December 1, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Founded in 2018, Silverstrand Capital is a single family office based in Singapore with an impact mandate focused on addressing the biodiversity crisis through systemic investment solutions that advance regenerative food systems and accelerate wide scale restoration and conservation of natural ecosystems. 

The office initially invested in Aqua-Spark in 2020, drawn by the fund’s focus on investing in small-to-medium sized sustainable aquaculture businesses working toward the production of safe, accessible fish, shellfish, and plants through methods that do not harm our oceans.

“With its initial investment, Silverstrand Capital had already committed to a better future for responsible aquaculture and with this next round they are doubling down,” said Amy Novogratz and Mike Velings, co-founders, Aqua-Spark. “We are honored to work with them and to keep advancing a commercial aquaculture system that puts our planet and its population’s health first.”

Founded in the Netherlands in 2013, Aqua-Spark has grown to become an investment force with a mission to transform the global aquaculture value chain, and to ultimately make sustainability widespread and profitable.

This mission has attracted more than 300 investors from over 25 countries, creating a global community that has seen Aqua-Spark’s AUM grow to more than $450 million since its inception. With this latest investment and as a member of this community of experts, organization, institutions and portfolio companies, Silverstrand’s principal Kelvin Chiu will assume a set on Aqua-Spark’s advisory board with Patti Chu, Silverstrands’ head of impact joining the investment committee.

“As the global demand for protein continues to grow, our ocean’s health and marine biodiversity are increasingly under threat,” said Kelvin Chiu, founder and principal of Silverstrand Capital.

“Innovative solutions are needed to both feed the world and ease overfishing pressures on wild populations.”

As the recognized largest sustainable aquaculture fund in the world, Aqua-Spark’s portfolio comprises many notable companies. Two examples include:

eFishery – An Indonesian aquaculture tech startup that broke records this January when it closed on a $90 million Series C and became the largest aquaculture tech startup in the world. Founded in 2013 in Bandung by Gibran Huzaifah and Chrisna Aditya, eFishery is the first self-proclaimed ‘fishtech’ company in Indonesia. Aqua-Spark first invested in the company back in 2015 when it and Indonesian venture capital firm Ideosource committed undisclosed funding for a pre-Series A round, and returned in 2018 to participate in eFisheries $4 million Series A, before participating in the record-breaking Series C earlier this year. 

Calysta – An innovative biotech company that completed a $39 million Series D-1 in September 2021 in support of the global expansion of its natural, sustainable, and traceable feed ingredients for fish, livestock, and pets. 

As an animal protein industry, fish farming has been an operation in contradictions, with the environmental benefits of aquaculture largely being marginalized by the use of fish feed consisting of wild-caught fish, and other animal proteins. Likewise, protein demand for adequate feed to keep pace with a growing global livestock industry is a constant concern.

As an answer, Calysta has developed FeedKind™  – a sustainable single-cell protein that is produced using a proprietary, commercially viable gas fermentation process using non-GM microbes that have the ability to use methane as an energy source.

“With the global population having passed 8 billion people, smarter and more efficient methods for growing nutrient-rich food are needed,” said Novogratz and Velings.

“Fish supply 17 percent of the world’s protein, and by 2030 the planet is expected to eat nearly 20 percent more fish,” they continued. “With our ocean approaching the brink of species collapse, this increase must come from sustainable sources: namely aquaculture.”

Chiu added, “Aqua-Spark is a leader in sustainable aquaculture with a proven track record. Amy and Mike lead a strong team with deep expertise and are transforming their vision of a better food system into reality. Silverstrand is very much aligned with their values and mission and proud to be long-term partners of Aqua-Spark.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

*The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.