Blue Entrepreneurship Scoping Study
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Blue Entrepreneurship Scoping Study Unlocking business solutions that benefit People, the Ocean & Climate LEAD AUTHORS Floor Overbeeke Leigh Shepherd Stéphanie Canac Alexis Grosskopf Ocean Solutions That Benefit People, Nature and the Economy / 1 Acknowledgements We thank key IUCN contributors to the research effort: Thomas Sberna, James Oliver, and Francis Okalo. We thank the Swedish Ministry of Environment for the funding that made this scoping study possible. We thank Emmanuel Nzai, Chief Executive Officer at Jumuiya ya Kaunti Za Pwani (JKP), for his contributions and guidance. We thank Dan Odiwuor and Norah Magangi from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) for their support and efforts toward data collection in the field. We also acknowledge the significant and invaluable contributions of a wide panel of stakeholders who donated time and thoughtful insight that shaped the direction and content of the research. A full list of organizations and individuals who shared information for the report can be found in Appendix 1: Stakeholder Interviews. 2 / Blue Entrepreneurship Scoping Study Executive Summary Seaweed Farming The urgency of the climate crisis and the Kenya can maximize potential in the seaweed ongoing work of economic development in industry through a dramatic increase in Kenya has contributed to the emergence production and scale, as unlocking the potential of the Blue Economy as a critical arena for for communities to produce at capacity can making substantive impact, both for the lead to sector-wide transformation. At present, environment and for local prosperity. IUCN Kenya is not competitive in the regional seaweed continues to engage in the discussion and aims market, and success hinges on both attracting to develop a pilot model to serve the greater new farmers and utilizing productive space at WIO (Western Indian Ocean) region. This report full capacity. By offering substantive volume, is the first step in identifying and targeting Kenya can draw the attention of additional priority interventions and solutions that can exporters, developing pricing competition that support local marine-based communities, as can benefit smallholders. suggested interventions help spearhead the work of trialing key concepts along Kenya’s The research identified three strategic levers to coastline. catalyze transformation in the seaweed sector: This scoping study utilizes a combination of primary research (stakeholder interviews, focus group discussions, and field research) and secondary research (literature review) to prioritize value chains and recommendations. The study highlights seaweed farming, sea cucumber farming, and finfish farming as key opportunities. This executive summary overviews strengths and weaknesses of each value chain along with recommendations to drive sector transformation and reach optimal impact. Alongside the strategic levers for each value chain are opportunities for the sector, Kenya’s current competitive position, and the potential for an inclusive market system. Additional detail and specific suggestions are developed in further detail in Chapter 7: Recommendations. Ocean Solutions That Benefit People, Nature and the Economy / 3 Table 1: Seaweed Farming Strategic Levers Opportunity Competitiveness Inclusivity ● Develop business ● Tanzania ● As over 90% of case for seaweed (specifically current Kenyan farmers to produce Zanzibar) is Kenya’s seaweed farming is at maximum capacity biggest regional done by women, competitor, expansion ● Sensitize A producing over opportunities stand communities and 103,000 tonnes of to include even more Increase expand production seaweed in 2019 female farmers in the production to base to include sector additional farming ● With similar reach current locales ecosystems and with ● Furthermore, export capacity an extra 100km of opportunity exists to ● Improve efficiency available coastline, encourage with covered drying Kenya has the household facility to reduce capacity to develop participation for labor and time its seaweed value-add tasks (like required production volumes carrying heavy loads ● Mobilize technical and be competitive and transportation) assistance for in the WIO region ongoing farmer support and new farmer upstart ● Develop business ● An uptick in post- ● Expanding case for seaweed pandemic global competition among B exporters to enter price will unlock seaweed purchasers Draw new the Kenyan market better margins for is expected to exporters coming elevate farmgate exporter ● Sensitize into Kenya price, enabling more entrants to the communities and Kenyan farmers to expand production ● As the Kenyan join sector base to include national and coastal additional farming governments