June 10, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Indonesian aquaculture tech startup eFishery broke records in 2022 when it successfully closed on a $90 million Series C to become the world’s largest aquaculture tech startup in the world. 

Continuing the momentum, the company has now announced it has secured $30 million in operating capital from HSBC Indonesia through a Green and Social Loan to increase access to markets for small-scale farmers. 

Founded in 2013 in Bandung by Gibran Huzaifah and Chrisna Aditya, eFishery is the first self-proclaimed ‘fishtech’ company in Indonesia. The company’s goal has been to revolutionize traditional farming methods and provide advanced solutions that improve outcomes for fish and shrimp farmers through an end-to-end platform that gives farmers access to: technology, feed, financing, and markets.

As the largest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia is the second largest fish producer after China. In 2022, fisheries and the fishing industry are estimated to have contributed about 2.6 percent of the country’s total GDP. 

However, the majority of Indonesia’s domestic fish consumption is fueled by small-scale fisheries, not the fishing industry which produces the bulk of the country’s exports. Constituting 90 percent of all fishermen in Indonesia, these fishermen play a critical role in the country’s economy.

With an ultimate goal of building an aquaculture ecosystem in Indonesia that is both profitable and sustainable, the company has three core goals:

~ Solving food challenges through aquaculture.

~  Addressing fundamental problems in the industry by providing affordable technology.

~ And reducing social and economic inequality through an inclusive digital economy. 

“We are proud to be able to support eFishery in developing its business to reach more small-scale farmers throughout Indonesia,” said Riko Tasmaya, managing director head of wholesale banking, PT Bank HSBC. 

“This is part of our ambition to support the growth of the new platform-based economic sector in Indonesia, while also supporting the aquaculture sector in Indonesia to implement sustainable practices throughout its supply chain.” 

Through its work, eFishery is revolutionizing traditional pond cultivation methods by providing cutting-edge solutions through a comprehensive platform that gives farmers access to technology, competitive feed, financing, and markets. 

With the company’s eFeeder platform, fish farmers can set feeding schedules, receive feeding recommendation, and record feeding data using their mobile phone. It also supports farmers in the adoption of more sustainable practices that improve water quality by reducing contamination and waste from inefficient feeding cycles, optimizing inputs, and improving feed distribution.

With this new capital influx, eFishery will be able to expand their eFeeder fleet – eFishery’s AI-driven, automated feeding device that will be leased to hundreds of thousands of small-scale fish farmers in their network. 

By integrating the eFeeder into their operations, fish farmers can increase feed efficiency by up to 30 percent and production capacity by up to 25 percent. In return, they will have wider access to markets for their products, which are expected to bring higher returns due to the weight of the fish being more evenly distributed. 

“The Green and Social Loan from HSBC Indonesia, this is an important step in our mission to revolutionize the aquaculture industry in Indonesia,” said Gibran Huzaifah, co-founder and CEO, eFishery. “This funding will enable us to expand our eFeeder fleet and empower small-scale fish farmers and shrimp farmers with the technology and resources they need, to be more productive and sustainable. We are confident that this partnership with HSBC will help us achieve our growth ambitions and build a thriving aquaculture sector in Indonesia.”

~ 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. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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