Victory Farms raises $35 million to expand in the whole East Africa

East African tilapia producer Victory Farms has successfully completed a $35 million Series B round, which will fund the expansion of its operations in Kenya and Rwanda, as well as potential entry into Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania.

Victory Farms provides a climate-smart, profitable, and scalable solution to Africa’s nutritional security challenges. The Series B round was led by Creadev, a global VC and growth equity evergreen investor controlled by the Mulliez Family.

Investors include 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.

The East African fish supply deficit is one of the greatest supply-demand imbalances in the global food system today. Regional governments estimate a supply gap of 1 million tonnes of fish per annum. The aquaculture industry supplies meet a mere 3 percent of the deficit. Victory Farms presents a scalable solution to East Africa’s nutritional security challenge.

Tilapia is the most environmentally and financially efficient protein solution for Africa. For example, tilapia’s feed conversion ratio (FCR), a metric for production efficiency is five times lower than beef. Investment in sustainable African aquaculture can therefore help reduce reliance on imports and provide food for millions of people while supporting local agriculture industry.

According to the company, its "regional growth 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".

The Series B financing enables production of 100-million high-quality protein meals for East Africans annually; will create thousands more direct, stable employment opportunities; and further enable tens of thousands more small, female-led fish mongers at local markets, often known as mama samakis.

“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.

“We are delighted to support Victory Farms, the largest end-to-end white protein solution in Kenya and a key driver of climate-smart growth in the food sector across the region,” added Tom Rostand, investment director Africa at Creadev.

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