Practice Environmentally Friendly Aquaculture: Rio Fish ensures that aquaculture practices do not disrupt the natural ecosystem of Lake Victoria. Feed to the encaged fish is monitored according to environmental standards to ensure water quality in protecting the environment.

Protect Marine Resources: Rio Fish has advocated to protect the environment around Lake Victoria through building strong relationships with local government. Rio Fish’s negotiations with local government agencies led to the banning of car washing businesses around Lake Victoria to stop the drainage of waste into the lake. Rio Fish is currently negotiating with government agencies to reduce flows of industrial waste into Lake Victoria.

Strengthen Market Systems for Employment Generation: Aquaculture is an economic and employment generation strategy of the Lake Region Economic Bloc comprised of the five Kenyan counties around Lake Victoria. Rio Fish works to build and strengthen aquaculture market systems and connects fish farmers with consumers through the mobile Rio Fish app.

Aquaculture has been recognized as a valuable strategy for employment generation, regional development, and food security in Kenya. Populations of wild caught fish continue to decline, dwindling the national fish supply and increasing demand for fish. In this context, the Government of Kenya has prioritized the development of aquaculture to take advantage of aquatic resources in support of fish production.

Kenya is a regional and continental leader in the growth of aquaculture as the fourth largest producer of aquaculture in Africa. The Kenyan government’s promotion of aquaculture aligns with policy focus on the Blue Economy to promote the sustainable use and management of marine resources. From major inland water resources to an extensive coastline, Kenya is well positioned to expand the aquaculture industry to provide fish for the majority of the population. Fish supplies from aquaculture are a consistent source of high-nutrient food contributing to greater food security throughout Kenya and the East African region.

Within this policy climate and Kenya’s regional leadership on aquaculture, Rio Fish is a fast growing social enterprise working to further develop aquaculture market systems in Kisumu and around Kenya. Rio Fish operates fish farms on Lake Victoria, advocates for the environmental protection of the area, and is generating livelihood opportunities for communities around the lake.

A closer view of one of our fish cages in Lake Victoria. We are trying to explore potentials of aquaculture to drive rural economic development and contribute to food security.

#RioFish

We have developed a RioFish App that helps aquaculture farmers monitor their fish cages and connect them with feed salesmen who can supply the best feed for their farms. The system functions in three division – an app, a thermometer for the fish ponds or cages, and a website for the feed producer to process orders. Thanks to James Odede – LAKEHUB , Liquid Telecom Kenya and Ben Roberts for their technical supports.