INTERVIEW WITH AWARD WINNING CEO

Mr Dave Okech Okech , the Founder & CEO of AquaRech LTD , started Aquarech as a platform that offers a bundled service solution to small and medium-sized fish farmers to access top-quality feeds, the market for their fish produce, credit finance and climate-smart fish farm management tools.?

As he sits down to start the interview, he enthusiastically tells us about the “Aquarech App”, which has an inbuilt e-commerce platform that farmers use to buy top feeds at the comfort of their phones, providing cold chain facilities for fish aggregation, giving farmers immediate market access and flexible payment solutions.?

Q. How did you prepare for Nutreco Feed and Food Tech Challenge 2022???

A. My preparation for the Nutreco Feed and Food Tech Challenge 2022 involved several pitching sessions and business case development. Nutreco Feed and Food Tech Challenge was vital because we needed a strategic partner for our growth. Our growth depends on a functioning Aquaculture Value chain, of which Fish Feed is one of the most crucial. We found Nutreco fitting well within our business platform, so it was more about explaining the business case that could arise from the partnership.??

Q. How has your journey with GrowthAfrica been???

A. I joined GrowthAfrica in 2012/13 as my first-ever accelerator programme. I joined the programme with my first-ever start-up, called Sare Millers. I used to manufacture quality and affordable livestock feeds for small-scale farmers. GrowthAfrica took me through many lessons that made me look at my business from a different angle that I did not think of before. It opened my eyes, and with the lessons learnt, I formed Aquarech Ltd. I enjoyed every interaction I had with the GrowthAfrica team.??

Q. What are the key takeout from the accelerator programme, and what are you still incorporating???

A. GrowthAfrica gave me excellent business skills that I have used to run many businesses.? Aquarech is my 3rd business. I learnt a lot about fundraising, developing a value proposition, and, more so, creating a company that has a human-centred design approach. These are very critical business skills that entrepreneurs need to grow. Not only did I learn, but I also incorporated these skills into the day-to-day running of my business.? Over and above the learnings, I have received a lot of mentorship and support from the GrowthAfrica team led by Patricia Jumi and Johnni Kjelsgaard ! They have been great mentors in my business ventures.???

Q. What was the thing that set you apart from other entrepreneurs who applied for the challenge???

A. We had three principal areas that made us stand out:??

• Value chain approach to business. Our platform works with the various value chain actors in the fish aquaculture sector that present a strong value proposition to Nutreco.??
• Providing a Blue Ocean approach to the Aquaculture Sector. We have a platform that allows, Nutreco, through their feed company Skretting, to reach many smallholder fish farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa through our last-mile delivery system.?
• Climate Smart Technology: our platform integrates with water temperature, enabling farmers to practise climate smart aquaculture, which is critical for building smallholder farmer resilience to climatic conditions.??

Q. What role does storytelling play in building your brand???

A. While I was pitching at the Nutreco event, highlighting the fact that I developed the innovation out of my fish farming experience, the audience understood that I resonated well with the target market and that this was not a boardroom idea but that based on the actual challenges I faced alongside other fellow farmers the innovation was conceived.?

Telling your story makes it easy for your investors to understand where you are coming from and going to. It is important to always note that investors are people; like any human being, they need to connect the emotional side of the business. This comes from telling your story. It creates Authenticity!??

Q. What next for AquaRech post this win???

A. We are raising $3m in Seed funding and expect to close this round in Q1 2023. These funds will enable us to hire the critical team needed to grow the company to the next level, set up the necessary infrastructure for vertical integration of our technology, roll out the credit solution to hundreds of our farmers, have more feed on the platform and build our technology further. Our partnership with Nutreco provides strategic support towards input supply on the platform and continued validation of our technology.??

Q. What 3 tips would you give entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses and hopefully secure investors???

A. Always seek legal advice at the initial stage for all the early partners you bring on board. Secondly, work on the customer pain points because it’s the reason why they will associate with your products or services. And finally, be adaptable: There is nothing wrong with accepting the failure of a certain product or service in the market and redirecting the company to a different route all together.??