Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the world’s fastest-growing population and faces a widening protein gap. When developed sustainably, aquaculture offers a powerful pathway to increase affordable local food production, improve nutrition, create jobs and livelihoods and strengthen climate resilience.
The fund closing marks a major step toward building the framework for a sustainable aquaculture industry across Sub-Saharan Africa. Aqua-Spark Africa will be led by Ben Gimson, formerly of Gatsby Africa, who brings deep experience investing in African aquaculture and other local industry ecosystems across the continent. It is the first phase in a long-term commitment to continue growing Aqua-Spark Africa, eventually aiming to deploy USD 250 million across the region over the next decade.
“Africa represents one of the most compelling aquaculture growth opportunities in the world,” said Gimson in a press release. “The continent has the natural resources, entrepreneurial talent, and market demand to build a thriving, sustainable aquaculture sector. 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.”
Unlike more mature aquaculture regions, much of Sub-Saharan Africa lacks the supporting infrastructure required for scaled industry growth, including hatcheries, feed supply chains, cold storage, financing ecosystems and technical expertise. Aqua-Spark Africa was established specifically to address this.
Structured as an open-ended fund and modelled on Aqua-Spark’s global strategy, Aqua-Spark Africa will invest across the entire aquaculture value chain, from farming 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.”
The fund launches with cornerstone co-investors that include KfW, Germany’s leading development bank; EDFI Management Company, manager of the Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFi) funded by the European Union; Gatsby Africa and the Livelihood Impact Fund (LIF).
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