Heaptalk, Jakarta — Indonesia-based aquatech startup eFishery has accomplished its commercial trials in the Indian market. Initiated last March 2023, this unicorn startup has reached over 1,000 hectares of Indian cultivator ponds and channeled over 3,000 metric tons of feed.
eFishery India started its operation in Pradesh, an Indian state that contributes 35% of total aquaculture production through comprehensive market and strategy assessments. In its operations, the company has developed a team of 50 local employees with extensive comprehension of the surrounding culture.
The company’s expansion into India is part of the company’s broader business development outside the Southeast Asian market using a ‘one country at a time’ approach, the impact of which will be assessed periodically and continuously.
As is known, eFishery revealed that the Indian market possessed a seafood consumption level of up to 60%-70%. On the other hand, India’s aquaculture industry is projected to attain more than US$15billion, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 8% for the last three decades.
Amidst this tremendous potential, Indian small and middle cultivators still encounter multiple challenges, such as complicated market access, inconsistent and unprofitable pricing schemes, and a lack of essential aquaculture management regarding the method, technology, and innovation.
Carrying out this pain point, fishery intends to simplify local cultivators’ decision-making based on the data, focusing on optimization of cultivation practices and increasing overall crop yields.
“Starting from the Indian market, we are proud of the company’s capability to deploy aquaculture potential globally through the local technology creation, with the growth of cultivator income up to three-fold on average. We recognize the potential and value of the Indian aquaculture industry, both in size and structure, similar to Indonesia, whereby small- and medium-level farmers dominate.” The CEO and Co-Founder of eFishery, Gibran Huzaifah, said.
After penetrating the Indian market, eFishery also plans to broaden its existence in Asia and Latin America in the coming year while continuing to export its shrimp product internationally. This strategy also focuses on observing market variation that proffers a complete ecosystem devoted to the cultivator, creating the digital cooperative model comprehensively for high-quality shrimp and fish feed, Internet of Things (IoT) assistance, production SOP, and off-take guarantee to empower cultivators potential.
“The government and raw material suppliers have significantly contributed to overcoming peculiar obstacles in India’s aquaculture industry, which is still fragmented. We are pleased that our business expansion strategy has managed to elevate eFishery enhancement up to ten-fold, aligned with our international expansion target.” The International Expansion Lead of eFishery, Neil Wendover.
