Impact Lake Victoria’s aquaculture projects bring hope to fišhing communities

This case study describes a pilot fish cage aquaculture project by Wezesha Aqua Farms in Mwanza, Tanzania, supported by FSD Africa and BFA Global. The initiative aims to increase the resilience of fishing communities against climate change and declining fish stocks in Lake Victoria by providing cages for tilapia rearing under a lease model.

• The Catalysing Climate Resilience (CCR) program, a partnership between FSD Africa and BFA Global, aims to launch 100 new ventures and nurture 80 startups over four years to accelerate climate resilience solutions in Africa. Its Triggering Exponential Climate Action (TECA) component focused on the East African Blue Economy from July 2022 to April 2023, providing seven ventures with support and $55,000 in concessional loans.
• Wezesha Aqua Farms is piloting fish cage aquaculture near Mwanza, Tanzania, to help fishing communities maintain year-round production and meet market demand despite climate change, which has caused fish to migrate to deeper areas of Lake Victoria.
• The project utilizes a pay-as-you-use or lease model for cages capable of hosting 25,000 tilapia fish. Locally assembled cages cost approximately 8.5 million Tanzanian Shillings (USD 3,500). Under the financial model, the community pays monthly for the cage and feed, with the remaining balance due after the final harvest in the seventh month.
• The initiative works with the Victoria Blue Cooperative Society, which consists of over 200 fishermen, fish traders, and value addition experts. Initial assessments show the project has successfully demonstrated the value of aquaculture investments, leading to increased interest in fish rearing, particularly among women.
• Lake Victoria supports a blue economy that employs over 200,000 people and provides livelihoods for 500,000 individuals across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, though it is threatened by pollution, invasive species, declining stocks, and climate change.

APA

FSD Africa (n.d.). Impact Lake Victoria’s aquaculture projects bring hope to fišhing communities. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSD-Africa-Impact-TECA-22.09.23.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. Impact Lake Victoria’s aquaculture projects bring hope to fišhing communities. n.d. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSD-Africa-Impact-TECA-22.09.23.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=Impact Lake Victoria’s aquaculture projects bring hope to fišhing communities |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSD-Africa-Impact-TECA-22.09.23.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafricandimpact, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{Impact Lake Victoria’s aquaculture projects bring hope to fišhing communities}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSD-Africa-Impact-TECA-22.09.23.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }