Aquaculture and Economic Transformation in the Lake Region – A Scalable Model for Africa

Ohala Kenya’s work in Kenya’s Lake Victoria Region serves as both a strategic focus and a proving ground for new ideas on Africa’s development. We see the Lake Region not as a remote periphery, but as a microcosm of the African story—rich in potential, constrained by outdated systems, and ready for renewal.

Aquaculture, in particular, presents a powerful opportunity to drive food security, rural enterprise, and inclusive economic growth—not just in Kenya, but across Africa. Through a coordinated set of interventions, Ohala Kenya is helping to unlock this potential, while developing scalable models of transformation that can inform similar efforts continent-wide.

OUR INTERVENTIONS

1. LVA ASSOCIATION
In 2023, Ohala Kenya initiated and incubated the Lake Victoria Aquaculture (LVA) Association, now the leading industry platform for private sector coordination, policy advocacy, and collective action in Kenya’s aquaculture ecosystem. The Association has Brought together fish farmers, processors, input suppliers, and researchers into one unified voice. In the short time, it has successfully challenged harmful regulatory proposals and advocated for policy reforms.

2. LVA SACCO
To address the chronic financing gap in the sector, Ohala Kenya is incubating the LVA SACCO—a cooperative financial platform designed to offer accessible, enterprise-friendly financing to small and medium aquaculture businesses. The SACCO aims to strengthen financial inclusion in the aquaculture value chain and build a self-sustaining financial ecosystem for the sector players.

3. THE LIFT PROJECT
Looking further ahead, Ohala Kenya is developing the LIFT Project (Lake Integrated Future Transformation)—a visionary public-private partnership initiative to drive large-scale investment into critical infrastructure and value chain development in the Lake Region. LIFT aims to position the Lake Region as a regional hub for food production and trade. The project, still in its development stage, will also build strategic linkages between aquaculture, logistics, energy, and markets.

FROM THE LAKE TO THE CONTINENT

Our work in the Lake Region is not an end—it’s a starting point. By testing and refining development models in a real-world setting, we are generating practical insights that inform our wider thought leadership, writing, and policy engagement across Africa.

Ohala Kenya’s approach is grounded, systems-oriented, and unapologetically hopeful. We believe that by investing deeply in place, we can help shape a more coherent and courageous vision for Africa’s economic future.