Aqua-Spark is the world’s leading sustainable aquaculture investment fund with over EUR 500 million of assets under management and 28 investments across the globe. Our impact focus combined with our patient capital structure has allowed us to play a significant role in stewarding the development of the blue economy and in catalyzing much needed investment.
Africa has always been a core component of our investment focus, and to date we have successfully completed three investments in farming operations across the continent and are currently in the final stage of closing a fourth landmark transaction in the aqua-tech space. These investments will now serve as the corner stone for our soon to be launched Aqua-Spark Africa – the world’s first Africa-specific sustainable aquaculture fund.
The specific challenges that we collectively face on the continent are well known. At the forefront of our minds is the growing population, which will double from 1.3Bn in 2020 to 2.5Bn by 2050 according to the IMF and double again to 4.3Bn by the end of the century according to the AFDB. Equally critical, is the fact that many will be entering prime employment age and will be seeking honorable livelihoods.
This comes hand in hand with chronic undernourishment, which affects one out of every four Africans. This is a function of two factors.First is low incomes per capita, which means that households must spend around forty percent of income on sustenance which is a grossly outsized portion. The second is the low access to quality proteins, with African’s consuming on average c. 13 grams of non-plant proteins per day, which is 40% of the global average, and 20% of developed regions such as the EU.
At Aqua-Spark we believe that the flipside of these vast challenges are equally rewarding opportunities that can be unlocked by the blue revolution and investments that are tailored to deliver impact and to create showcase and beacon investments that will catalyze much needed capital and interest in this vital sector.
In recognition of these unique challenges, and to enable us to tap into significant public funds that are dedicated for the continent we are in advanced stages of launching Aqua-Spark Africa which will be fully dedicated to delivering impact in Sub Saharan Africa. By the end of the decade, we aim to have grown our portfolio to around thirty-five companies and to have deployed close to three hundred million dollars in investments and follow-ons.
In addition to leveraging Aqua-Spark’s deep experience in this sector, we will be complementing our investment fund with grant-based support provided by the Aqua-Spark Foundation. The foundation has already established, with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, a technical assistance facility aimed at empowering our portfolio companies to generate broader industry impacts, such as the development of outgrower programs and the piloting of innovative technologies.
We look forward to discussing our vision with esteemed AFRAQ members in Lusaka.