Aquarech, a Kenyan fish farming startup, has successfully secured $1.7 million in equity funding to enhance the prospects of small-scale fish farmers in Kenya through its innovative mobile app platform. Established in 2019, the company is spearheaded by founder and CEO Dave Okech, based in Kisumu, and co-founded by James Odede and Joseph Okoth. Aquarech’s primary objective is to streamline fish farming production by leveraging its mobile app platform. This platform facilitates the seamless trading, buying, and selling of quality fish feed, while also serving as an educational resource for aquaculture best practices, aimed at improving the financial outcomes of farmers.

Small-scale farmers in the region often grapple with limited resources and struggle to access high-quality feed. Aquarech aims to address these challenges by boosting production, enhancing the economic prospects of small-scale farmers, and fostering overall growth in Kenya’s aquaculture industry. The startup adopts a holistic approach, supporting farmers with quality feed, climate-smart precision fish feeding techniques, market access, technical training, and financial assistance, including a 90-day credit period for feed payments.

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In its latest funding round, Aquarech successfully raised $1.7 million in equity funding. This capital infusion will be utilized to recruit skilled talent, procure additional feed, and establish infrastructure to facilitate greater vertical integration of its technology. The investment was led by Aqua-Spark, a global aquaculture investment fund based in the Netherlands, with contributions from Acumen, Katapult, and Mercy Corps Ventures.

Dave Okech expressed the startup’s commitment to empowering farmers by quoting the proverb, “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.” He emphasized the goal of improving the aquaculture value chain, and the funding and partnerships with investors are pivotal in advancing Aquarech’s mobile-enabled platform. This platform aims to overcome barriers faced by smallholder fish farmers, fostering collaboration among various value chain actors while prioritizing the needs of the farmers.

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Christiaan Lensvelt, the head of new deals at Aqua-Spark, commended Aquarech’s dedication to enhancing local livelihoods by supporting small to medium farmers in achieving commercial and environmental sustainability. Lensvelt expressed enthusiasm about supporting Aquarech’s team in their endeavors, highlighting the company as one of the few aquaculture startups in Africa with a distinctive blend of field experience and digital tools.

Aquarech fish farming Aquarech fish farming

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. 
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard