Victory Farms, an aquaculture company based in Kenya, has secured $35 million in a Series B funding round to facilitate its expansion plans across Kenya and Rwanda. The company is also exploring potential opportunities to enter new markets in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Leading the Series B round was Creadev, a global venture capital and growth equity investor controlled by the Mulliez Family. Other investors who participated in the funding round include Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), DOB Equity, Endeavor Catalyst Fund, and Hesabu Capital. Also, the company’s founders and angel investors, such as Joseph Rehmann, Steve Moran, Kamran Ahmad, and Hans den Bieman.
Victory Farms was established in 2015 by Joseph Rehmann and Steve Moran, and has since become the fastest-growing tilapia platform in East Africa, operating over 80 branches and serving tens of thousands of customers daily.
Recently, the company expanded its operations to Rwanda with the launch of Kivu Choice in Kigali. According to Rehmann, Victory Farms is on course to produce 10,000 tonnes in 2023.
With the increasing population in East Africa, there is a growing need for sustainable and efficient protein production to address food insecurity and conserve natural resources.
The Series B funding will allow Victory Farms to expand its sustainable protein production platform and widen its reach in the region, bringing its mission to fruition of creating the world’s most sustainable end-to-end protein platform.
Tom Rostand, the Investment Director for Africa at Creadev, expressed his delight in supporting Victory Farms, “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”.
Later this year, Victory Farms is set to launch its joint venture aqua-feed mill, Samakgro, which will facilitate the local procurement of 35,000 metric tons of feed ingredients annually. Furthermore, the company is constructing a feed mill in Naivasha that will run entirely on renewable energy, and is expected to create over 40,000 jobs in the regional agriculture sector.
