Background:

The First Financing and Investment Session was held during the Africa’s inaugural AFRAQ Conference in Alexandria, Egypt in March 2022. To continue the dialogue towards tangible results, the 2^nd Finance and Investment Session was held during AFRAQ23 in Zambia which built from on the discussions and set forth a roadmap. The 3^rd Financing and Investment Session has been organized during AFRAQ24 to continue the discussions and to look specifically into innovative Approaches to Financing Aquaculture Development in Africa.

The potential of aquaculture development for Africa’s economic growth is well recognized and supported with a considerable “blue food” demand that is consistently unmet by capture fisheries. A great deal of projects both globally and in Africa, have been financed with mixed results. The private sector, development finance institutions and governments are increasingly interested in investing in aquaculture value chains in Africa. Global investment companies are exploring opportunities and innovative approaches to further support aquaculture businesses in Africa, including those that are not yet of direct commercial interest to the commercial companies. A coordinated, strategic and innovative approach to financing and investment is needed to ensure that national, regional and continental policies, strategies and aspirations are met and that initial investments are used to catalyze additional financing to fully realise aquaculture value chains in a viable and sustainable manner.

The First Financing and Investment Session held during the 2022 AFRAQ Conference, successfully convened a wide range of stakeholders to share experiences and identify some of the priority actions. These ranged from improving coherency in the national and regional policy environment, to promoting innovative investment models, and leveraging existing financial instruments to support the small-scale entrepreneurs in Africa, to establishing a pan-African mechanism for collecting and sharing information on aquaculture issues and investment opportunities.

This session catalysed the convening of a small informal multi-stakeholder group of interested organizations and investors that collaborated since the first AFRAQ event to share knowledge and to try to identify ways to support aquaculture businesses through increased investments into sustainable aquaculture within the region. The 2^nd Finance and Investment Session during AFRAQ23 built from these discussions and set forth a roadmap. The 3^rd Finance and Investment Session is now being held at AFRAQ24 to take the conversations further and showcase some of the innovative approaches to financing small scale aquaculture.

Objectives & Intended Outcome:

The overall goal of this session is to serve as a platform to share information, lessons and best practices on financing and investment for development of aquaculture on the continent. The objectives of the session are to:

1. Showcase innovative approaches to financing small-scale aquaculture in Africa
2. Engage and consult with the sector on current experiences and proposed models for supporting aquaculture business development to attract finance and investment in the industry,
3. Receive feedback and energise the sector towards taking coordinated action, and
4. Agree on next steps to AFRAQ25.

The Third Financing and Investment session at AFRAQ24 will seek to further the ongoing innovative mechanisms in which respective stakeholders can engage with and support industry development over the medium - long term.