A market trader receives a delivery of tilapia from Victory Farms.
Photo: AgDevCo / Victory Group
Victory Group has secured a $15 million follow-on investment from specialist African agriculture investor AgDevCo, as the East African aquaculture company looks to expand production and distribution of Nile tilapia in Kenya and Rwanda.
According to the companies, the financing will support Victory Group’s next phase of growth, including the development of multiple new farming sites in both countries. AgDevCo said its mezzanine loan will help the company respond to increasing regional demand for tilapia, and improve the reliability of supply for market traders.
Victory Group farms tilapia on Lake Victoria in Kenya under the Victory Farms brand, and on Lake Kivu in Rwanda as Kivu Choice. The company sells fresh fish through more than 100 sales outlets to thousands of "mama samakis", or female market traders, and said it expects to produce 30,000 tonnes of fish in 2026.
According to AgDevCo, in addition to further developing Victory Group's businesses in Kenya and Rwanda, the investment will also enable the 2015-founded company to advance early‑stage establishment in Tanzania.
Joseph Rehmann, founder and chief executive of Victory Group, said the company's aim is to build "a leading aquaculture business that supplies nutritious protein at scale, while creating opportunities for the traders and communities that depend on our value chain."
"AgDevCo’s investment will help us expand production and strengthen distribution as demand for affordable, high-quality fish continues to grow across East Africa,” Rehmann said.
The investment follows an initial investment of $4 million from AgDevCo in 2021, following which, AgDevCo said, Victory Group has significantly increased production and improved operational efficiency. The company also previously secured $35 million through a Series B funding round in 2023.