NAIROBI, Kenya, April 6 – Aquaculture platform, Victory Farms, has successfully completed its USD35 million(Sh4.6 billion)Series B capital-raising drive to fund the expansion of its operations in Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The Series B funding includes the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), DOB Equity, Endeavor Catalyst Fund, and Hesabu Capital.
The company’s founders and angel investors, including Joseph Rehmann, Steve Moran, Kamran Ahmad, and Hans den Bieman also invested into the transaction.
According to the firm, the East African fish supply deficit is one of the greatest supply-demand imbalances in the global food system.
Regional governments estimate a supply gap of 1 million metric tons of fish per annum. The aquaculture industry supplies meet a mere 3 per cent of the deficit.
With the plans to scale operations, Victory Farms presents a solution to East Africa’s nutritional security challenge as it will expand access to a healthy and nutritious protein alternative for Africa’s mass consumer.
The company’s strong track record in Western Kenya demonstrates this suppressed demand potential: Fish consumption increased four-fold in the town of Rongo after supply had been made available.
Victory Farms expects its Series B financing to enable the company to produce 100 million high-quality protein meals for East Africans annually; create jobs; and further enable tens of thousands more small, female-led fish mongers at local markets.
“Participating to food and nutrition security is at the core of Creadev’s mission in Africa. We believe that Victory Farms has an instrumental role to play in meeting the demand potential for affordable quality protein meals and the potential to become a pan African champion of access to food for the many” said Pierre Fauvet, Managing Director Africa at Creadev.
