November 27, 2023

photo credit: Aquarech

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

By 2050 the population of the Sub-Saharan region is expected to double from 1 to 2 billion people. This explosive increase will lead to fish demand that dwarfs what we see today – with forecasts of demand increasing from 10 million metric tons per year today to between 16-29 million metric tons per year by 2050.

This demand pressure will never be able to be met, or even substantially alleviated, through wild-catch fishing due to overexploitation, leaving aquaculture to fill the impending void in supply. 

However, in Kenya, local farmers often lack the necessary resources and high-quality feed to succeed. Aquarech, the country’s first fish farming platform, has a mission to help increase production, improve small-scale farming economics, and promote the overall growth of the aquaculture industry in the country by providing support from all angles: by providing quality feed and climate smart fish feed techniques, market access, technical training, and financial access, including a 90-day credit period to pay for feed. 

Founded in 2019 and led by Kisumu-based founder and CEO Dave Okech, along with co-founders James Odede and Joseph Okoth, Aquarech is filling the gap in the domestic supply chain by streamlining the production methods behind fish farming with a mobile app platform that allows manufacturers, farmers, and buyers to trade, buy, and sell quality fish feed, as well as learn best aquaculture practices as a means of improving their income. 

“The proverb says, ‘If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime,’ and that’s what we’ve set out to do, starting by improving the aquaculture value chain,” said Dave Okech, founder and CEO, Aquarech. 

To fund this mission, the startup announced it has successfully raised $1.7 million led by Netherlands-based global aquaculture investment fund Aqua-Spark with additional participation from Acumen, Katapult, and Mercy Corps Ventures. 

In East Africa, fish are a crucial source of protein for its growing population. And as the need to bridge the gap between supply and demand widens, the region’s warm optimal climate and abundance of water resources make it an ideal location for aquaculture to take hold and grow. 

As the population rapidly grows, so does the rate of fish consumption, which is expected to climb from 200-300kt in the next five years. Having established that there is a serious gap in supply, the fish supply deficit in East Africa of 1 million tons per year represents one of the largest imbalances in the current global food system today. And with a feed conversion rate that is five times lower than that of beef, the environmental and economic benefits of aquaculture make it an ideal protein source for the region.

Kenya is the third largest economy in Africa with a rapidly growing population, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that has a diverse and fertile landscape and optimal conditions for farming and aquaculture. Supporting the industry is the recognition of its value as an agile and productive protein supply source, with governmental subsidy programs to support local farmers. However, these same farmers still face substantial hurdles in scaling their business.  

With this capital, the company stated it will hire talent, acquire more feed, and establish the  infrastructure to support more vertical integration of their technology – all things that will be necessary to meet Kenya’s growing need for fish as a healthy, affordable protein source.  

“The funding and partnership provided by our investors will promote the growth of our mobile-enabled platform, which is unlocking barriers faced by smallholder fish farmers and bringing the various value chain actors together while remaining farmer-centric,” said Okech. 

Noting that the current lack of infrastructure makes Sub-Sahara African aquaculture a different risk profile for the investors in its main fund, Aqua-Spark launched its $300 million Aqua-Spark Africa Fund in 2021 with a focus on building out this needed infrastructure across the continent to act as a foundation for a thriving industry providing regional food security. However, it was not noted whether this investment was made from this fund. 

“Aquarech is committed to improving local livelihoods by supporting smallholder to medium farmers to become commercially and environmentally sustainable” says Christiaan Lensvelt, head of new deals, Aqua-Spark. “We look forward to supporting Dave and his team in achieving great things for the industry as one of the few aquaculture start-ups in Africa with a unique combination of field experience and digital tools.”

~ 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.

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