AquaMnara: Building resilience for aquaculture farmers

This case study describes AquaMnara, a startup supported by FSD Africa's 'Triggering Exponential Climate Action' (TECA) programme to build climate resilience for aquaculture farmers in Kenya, specifically around Lake Victoria in Kisumu.

• The 'Triggering Exponential Climate Action' (TECA) venture launcher, part of the 'Catalysing Climate Resilience' programme by FSD Africa and BFA Global, provided seventeen startups with $27,500 in seed capital and $27,500 in venture-building support to develop climate resilience solutions for oceans, lakes, and rivers in Eastern Africa.
• AquaMnara, founded by Elizabeth Okullow, addresses aquaculture challenges in Kisumu by linking farmers to certified fingerling and feed suppliers, reliable markets, and technologies for water quality and temperature regulation. To address the perception of aquaculture as a high-risk sector, AquaMnara plans to implement an e-voucher system to facilitate access to finance for feeds, nets, and accessories.
• AquaMnara has achieved several impact milestones, including training 160 fish farmers in sustainable practices, creating 15 jobs, and supplying inputs to 40 farmers in Kisumu County. These interventions have led to a 30 percent increase in production and a reduction in losses for fish farmers. The organization has reached over 800 individuals in the fish business and onboarded five partners.
• AquaMnara is launching a 'women in aquaculture' programme, supported by an additional $10,000 from TECA, to overcome cultural restrictions and provide women fish farmers with resources and finance. The programme has already engaged a group of 20 women and established two cages.
• In Kenya, there are approximately 43,494 aquaculture farmers and 66,337 ponds, with nearly half being active. In 2021, the ministry in charge of fisheries estimated that 3,501 new ponds covering 1,961,798 M2 were excavated.

APA

FSD Africa (n.d.). AquaMnara: Building resilience for aquaculture farmers. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AquaMnara-Final-.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. AquaMnara: Building resilience for aquaculture farmers. n.d. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AquaMnara-Final-.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=AquaMnara: Building resilience for aquaculture farmers |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AquaMnara-Final-.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafricandaquamnara, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{AquaMnara: Building resilience for aquaculture farmers}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AquaMnara-Final-.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }