The Challenge:
For most communities on the Swahili Coast, market access is minimal, input costs are high, seafood buying prices are low, and destructive fishing practices are common. While artisanal harvesters have demonstrated a willingness to fish more responsibly, interventions aimed at increasing sustainability have historically led to unchanged or even diminished income for fishers. As a result, harmful fishing practices persist and coastal Kenya’s poverty rate remains above 60%.
The Opportunity:
By training harvesters on best-in-class fish handling methods, financing and reducing input costs, and implementing an efficient off-grid cold chain, Kumbatia is able to ensure that it exclusively receives sushi-grade, sustainable, and traceable seafood. This superior product allows Kumbatia to access markets with better rates and increased demand when compared to the type of seafood that has traditionally been caught in Kenyan waters. As a result, Kumbatia can both earn attractive profits and offer its fishers much improved buying prices and market access so long as they agree to comply with the company’s stringent quality and sustainability standards. The result is seafood that improves company profits, fisher incomes, and marine ecosystems.
Women’s Empowerment:
Seafood is male dominated, but we’re committed to creating economic opportunities for women in our sourcing communities by offering jobs in data capture and post-harvest operations as well developing synergistic mangrove honey and seaweed-based value chains.