January 13, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

In September 2021, Dutch sustainable aquaculture and related tech investor Aqua-Spark released AquaInsights, An Introduction to Tilapia in Sub-Saharan Africa – an in-depth, 92-page report exploring the current geography and the potential for Tilapia farming in sub-Saharan Africa. 

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 for demand to climb 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. And, as the second-most fished species in the world, and due to its ability to easily scale, its healthy reputation, its sustainability, and its affordability, Aqua-Spark stated that it has identified tilapia as the fish of choice for the job.

This report explores, in detail, tilapia production in the region – turning a lens on all segments of the supply chain from feed and feed ingredients, genetics, hatcheries, fish health and disease risks, the technologies behind the operations, who are the producers, and marketing and distribution options in a competitive global protein space.

Aqua-Spark also examines the current investment landscape and the investment opportunities in the sector concluding, “At Aqua-Spark, we believe that in the short term around $300 million needs to be invested through equity, which will only cover the current capital requirements of the top 25 most-needed investments in our pipeline for aquaculture in sub-Saharan Africa. A significant amount of this total involves tilapia production and its upstream and downstream value chain. These initial investments will be the basis from which to develop and scale a regional industry.”

So it only makes sense that Aqua-Spark, together with NORFUND, the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries, have become cornerstone investors in Lake Harvest Group – one of the largest integrated aquaculture operations in sub-Saharan Africa, committing $7 million to the growth of the company.

Founded in 1997, Lake Harvest has been a long-standing leader in sub-Saharan Africa, with operations in three countries, and a sales and distribution presence in seven countries. Decades of experience, along with its own distribution network, locally embedded team, and processing plant, have positioned Lake Harvest for growth – a potential that is only strengthened by its mission to pursue the adoption of best practices, including education and training programs for staff, its sale of byproducts, antibiotic-free operations, and genetic improvements.

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 has launched a subsidiary fund focused on building out this needed infrastructure across the continent to act as a foundation for a thriving industry providing regional food security.

“We are very pleased to welcome Aqua-Spark as a new investor,” said James de la Fargue, CEO, Lake Harvest. “Their values and vision are aligned with the remaining shareholders. Aqua-Spark has a long-term investment approach towards sustainable aquaculture and, with its new fund, will focus on Africa in particular. We look forward to working with the Aqua-Spark team and benefitting from both their knowledge and their ecosystem of sustainable aquaculture companies.”

Aqua-Spark noted that together with its existing investments in Africa, and those still to come, Lake Harvest will serve as a key platform to help Aqua-Spark Africa reach its goals.

“We are excited to welcome Lake Harvest to our investment portfolio,” said Mike Velings and Amy Novogratz, co-founders and managing partners, Aqua-Spark. “Lake Harvest is a well-established brand for African tilapia with strong footholds in various countries across Eastern and Southern Africa. Aqua-Spark’s investment model is an ecosystem in which our investments contribute collectively towards a more sustainable and accessible aquaculture industry. We see ourselves as a committed partner and look forward to contributing to the future success of Lake Harvest and its people as well as the sustainable African aquaculture sector in general.”

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor 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 Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com. 

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