Comercial African Aquaponics systems

Covid-19 is a big reset button for use of technology to create new job opportunity, a way of life and a new normal.  The lock down effect creates unprecedented economic devastation to the global economy especially in developing countries. With the pleasure economy almost wiped out, forcing people to gravitate to the real economy primarily of agriculture. Ensure food security and use agribusiness for prosperity. It is now extremely urgent that
Commercial agriculture functions in Africa,.  Make Commercial Aquaculture attractive to investors so that the industry rely more heavily on private entrepreneurship and commercial investments.

CACANA (Commercial African Aquaponics) removes key constraints to the industry and lead the future growth.

Covid-19 lock down economic devastation to traditional unsustainable business of the developing countries and the resultant food insecurity caused by multiple challenges like famine and Food security in East Africa already threatened by a most severe drought in decades, and arrival of second wave of desert locusts. The collapse of global cooperation has  shoved Africa out of the market.  Despite ample notice about the arrival of the coronavirus, Africa’s governments did little to prepare themselves, their systems, or their people.
Experts warn that the pandemic could yet exact a much heavier death toll in the region if it overwhelms local health services, it may cause famine in combination with the drought and conflicts in much of Africa – which is home to 135m acutely food-insecure people - UN report.

We target to transform 200 subsistence pond fish farmers into commercial viability to make Wakiso an Aquaculture model district for the whole country and the region.

Food security and prosperity are the key focus of our solution solved by CACANA entrepreneurs providing a reliable source of highly nutritious most loved African staple food and high value crops that generate a monthly income, from the backyard using the available natural resources.

Most of these challenges are solved by CACANA a state of the art aquaponics technology that grows Africa's most loves staple food sustainably.

A small footprint system that fits in the backyard, requires low start up investment to set up the infrastructure and when under the micro franchise you can start with no capital at all as a system manage and pay as you earn and learn from the income generated by the system.

We offer sensitization to enable potential investor take an informed decisions.  Then we design concept notes for the investor crystallize the idea.  and we offer support during installation to ensure quality system set up. We launch and supply quality seed fish and advise on source of quality fish feeds that are so essential for proper functioning of the business.  With the Grower support program we mentor the startup to acquire the needed professionalism and skills while minimizing loses.  and when the crop is ready we offer marketing services to ensure proper price to the farmer and bulk purchase.  The cooperative also bulk purchases badly needed but un available  items and components locally or imports for the industry.

CACANA enables successful Entrepreneurship in aquaculture in the backyard so as to solve un employment, and food security.  Young graduates need not look for jobs as they can start their own successful enterprise,  Those wanting to retire or retired from the traditional jobs, the house wives and stay home moms can take on aquaculture successfully in their backyard.    With innovative micro franchise funding support anybody can start this enterprise, provide decent jobs that are not back breaking, technology based with automatic monitoring and water quality control facility that can be viewed all over the world.  We sensitize the potential investor and together develop a custom concept note to allow the investor understand the business.  Once the system is set up, we provide a mentoring grower support program to teach professional aquaculture on site to the entrepreneur.  and finally assist the farmer in marketing the final produce.

This will provide will usher the participant into entrepreneurship of a successful agribusiness.

Good Jobs & Inclusive Entrepreneur

Uganda has a very high entrepreneurial class.  With an entrepreneurship rate of 28 per cent, Uganda ranks in first place globally, with almost double the entrepreneurship rate of Thailand, who comes in second place with 16 per cent.

Hardship is a real catalyst for creativity and many of us are capable of starting our own venture. 

Sustainable Food Systems

CACANA enables production of Africa's most loved nutritious and organic staple food in the backyard commercially sold for a regular income and some consumed by the home.  This is a key to prosperity and poverty reduction.

With the pandemic we need to find solutions within our borders.  The need of the hour is nutrient dense staple food on the table at affordable cost or just grown in your backyard and an income to substitute a day job or to work as an additional income.

Since food donations are not sustainable, we need to look at long term strategy for people suffering from economic impact of the lock down, for food and prosperity.

CACANA, an indigenous developed technology with a small footprint produces African most loved Staple food sustainably right in the backyard and generates a reasonable monthly income.

traditional aquaculture suffers a number of challenges that makes it not viable, which are solved by simply farming fish in tanks in the backyard.

Micro franchise is an innovative finance mechanism with a hand holding arrangement that allows people become successful entrepreneurs with no prior experience.

