FUTUREFISH co-develops sustainable aqua solutions
with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

FUTUREFISH has secured a contract with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, working towards their vision to empower, build, and grow sustainable aquaculture in Africa and Asia for people and our planet.

We are very pleased to announce that we have signed a contract with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the development of the foundation’s Fish and Aquaculture Program in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. With our mission to connect science and insights with networks and investments to build and grow sustainable aquaculture, we look forward to developing this work.

“We founded FUTUREFISH to help connect innovation and investment with the diverse actors in aquaculture value chains, especially in overlooked geographies,” noted Dr. Rohana Subasinghe. “We look forward to co-developing impactful interventions and investments to increase productivity, profitability, and inclusivity of aquaculture with the support of the foundation.”

There is no need to overstate it, aquaculture has been the world’s fastest-growing food production sector for decades, and it will remain so for at least the next two decades. During the last two decades, aquaculture has evolved from a relatively minor role to play a mainstream part in the global food system. Freshwater fish such as carps, tilapias, and catfishes have the lion’s share in global fish production, predominantly originating from smallholders. Freshwater fish contribute more than any other aquaculture sub-sector to the total volume, rural livelihoods, and food and nutrition security, making small-scale aquaculture the most socially important sector in aquaculture production. However, most produce from small-scale aquaculture does not enter international markets. It is apparent that the increased attention on sector improvement has unfortunately taken the focus away from where it is needed – for smallholder empowerment and practicing sustainability and scalability to be optimized.

Photo caption: FUTUREFISH team meets with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Deputy Director of the Livestock Team. From left to right, Samuel Thevasagayam (Gates Foundation Deputy Director of the Livestock Team), Rohana Subasinghe (Co-Founder and Director of FUTUREFISH), Anna Patel (Programme Manager for FUTUREFISH), and Michael Phillips (Co-Founder and Director of FUTUREFISH).

The start-up, founded by Dr. Rohana Subasinghe and Dr. Michael Phillips at the beginning of 2022, aims to provide innovative, sustainable, and scalable solutions for the aquaculture industry in Africa and Asia. FUTUREFISH is led by industry and thought leaders – both founders have received some of the highest awards in aquaculture – and will use their experience to identify and evaluate high-leverage opportunities in sustainable aquaculture for the foundation’s portfolio.

“At a time when hunger and poverty are on the rise, it is so timely to see the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focus on aquaculture in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia,” said Phillips. “It is a great privilege for FUTUREFISH to be given the opportunity to explore impactful aquaculture investments that will benefit food and nutrition security, smallholder productivity and livelihoods, women’s empowerment, and climate resilience.”

Here at FUTUREFISH, we are committed to building a solid basis of principles using our extensive networks of public and private partners for the foundation’s aquaculture efforts. This first major project for FUTUREFISH reflects our commitment to supporting positive and sustainable economic, social, and environmental outcomes from the aquaculture sector that benefit food and nutrition security, livelihoods, and marginalised communities.

Photo caption: Commercial pond farming of Nile tilapia in the Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia.

About FUTUREFISH

FUTUREFISH seeks to advance knowledge, innovation, and investment in ways that improve aquaculture – with a principal geographical focus on Africa and Asia – aiming to work closely with innovators and investors to accelerate and grow profitable and sustainable aquaculture businesses in ways that create positive impacts for people and our planet.

Find out more about us and our programs: https://futurefish.org/about-us/  

About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, the foundation focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty.

Find out more about the BMGF: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about