Dave Okech: 'When I look at Lake Victoria, I see potential'
Q&A with the social entrepreneur on the aquaculture sector, on nurturing your inner curiosity, and on the barriers preventing African entrepreneurs from operating at their optimum potential.
Dave Okech is the Founder of Aquarech, a social enterprise to improve productivity, increase income, build an inclusive business for small-scale fish farmers. Aquarech was recently selected for the first-ever Google for Startups Black Founders Fund Africa.
What fundamental belief system inspired the creation of Aquarech?
I believe in an inclusive food system, and an inclusive food system in the aquaculture sector means a sector that is accessible and available for all. This truth also means that women and youths, input suppliers, traders, and all people in the food systems value chain have a fair share of their participation in the aquaculture sector.
What’s something you do every day that is non-negotiable for you?
Doing the right thing! In this world, there are three ways of doing things. You either do the right thing, the easy thing, or the wrong thing. In the case of the latter, it’s as simple as turning your eye to the other side for your selfish gains. However, doing the right thing is very difficult because it involves going against systems that fail to work for the benefit of the wider community.
What are the formative ingredients in your childhood that came to create your perspective?
Growing up, I learned a lot from my dad. He helped me understand that being disciplined in whatever I pursue is critical. In addition to this, he taught me the importance of thinking outside my immediate surroundings- which has influenced the way I make decisions today.
This question actually reminds me of my childhood, where I was prone to tearing things apart. There was a time where my dad bought a brand new mattress, and I ended up cutting it into two. My curiosity got the best of me. Most parents wouldn’t have spared the rod but, my father only said that the destroyed new mattress would be replacing my old mattress. Unique experiences like these helped define the importance of thinking beyond my immediate scope and nurturing my inner curiosity.
What do you consider to be one of the greatest challenges for developing a business on the African continent?
For one, it is a lack of financial resources. I believe the African continent has so much potential however, there is a dearth of local institutions willing to bet on local entrepreneurs. The reality is even when a financial institution wants to take a chance on an entrepreneur, the institution often has very rigorous requirements- which include proof of financial transactions, collateral, and years of operation. In addition to this, securing a loan comes with extremely high-interest rates; this prevents entrepreneurs from operating at their optimum potential.
Building a company from scratch takes grit. What drives you on?
What drives me on is the desire to see the change in my community. The truth is we have such massive economic potential. For example, sources say we also have the second-largest freshwater lake in the world yet there is a vast level of malnutrition and poverty in its surroundings.
When I look at Lake Victoria, I see potential. I see improved livelihoods; as a result of the lake. Maximizing the lake’s potential for our women and youth is what I refer to as the blue economy. The truth is I cannot rest without achieving an improved life- socially and economically for the community in this region.
There are a tremendous number of opportunities on the African continent. How do you stay focused on your journey?
The aquaculture sector has enough problems already. For example, if you take a critical look at the sector, there is the input supply- which includes fish feeds and the fingerlings. In this sub-sector alone, I'm always wondering how to get farmers to access high-quality fish feeds or how to solve the genetic issues of propagating quality food stock for fish. With all these unanswered questions, it proves challenging to explore another sector.
If you could do it all again, what would you have done differently?
My passion for aquaculture is to see the livelihoods of the farmers we serve change. This vision is personal for me because I am a farmer myself. If I could do it all over again, I would start from the market side of the business and gradually move towards solving other challenges in the aquaculture industry.
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Jeph Acheampong leads Blossom Academy; an edtech company that provides world-class data courses and transforms careers.
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