Traditional financial institutions are difficult to access by local people especially in agriculture.  and they usually do not offer support for the entrepreneur.

CACANA technology is a paradigm change to look at the large number of people especially the youth and women as a resource to be harnessed other than a growing problem that has no solution in sight.

So this Tank based, climate smart commercial food production system that easily fits in the backyard primarily targets making commercial aquaculture attractive to youth and woman. This offers an opportunity of entrepreneurship to set up CACANA systems and employ other people to produce African staple food, reduce unemployment and poverty.

Our system relies on the basic aquaponics technology with is symbiotic relationship between aquaculture and hydroponics ie fish farming and plant growing where by the fish generates waste is used as plant food and plants clean the water for the  fish to thrive. 

Commercial banks do not have confidence in agriculture. And there is no other reasonable source of “patient capital” for the industry and our members. Yet the huge natural resources point to especially aquaculture as the future. Short term, high interest rates of commercial banks are not suitable. They also require big collateral security which most women don't have.  This is where micro franchise comes in as an innovative funding mechanism for these enterprises.

CACANA is also operated based on the highly successful Asian aquaculture model of farming fish in 3 systems of specialization.  a hatchery, nursery and grow out.

We introduced aquaponics 10 years ago and have been training people since.  We have built up a formidable good will in the technology. CACANA is a small “foot print” low budget indigenous food production system.  Micro franchise is a finance mechanism to enable an average Ugandan especially the youth, a management and grower support training program that enable a startup irrespective of the background, to become a professional prosperous fish entrepreneur.

Budo CACANA hatchery Facility

1. 1. We have set up a demo commercial aquaponics hatchery, nursery1 and nursery 2 with capacity of 1.5m/A juveniles.

   2. 30 seating capacity training hall.

   3. An audio and video recording facility to produce material for social media

2. Bloodstock facility with ponds to stock 500 and 1000 parent stock fish at Nakabugo.

1. 1. The facility has 3 rooms and toilet facility,

   2. An overhead tank where we will be pumping water for distribution.

   1. 3 rooms that are for staff accommodation, store and working room.

1. After receiving a world bank grant to train 40 entrepreneurs on CACANA system of fish farming. 12 people so far have invested own money and set up Nursery 2 CACANA systems  and we have now launched systems that demonstrate the success of the main theme of the training “Making CACANA Attractive to investors” as an adaptation of training.  More than 25 people invested in preparing concept notes.
   

2. We have an 11 acre eucalyptus filled land on which we intend to set up an Aquaponics Center of Excellence, located at Namabo in Mpigi district.

Our Tank based, backyard, climate smart commercial food production system primarily targets stay home moms. An entrepreneur can use little capital to set up a commercial system without collateral. A micro franchise systems enables a customer to pay in installments for a gradual transfer of professional knowledge and ownership to the entrepreneur. The system provides a monthly income, does not need hard labour, is secure and easy to manage and can employ more people.

This will generate quality seed fish which is the main challenge to commercial viability of the huge installed infrastructure of the fish ponds.  We will use 200 demo pond fish farmers to make Wakiso a demo district of viable aquaculture.

Setting up systems will automatically give 66 entrepreneurs who can provide jobs to 330 direct jobs. Supply of 945,000 fingerlings will awaken the, to date poor performing existing pond infrastructure to commercial viability. If each pond stocks 5,000 fingerlings, we will service almost 189 ponds. If each of these ponds employs 5 people, this gives 945 indirect jobs.

For Gender balance, the cooperative will make it a prerequisite to predominantly support those enterprise that have 50% female employees

With Wakiso as a demo district we expect in one year we will be able to replicate the systems in other districts of the country which has more than 25,000 ponds.

Impact the following communities

Pond aquaculture 240 in Wakiso district as a demo district

25,000 pond systems in the whole country

introduce tank grow out commercial fish farmers in the whole country

The displaced fisher community converted to tank fish farmers

Anybody wanting to enter aquaculture as a business

We need seed fund to launch the micro franchise model.  This will fund the setting up of the required infrastructure for the entrepreneurs who will take materials loans and for those with systems set up to get working capital.

The seed fund with encourage a culture of saving so that people can receive loans.

The fund will also be used for scaling up of the hatchery to produce the required stock of young fish.  and also continue with training of interested people.

We also need money to import required materials for the farmer.

