Established in 2015, Fine Fish Ltd primarily produces and grows fingerlings (juvenile fish) and fish, expanding in June 2023 to encompass fish feed production by acquiring a new plant. Through this expansion and with 33 permanent staff, Fine Fish Ltd is currently producing more than 20 tonnes of floating fish feed every day with the potential to produce 40 tonnes to meet market demand.

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Supporting Smallholder Fish Farmers to Access Quality Floating Fish Feeds

The project demonstrated to smallholder fish producers the value of investing more in locally-made quality floating feed to boost their productivity and incomes. 

This 15-month pilot project (April 2024 – September 2025) – at a total cost of £149,420 of which £79,420 was provided by CASA – supported Fine Fish Ltd to link with 100 cooperatives (30% women-led) and 30 MSMEs producing fish in ponds and dams, hoping they would be new customers for its improved feed which was to be slightly cheaper than imported floating feed but much higher in quality. This project supporting Fine Fish Ltd to produce floating fish feed with improved formula and to package it in smaller 25kg bags to make it more accessible. One of Fine Fish’s recurrent costs was outsourcing quality control to commercial labs that gave questionable and variable results, so CASA supported with a grant to purchase a tabletop laboratory for in-house (and thus much more regular) testing. CASA also supported a feasibility study to explore the use of alternative feed ingredients such as Black Soldier Fly (BSF), which is cheaper than other imported ingredients such as fish meal. The use of BSF (and other alternative feeds) will also help to reduce the negative environmental effects associated with the use of many other feed ingredients. The feasibility study found that in terms of feed efficiency, a catfish-BSF integrated model demonstrates substantial cost savings, with 40-60% substitution of commercial feed by BSF larvae reducing feed costs by 30-40%. For Nile tilapia at Fine Fish Ltd’s own cages, replacing 50% of fishmeal or soybean with BSF could reduce feed costs per unit by 15-20%, improving gross margins and reducing dependence on imported feed ingredients.

With technical assistance provided by CASA through BDO East Africa, Fine Fish developed many of its internal systems and a solid, investible business plan. Several commercial banks have approached Fine Fish with loan proposals, but the company is still resistant to accept any offer until the desired interest is met, and Fine Fish is currently negotiating with Equity Bank to secure a working capital loan of RWF 600m to expand production and reach 40 tonnes per day. With increased production increasing efficiency and reducing overhead proportions, funds should become available to invest more heavily in smallholder marketing among the cooperatives and MSMEs, and to invest in changes recommended by the CASA-supported environmental, social and governance strategy, particularly those that will reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and bad odours from the processing unit.

Updated: March 2026