East Africa’s aquaculture sector received a significant vote of confidence this month as AgDevCo, the specialist African agriculture investor, committed a $15 million follow-on investment into Victory Group, the company behind two of the region’s most prominent tilapia farming operations, to fund an accelerated expansion across Kenya and Rwanda.
The transaction, announced on 7 April 2026, is structured as a mezzanine loan and represents AgDevCo’s second capital deployment into Victory Group, following an initial $4 million investment made in 2021. Victory Group farms Nile tilapia on Lake Victoria in Kenya and Lake Kivu in Rwanda, selling fresh fish to thousands of mama samakis, female market traders, through more than one hundred sales outlets. The company operates under the Victory Farms brand in Kenya and as Kivu Choice in Rwanda.
Scale and Execution
The financing will support Victory Group’s next phase of growth, including the development of multiple new farming sites in both Kenya and Rwanda. AgDevCo’s mezzanine loan is designed to help the company respond to increasing regional demand for tilapia and improve the reliability of supply for market traders.
Victory Group has built a fully integrated business model that covers production, processing, distribution and sales. The company uses data across its operations to improve efficiency and has developed a cold chain system that supports delivery into mass-market towns.
The company expects to produce 30,000 tons of fish in 2026, helping to broaden access to affordable and sustainable protein across the region. Beyond the immediate production targets, the investment will also enable the 2015-founded company to advance early-stage establishment in Tanzania, marking the first steps toward a third-country footprint.
A Compounding Investment Thesis
The new capital builds on a track record that has significantly de-risked the asset. AgDevCo’s 2021 investment helped optimise feed management, reduce mortality rates and professionalise farm operations, achieving better yields and improved cost structures. Victory Group subsequently raised $35 million through a Series B funding round in 2023 led by Creadev, establishing clear institutional demand for the model before this latest mezzanine injection.
Joseph Rehmann, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Victory Group, stated: “Our aim is to build a leading aquaculture business that supplies nutritious protein at scale, while creating opportunities for the traders and communities that depend on our value chain. AgDevCo’s investment will help us expand production and strengthen distribution as demand for affordable, high-quality fish continues to grow across East Africa.”
Why This Investment Signals Broader Momentum
Growth projections for East Africa point to double-digit expansion in aquaculture production over the next decade, as producers adopt improved genetics, feed formulations, disease management and better farm practices. Victory Group’s model is designed to operate at the centre of that trend, not merely as a producer, but as a fully integrated protein distributor reaching tens of thousands of end consumers through a structured last-mile channel.
AgDevCo invests exclusively in the African agriculture sector, providing patient capital to businesses that create jobs, strengthen food systems and support economic growth. It has $340 million in assets under management and has made more than 88 investments to date, including 51 exits.
The deal reflects a broader shift in how institutional capital approaches African food systems, moving away from extractive commodity plays toward integrated, demand-driven businesses that are structured to scale. For East Africa’s protein economy, the Victory Group transaction is not merely a funding round. It is a signal that commercially viable, impact-aligned aquaculture is investable at scale, and that regional food security can be pursued through business fundamentals rather than aid dependency.
