What began as a small aquaculture venture on the shores of Lake Victoria has grown into one of
Africa’s largest tilapia producers, with Victory Farms now pursuing an ambitious goal of
providing affordable, locally produced fish to more than two billion Africans within the next
ten years.
The vision dominated the company’s 11th Founders Day celebrations at its flagship farm
in Roo Beach, Suba South, where executives, employees, community members and stakeholders
reflected on the firm’s growth and outlined plans to expand production, create more jobs and
strengthen food security across the continent.
Victory Farms Chief Development Officer, Caesar Asiyo, said the company’s long-term
strategy extends beyond East Africa and is centred on increasing access to affordable, nutritious
fish while improving livelihoods through employment and local enterprise.
“We are looking beyond East Africa with a goal to feed more than two billion Africans
over the next decade. Our greatest achievement will not simply be the fish we harvest, but the
jobs we create, the families we support and the communities that continue to grow alongside us,” he said.
Today, Victory Farms employs more than 1,000 people directly, making it one of the
largest private employers in Homa Bay County. Thousands more earn incomes through activities
linked to the business, including fish trading, transport, feed manufacturing, input supply and
retail distribution.
Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Joe Rehmann said the company has exceeded the
targets it set when operations began in 2015 with fewer than 10 ponds and a handful of floating
cages.
“Where we are today, is our first farm and still our largest. When we started 11 years
ago, our goal was to produce 10,000 tonnes of fish and employ 500 people. We achieved those
targets years ago. Today we have over 1,000 employees, and that is probably our biggest
milestone on the human capital side,” he said.
According to Rehmann, sustained investment in people, technology and strong
partnerships with surrounding communities has enabled the company to expand rapidly while
maintaining consistent production.
“The growth we have achieved has only been possible by investing in people and
technology. We’ve also had tremendous support from our community and all the different
stakeholders because none of this is possible alone,” he added.
The company’s production has grown steadily over the past decade. Victory Farms now
records monthly sales of about 1,400 tonnes of tilapia and recently surpassed its first 2,000-tonne
monthly sales milestone across its operations in Kenya and Rwanda.
The company plans to expand into Tanzania once regulatory approvals are secured and is
also preparing to enter the Ugandan market as part of its regional growth strategy.
Despite the rapid expansion, demand for fish continues to exceed supply across East
Africa. Executives say fish remains one of the healthiest and most affordable sources of animal protein, yet production has not kept pace with the region’s rapidly growing population.
Rehmann observed that although locally produced fish has significantly reduced
dependence on imports, per capita fish consumption remains under pressure because production
growth is slower than population growth.
“The remarkable thing is that imported tilapia from China has declined by 80 per cent since we started, which means our mission of producing fish for local consumption is working.
But because our population is growing, fish consumption per person is actually declining. Fish is
still too expensive for many families, and we have to continue investing so we can bring prices
down,” he said.
To address the gap, Victory Farms plans to quadruple annual production from the current
25,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes by 2030. Achieving that target will require significant investment in technology, infrastructure, logistics and skilled personnel.
Among the company’s latest investments is a modern feed-handling system capable of
processing one-tonne feed bags, replacing the previous 25-kilogram handling system and
improving operational efficiency. Feed accounts for more than 70 per cent of aquaculture production costs, making it the single largest expense in fish farming.
To reduce costs, Victory Farms has shifted from importing fish feed to manufacturing about 90 per cent of its feed locally. According to the company, local production has lowered feed costs by about 30 per cent while strengthening domestic supply chains and reducing reliance on imports.
“When we started, all our feed was imported. Today we are producing it locally at about
30 per cent lower cost. That reduction is transformational because it allows us to lower the price
of fish,” Rehmann explained. The reduction in production costs has translated into lower consumer prices. Over the last decade, the average retail price of tilapia has declined from about Sh800 per kilogram to less than Sh500, making fish more affordable for many Kenyan households.
Asiyo attributed the savings to the company’s vertically integrated business model, where
every stage of production is managed internally. “Fish feed contributes more than 70 per cent of the cost of fish production. Because Victory Farms owns every part of the value chain, from hatcheries and feed production to processing, transport and retail, we have eliminated unnecessary costs and passed those savings to consumers,” he said.
He added that the company continues to explore alternative feed ingredients that are more
economical without compromising quality.
Beyond commercial production, Victory Farms has expanded its operations through the Homa Bay Extensive Aquaponics Programme (HEAP), which integrates aquaculture with crop farming.
The initiative partners with local landowners who provide idle land for broodstock ponds
established and managed by the company. Participating households earn income from fish egg production while also using nutrient-rich water from the ponds to irrigate crops, creating a circular farming system that boosts agricultural productivity and household earnings.
For many families in Suba South, the programme has transformed previously
underutilised land into a reliable source of income while strengthening local food security.
Innovation has also become a defining feature of the company’s operations. In 2025, Victory Farms introduced drone technology to transport fertilised fish eggs from smallholder broodstock ponds to its central recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) hatchery. The technology, initially introduced as a pilot project, now transports approximately 80 per cent of all fertilised fish eggs collected from community-based producers.
According to the company, drone transport is up to ten times faster than road transport,
reduces handling risks, lowers operational costs and minimises environmental impact.
The programme has also created employment opportunities for young people trained as
drone operators and technicians. Rehmann said investing in youth remains central to the company’s long-term vision.
“We are seeing extraordinary talent among Kenyan youth and our responsibility is to give them the tools, training and opportunities to compete globally,” he said.
Victory Farms has also invested heavily in its distribution network to improve market access. The company now operates more than 85 retail outlets across Kenya, enabling fish
harvested from Lake Victoria to reach consumers within 36 hours. Asiyo described the company’s annual Founders Day celebrations as an opportunity to
reflect on its achievements while reaffirming its commitment to innovation, community
partnerships and sustainable growth.
“It is a celebration of where we have come from and also a reminder of the long journey
ahead. We now employ over 1,000 people, and each employee supports between five and seven
dependants. That is an impact we do not take lightly,” he said.
He also commended the Homa Bay County Government for providing an enabling
environment that has supported investment and growth in aquaculture.
From a modest beginning with a handful of ponds on the shores of Lake Victoria, Victory
Farms has evolved into one of Africa’s leading aquaculture enterprises. Its’ continued investment in technology, local manufacturing, youth employment, community partnerships and sustainable production reflects a growing confidence that Africa can increasingly meet its own food needs through locally driven solutions.
With plans to expand production to 100,000 tonnes annually and extend operations across
East Africa, the company believes affordable fish can play a critical role in improving nutrition,
creating jobs and strengthening food security for millions of households across the continent.
By Sitna Omar
