Joseph Rehmann established Victory Farms in February 2015 with the mission to be the world’s most sustainable fish business and provide high nutrition protein to the mass market in Africa.
Rehmann with his co-founder Steve Moran, started a journey that would turn out to transform fish farming in Kenya and East Africa.
Joseph Rehmann has a background in investment banking and has worked on an aquaculture project in West Africa a stint that sparked his interest in the industry.
The duo identified the high but unmet demand for fish in the East African market. While the deficit was being filled by Chinese-sourced fish, the quality was questionable.
This prompted their mission to produce high-quality tilapia to meet the needs of the Kenyan market initially, with plans for expansion into other East African nations.
All Photos/Pool | Source: Elly Akoko
Crucial Struggles with Victory Farms
When Victory Farms was first established, the duo faced a monumental challenge that would test their resolve: the scarcity of qualified personnel.
The aquaculture industry was nascent, lacking a substantial talent pool of trained professionals. Rehmann and his partner recognized that to propel their fish business forward, they needed to create a robust pipeline of skilled workers.
Their business involved fish feed production, breeding, hatchery, processing, cold chain distribution, and retail, they needed more workers.
They started a college hire programme called Graduate Aquaculture for Learning and Training (GALT) which later saw 40 trainees’ graduate.
Victory Farms’ ambitions extended beyond personnel development. They set their sights on the vast waters of Lake Victoria, a location that skeptics deemed unsuitable for aquaculture due to its cold temperatures, shallow waters, and hyacinth infestations.
However, Rehmann and his team conducted meticulous technical research that dispelled these misconceptions, unveiling Lake Victoria’s potential for commercial aquaculture.
Also Read: Govt Warns Kenyans Against Eating Fish from Lake Nakuru
Achievements made by Joseph Rehmann
Today, Victory Farms disrupts the century-old aquaculture industry through embedding data-driven thinking throughout its value chain.
Victory Farms operates a fully integrated, end-to-end platform across production, processing, distribution and sales, directly serving tens of thousands of Kenyan mass market customers.
It operates the most efficient cold chain system on the African continents, with proprietary access to mass market towns, where 90%+ of Africans shop.
The Farm endeavors to establish the globe’s most sustainable end-to-end protein infrastructure, dedicated to providing 2 billion Africans with accessible, nutritious, and fresh meals.
Victory farm now has many accolades including the fastest growing fish farm in Africa, and the most capital efficient tilapia production system in the world.
It is also the most efficient cold chain system in Africa selling to mass market towns (where 90% of African’s shop),
Beyond its rapid and scalable expansion, Victory’s significant impact on communities and the environment takes precedence.
“To date, we Victory Farms have generated over 10,000 jobs and envision adding another 35,000 positions within the next two years,” Rehmann said.
Furthermore, they have achieved a 25% reduction in carbon emissions from 2020 to 2021 and are on track for a 50% reduction by the conclusion of 2023, outpacing our global counterparts by a significant margin.
Also Read: Kenyan Billionaire Acquires Cement Company in Rwanda
About Joseph Rehmann
Joseph Rehmann was born in Egypt.
He has been immersed in frontier markets for much of his life and career.
Rehmann is passionate about the positive impact of capital markets and strongly believes that the world today needs responsible financial and operational architects to develop new markets and ensure the fruits of capitalism are inclusive.
Joseph earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from INSEAD in Singapore and France.
He also holds a master’s in business administration from INSEAD (Business School for the World).
In addition, Rehmann started his career as a marketing intern in Thailand from May 2004- August 2004.
The businessman founded Pyramid Ventures, a tech-centric venture builder of climate positive agri-food businesses serving the mass market in Africa in 2021.
Victory CEO also served as the Chief Finance Officer of Tropo Farms in Ghana from 2012-2015 and Investment Consultant in Amsterdam Area, Netherlands from March- June 2014.
