Mvuvi Group, Lake Cahora Bassa, Mozambique.
Photo: Aqua-Spark.
The development of a framework for a sustainable aquaculture industry across Sub-Saharan Africa is now one step closer after the Netherlands-based investment platform Aqua-Spark announced today the official first close of the new Aqua-Spark Africa fund at USD 48 million.
In its announcement, Aqua-Spark said this is the first phase in a long-term commitment to continue growing Aqua-Spark Africa, an open-ended fund, eventually deploying USD 250 million across the region over the next decade.
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the world's fastest-growing population and faces a growing protein gap. Faced with this challenge, as highlighted in Aqua-Spark's announcement, when developed sustainably, aquaculture offers a powerful way to increase affordable local food production, improve nutrition, create jobs and livelihoods, and strengthen climate resilience.
However, unlike more mature aquaculture regions, much of Sub-Saharan Africa lacks the supporting infrastructure necessary for large-scale industry growth, including hatcheries, aquafeed supply chains, cold storage, financing ecosystems, and technical expertise.
Aqua-Spark Africa was created specifically to address this situation. This was explained by its director, Ben Gimson, formerly of Gatsby Africa and appointed last September, bringing extensive experience in investments in African aquaculture and other local industrial ecosystems across the continent.
"Africa represents one of the most compelling aquaculture growth opportunities in the world," he said. "The continent has the natural resources, entrepreneurial talent, and market demand to build a thriving, sustainable aquaculture sector," the Lead of Aqua-Spark Africa continued.
"What's been missing is coordinated infrastructure and catalytic capital. Aqua-Spark Africa is designed to provide exactly that, investing not just in individual companies, but in the foundations of an industry, and with a long-term mindset," Ben Gimson added.
Ben Gimson, Lead Aqua-Spark Africa.
Photo: Aqua-Spark.
Structured, as mentioned, as an open-ended fund and based on Aqua-Spark's global strategy—consisting of creating an ecosystem of aquaculture companies, as its Co-Founder Amy Novogratz explained to WeAreAquaculture—Aqua-Spark Africa will invest across the entire aquaculture value chain, from production and feed to genetics, technology, and distribution, with a particular focus on developing farming hubs designed to stimulate local industry formation.
"Over the past decade, aquaculture has evolved rapidly, advancing in technology, data, and sustainable practices, providing the knowledge and tools needed to help ignite a thriving aquaculture industry across Africa," said Mike Velings, Co-Founder and CEO of Aqua-Spark. "Today, with more than a decade of experience, deep portfolio learnings, and a global network of operators and partners, we are uniquely positioned to help build the ecosystem Africa needs," he added.
The fund launches with cornerstone co-investors that include KfW, Germany's leading development bank and the fund's first contributor; EDFI Management Company, manager of the Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFi) funded by the European Union; Gatsby Africa, which invests in and supports the development of high-potential sectors in East Africa; and the Livelihood Impact Fund (LIF), which seeks to meaningfully and durably improve the lives of the global poor.
"Sustainable aquaculture has the potential to strengthen food security, create jobs, and reduce pressure on wild fisheries. Aqua Spark takes a long-term, sustainable approach that is closely aligned with our impact goals," said Stephanie Lindemann-Kohrs, Director at KfW, explaining the motivation to participate in the fund.
The close of Aqua-Spark's subsidiary fund for the African continent was scheduled for early 2024, but the investment firm had to delay it after the implosion of Indonesian aquaculture tech startup eFishery forced it to reduce its asset valuation for that year by almost half. However, now that this first phase has been closed, the platform is ready to "continue to welcome additional aligned investors seeking to build a sustainable aquaculture industry across Africa."
