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Kivu Choice Fish Farm breaks ground for factory site 

Kivu Choice, a Rwandan fish farm company, has broken ground for the construction of its factory aimed at producing 20,000 tonnes annually as part of its development strategy and expansion to new markets from neighbouring countries. 

Headquartered on Rwandan side of Lake Kivu, in the Huye district, Kivu Choice is a sister company for Kenya’s Victory Farms. It is strategizing to secure its position not only as the biggest supplier of farmed tilapia, but also as the leader of fish production for the sub-Saharan region. 

Kamran Heinrich Ahmad, the company’s founder and chief executive, says the ground-breaking was a result of the culmination of two and half years of planning and preparation. 

“When fully built out by end-of-year, this site will enable the production of over 50 million fish meals a year,” said Ahmad.

Kivu Choice Rwanda and Victory Farms Kenya completed their Series B fundraising round for US$35 million in April 2023, constituting the largest ever investment in Africa’s aquaculture industry. The fund will support the expansion of the group’s operations in Rwanda and Kenya, and potential entries into Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania.

An Aerial view of Kivu Choice fish farm site located on Lake Kivu in Huye distriict, Western Rwanda.

The round was led by Creadev, with investors including the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), DOB Equity, Endeavour Catalyst Fund, and Hesabu Capital. 

The companies’ founders and angel investors – including Joseph Rehmann, Steve Moran, Kamran Ahmad, and Hans den Bieman – also invested into the transaction.

Last month, Kivu Choice also launched its state-of-the-art incubation facility with a total production capacity of over 100 million fingerlings per year.

Kamran notes that the infrastructure poises for explosive growth in the coming years and will take the company one step closer to affordable protein access for Rwanda and the region at large.

Under its 30-year lease agreement with the Government of Rwanda, Kivu Choice will be supplying 1.2 million fingerlings a year to smallholder farmers to help the wider industry grow.  

This article is part of the Genetics Week