Welcome to the Aquaculture Academy

Building Aquapreneurs in East Africa through vocational training for the aquaculture sector

Fish farming has the potential to bridge the rapidly growing gap between protein demand and supply, in a sustainable way. The key factor holding back the sector’s development in the African context is the lack of skilled human capital. The Aquaculture Academy provides essential tools for East African (future) fish farmers: practical, accessible and business-oriented training programs covering all essential aspects of aquaculture production.

The Aquaculture Academy (AA) is founded by the partners of the FoodTechAfrica consortium. With over eight years of experience in the aquaculture sector, the consortium partners have witnessed the lack of practical skills as impeding profitable and sustainable aquaculture farming in East Africa. The Aquaculture Academy trains and builds ‘aquapreneurs’ able to run a sustainable and profitable business, inspire others to become fish farmers and spur economic prosperity throughout the sector. Launched May 7th, 2021, the AA is the preferred aquaculture learning institution in the region for stakeholders across the value chain.

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Courses

The AA implements an industry-driven and business-oriented training program, ranging from basic to expert level courses. This equips students with the skills and knowledge necessary to be example farmers, influential leaders and to be able to train others on best practices in aquaculture, specific to East Africa.

Courses range in duration from 1 day to 8 weeks, covering basic, advanced and expert levels, as well as the trainer courses. Pricing varies according to the type of student. The training modules center around the topics of:

Breeding
Farming practices
Operational management
Quality control
Business acumen
Record-keeping skills
Marketing and sales

Teaching staff

The AA teaching staff consists of a mix of professionals with a proven track record in the aquaculture sector as well as distinguished business leaders both from the FoodTechAfrica consortium and beyond. Qualified professionals with demonstrated industry experience share their skills from a market standpoint, provide hands-on guidance and bring applicable market insights to students.

Location

The Aquaculture Academy has two campuses: one in Homa Bay (western Kenya) and one in Kamuthanga, Machakos. This is within a two-hour drive of Nairobi, a key logistic (travel) hub in East Africa. The facilities include classrooms, breeding and hatchery facilities, grow-out facilities, processing and marketing facilities. The focus of the AA is on offering paid training programs, supported by providing basic equipment. The Aquaculture Academy works closely with selected partners from the private sector.