The SAFI Project

The Safi Project is an integrated, finance-led initiative that aims to strengthen the aquaculture and broader natural-resource economy of Kenya’s Lake Victoria Region. At its core is Safi Capital Ltd., a blended-impact financing mechanism that provides responsible, affordable capital to community-based enterprises—ensuring that growth is grounded in sound business practice, strong governance, and environmental sustainability.

The Safi Project focuses on cooperatives, SACCOs, producer groups, and key value-chain enterprises that have the potential to grow but lack the financial tools, organizational systems, or investment readiness required to access commercial finance. Through a combined approach of targeted financing and structured capacity-building, the initiative aims to unlock economic opportunity, strengthen local institutions, and stimulate a more cohesive and commercially vibrant aquaculture value chain.

A central insight shaping the Safi Project is that well-designed finance—paired with disciplined group and enterprise development—can serve as a powerful organizing tool. Affordable capital becomes the incentive for producers to formalize their groups, strengthen governance, adopt better technologies, coordinate production, and operate as cohesive economic units rather than isolated individuals. This integration of finance and capacity-building helps transform fragmented, informal activity into organized, investable enterprise.

The name SAFI reflects both the project’s identity and mission. In Swahili, safi means clean or responsible, symbolizing sustainability and stewardship. As an acronym for Sustainable Aquaculture Financing Initiative, it underscores the Fund’s focus on responsible finance that drives sustainable growth in Kenya’s aquaculture sector.

This document outlines the sector’s key challenges, presents the Safi Project’s integrated finance-and-capacity model, and highlights the expected social, economic, and environmental benefits of the initiative.