are locales prioritizing seaweed as a sector, enabling Mobilize technical ● environments for assistance for new foreign investment farmer upstart are expected to be favorable ● Incorporating ● Mastering deeper- ● Female seaweed additional high-value ocean seaweed farmers are highly species stands to cultivation (which motivated to start C earn farmers 3x the has historically been cultivating this Scale farming current value with challenging for both species (despide of higher-value the same yields Kenya and neighbor male dominance), species with Zanzibar), has the pending investment new production ● Offshore farming is potential to unlock needed to kickstart methods less prone to access to a much the offshore farm negative effects of larger seaweed rising ocean market, as the ● Female inclusion temperatures “Eucheuma spp.” requires sea-safety training and boat- (which includes Cottonii) category operator training, or represents 29% of these services could global production be provided by men in the community The current seaweed industry in Kenya faces many addressable challenges. Limited production, which thereby limits income potential and market diversity, is caused by Page - 4 4 / Blue Entrepreneurship Scoping Study The current seaweed industry in Kenya faces many addressable challenges. Limited Sea Cucumber Farming production, which thereby limits income potential and market diversity, is caused by Current sea cucumber production in Kenya intensive labor conditions, a falling global is limited to the dangerous practice of wild- price, historical dependence on external capture. Due to decades of overfishing, sea (donor or private sector) funding, and current cucumber wild stocks are dwindling, harming perceptions among farmers, as they see an the overall biodiversity of coastal ecosystems unattractive value proposition. COVID-19 and forcing fishers into increasingly-risky has impacted the global price for seaweed, diving practices. With a high price point, as an influx of farmers from once-tourism- growing global demand, and an existing link dependent countries have fallen back on to the export market, spearheading inclusive farming, increasing current global supply. sea cucumber farming models in Kenya will However, as the global market dynamics revolutionize the sector. are anticipated to return to normal post- pandemic, Kenya has an opportunity to Neighboring countries in the WIO region increase production and be prepared to have spent years trialing and refining the capitalize on an expected favorable market smallholder-outgrower model, and Kenya’s price. success in the industry hinges on a three- step intensive investment: 1) establish Kenya benefits from an extensive coastline sustainable models for short-term wild- with ecosystems conducive to growing capture of fingerlings, 2) pilot inclusive seaweed, current farmers operating below farming and generate proof-of-concept for potential, and new untouched communities, both community-government and farmer all pointing to the production potential within engagement, and 3) draw private sector the country. Additionally, with low barriers investment for hatchery systems that will to entry, seaweed farming presents inclusive enable long-term scale and sustainability. participation opportunities for vulnerable groups (women, youth, and people with The research identified three strategic levers to disabilities). catalyze transformation in the sea cucumber sector: Seaweed farms offer alternative incomes among communities who would otherwise stress wild marine stocks through overfishing, and they also create habitats that foster natural biodiversity, so investment in seaweed farming can improve the overall quality, resilience, and productive potential of coastal ecosystems. Ocean Solutions That Benefit People, Nature and the Economy / 5 Table 2: Sea Cucumber Farming Strategic Levers Opportunity Competitiveness Inclusivity ● Develop business ● Kenya’s coast ● In other countries, case for sea already proves sea cucumber cucumber farmers conducive to sea production and local cucumber growth (as represents an government, and by evidenced by inclusive opportunity so doing, develop historically- (60-80% of farmers A business case for documented wild are female) hatchery investment stocks) Pilot ● Seaweed farmers inclusive farming ● Sensitize ● As a top producer in often make the best model to generate communities and the WIO region, sea cucumber proof-of-concept pilot production Madagascar farmers, as they model represents the already spend their strongest time in the ocean, ● Mobilize technical competition in the know the tides and assistance for new sea cucumber the currents, are farmer upstart market; however, used to working with with growing global commercial partners, demand and an and are already unlimited