholder farmers, enabling them to double their yields and increase their net incomes 2.8 to 3.5 times greater than the average farmer, while maintaining 99.9% loan repayment rate.
