Aqua-Spark closes $48m Africa aquaculture fund, targets $250m

Dutch impact investment firm Aqua-Spark has closed the first round of a new Africa-focused aquaculture fund at $48m, as part of a longer-term plan to deploy $250m across Sub-Saharan Africa over the next decade.

The open-ended fund, Aqua-Spark Africa, will invest across the aquaculture supply chain, including farming, feed, genetics, and cold storage, with a focus on building regional industry hubs.

LPs include KfW, Germany's state development bank, the European Union-funded Agriculture Financing Initiative, Gatsby Africa, and the Livelihood Impact Fund.

Ben Gimson, formerly of Gatsby Africa, a philantrophic organisation backed by Britain's Lord Sainsbury, will lead Aqua-Spark's new fund.

Aqua-Spark said Sub-Saharan Africa lacks basic aquaculture infrastructure despite having the natural resources and market demand to support a scaled industry. The region is home to the world's fastest-growing population and faces a widening protein gap, it said.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Utrecht, Aqua-Spark describes itself as the world's leading aquaculture-focused investment platform.

The firm currently has over €260m assets under management (AUM) across 27 investments, according to the firm's latest Impact Report.

It hasn't all been plain sailing, however. Aqua-Spark's AUM was cut in half last year following the collapse of the gem in its portfolio, Indonesian unicorn eFishery, after the startup was found to have falsified its books to deceive investors.