Kenyan fish farming startup, Aquarech, has secured $1.7 million in equity funding to empower small-scale fish farmers in Kenya with its innovative mobile app platform.
Founded in 2019 by CEO Dave Okech alongside co-founders James Odede and Joseph Okoth. Aquarech streamlines fish farming by utilizing its mobile app, enabling effortless trading, purchasing, and selling quality fish feed. The platform also serves as an educational hub for aquaculture best practices, ultimately aiming to enhance the financial prospects of farmers.
CEO Dave Okech said, “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.” The funding and partnerships with investors will play a pivotal role in advancing Aquarech’s mobile-enabled platform which aims to address challenges faced by smallholder fish farmers while promoting collaboration among various stakeholders within the value chain, all while keeping the farmers’ needs at the forefront.
Aquarech aims to increase production, improve small-scale farmer economics, and promote the overall growth of the aquaculture industry in Kenya. To achieve this, Aquarech supports small-scale farmers from all angles – by providing quality feed and climate smart precision fish feeding techniques, market access, technical training and financial access, including a 90-day credit period to pay for feed.
This funding will be allocated towards talent acquisition, acquiring additional resources, and developing infrastructure to support greater vertical integration of its technology. Leading this investment is Aqua-Spark, a global aquaculture investment fund headquartered in the Netherlands, with contributions from Acumen, Katapult, and Mercy Corps Ventures.
According to Christiaan Lensvelt, head of new deals at Aqua-Spark, Aquarech was committed to improving local livelihoods by supporting smallholder to medium farmers to become commercially and environmentally sustainable.
“We look forward to supporting Dave and his team in achieving great things for the industry as one of the few aquaculture startups in Africa with a unique combination of field experience and digital tools,” he said.
