Over recent months, The Aquaculture Consortium (TAC) has contributed to continental and regional discussions on strengthening private-sector engagement in Africa’s Blue Economy.

Our engagement began with contributions to the African Union Commission’s Strategic Action Plan for Private Sector Engagement in Africa’s Blue Economy, led by Chris Coles. We are grateful to Chris for actively involving TAC and drawing on our practical experience, culminating in the plan’s validation in Nairobi in March 2026.

Building on this contribution, TAC was invited by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to share its experience during the appraisal mission for a new Blue Economy project for COMESA in Lusaka in September 2026. We thank Ahmed S. Khan, Chief Fisheries Officer in AfDB’s Agribusiness Division, and Chris for the invitation and continued engagement. Discussions have since extended to the emerging private-sector accelerator initiative involving the African Union Development Agency–NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) and the COMESA Business Council.

TAC brings practical experience from building an integrated aquaculture ecosystem in Kenya, connecting inputs, production, aggregation, processing, logistics, markets, and finance to strengthen commercial viability and investment readiness.

Our approach is built around four strategic transformations:

•?  ?Farm to Plate — integrating fragmented value chains into a traceable commercial system.

•?  ?Capacity to Capital — moving farmers and MSMEs towards bankability through seven investment-readiness gates: legal ownership, commercial activity, financial evidence, operational performance, market validation, environmental and social (ESG) readiness, and a clearly defined financing requirement.

•?  ?Passion to Enterprise — transitioning towards commercially managed businesses.

•?  ?Local Capability to Global Intelligence — connecting local expertise with global knowledge, technology, and innovation.

The priority is to move from strategy to implementation: demonstrating commercially viable, evidence-led models that unlock private investment, strengthen regional value chains, and support scalable growth across Africa’s Blue Economy.

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