And to set up the required trained people to staff the administration.

Seek grants and get funding for the required activity and to build up and train the administrative and technical team.

3 Full time

2 part time

3 contractors

We introduced aquaponics in the country in 2010 and hve been training people ever since.  we have redesigned the system to produce local food and work in an environment of un reliable grid power supply.  we have also designed the system to be small foot print, be commercially viable and fit in an average backyard.

in the lockdown we designed a system that enables us produce concept notes remotely using satellite and geo locating system

We also train people on whats app along with an e book and videos we have produced on this aquaponics technology

None

We train, design and install systems and provide after sales support. We have a CACANA catfish hatchery and Nursery1 that produces quality seed fish for the pond fish farmers to awaken existing subsistence pond fish farming to commercial viability.

We have an innovative financing mechanism of microfranchise that enables enterprise start and prosper with minimal or no capital, no prier knowledge and experience, and mentors the entrepreneur to commercial viability in one year.  

The cooperative society, an umbrella organisation for tank fish farmers, oversees the whole model which empowers the whole value chain from hatchery, nursery1 nursery 2 the grow out and post harvesting and also markets farmers produce while also bulk purchases for their needs.  It is the voice for the special niche of commercial tank fish farmers.

Business Revenue Model
In Covid-19 lockdown, we are using zoom and Whatsapp messaging technology to do Sensitization so as to encourage and guide entrepreneurship. We do concept note at a fee for those interested in taking the business to the next level. We also contract to install the systems.

CACANA Micro franchise BOOT (Build Own Operate Transfer) model gives entrepreneurs a proven model and then coaching that person (onsite) until able to operate and eventually own either a majority or all of the business. So in this equity system the cooperative invests and earns. The cooperative also earns a commission for marketing farmers produce. And the cooperative
imports un available tools and equipment for the aquaculture industry which it sells to the farmers.

Members buy shares and pay membership to support the cooperative.
CACANA comes in 3 models.  Small, medium and large

Because Solve can connect us with partners who can help advance our solutions through monetary and/or non-monetary support.

We join a supportive community of peers, funders, and experts to
help advance our innovative work through Solve's nine-month program.

• Receive mentorship and strategic advice from Solve and MIT networks;
• Receive access to more than $1.7 million

Refine our business model

Seed fund to start the microfranchise

Talent of management and technical support in the business model implementation

Monitoring and evaluation

Technical support to implement a microfranchise operation

The local finance institutions like banks and insurance

any organization familiar with the functioning of micro franchise mechanisms

Refugees primary need if food and means of earning an income but they want to be enabled to move out of a refugee camp and stand on their own feet. So in the camp we can teach them CACANA technology that enables them to do earn and get food. The learning will give them a chance to use their otherwise idle time and a skill to give them purpose to go out and live a normal life. This is a small foot print system that can easily fit in a small area where the person resettles or rents. These people can contribute to food security of the area as they produce food that they sell to the local people.
Financial institutions can invest in them because of the acquired skills.

In Africa, women are charged with working the farms and ensuring food on the table. However, women don't own land on which food has traditionally to be grown. CACANA, with a small footprint, right in the backyard solves this quagmire by enabling women who are traditionally stay home, produce Africa's most loved nutritious staple organic food on any small piece of land which does not have to belong to them right where they stay. This enables them earn an income to liberate and empower them.

We were proud – to hear that Uganda had topped a ranking last summer of the world’s most entrepreneurial countries. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), 28% of adults own or co-own a new business.  But youth unemployment in Uganda is the highest in Africa

Uganda a country with the youngest population produce more than 700,000 people join the job market regardless of qualification, but only 90,000 get something to do. This means 87% people cannot find jobs. The rest are forced into necessity entrepreneurship, take on dangerous jobs and gambling or go abroad for slave labor and prostitution. These are the very jobs and activities wiped out by the Covid-19 pandemic and lock down. Has ushered in an unprecedented existential challenge it is filling the skills gap, a global problem, that can solve this challenge.

With the above scenario, it is easy to see that Uganda is futile ground for the agricultural sectors entrepreneurship and can be empowered and developed with its youth skilled in CACANA and mentored for successful entrepreneurship to harness the countries huge aquaculture potential while solving food security.  Then young graduates to not need to look for jobs they can employ others. Employment in agriculture in Uganda was reported at 70.38 % in 2019 by the World bank. With agriculture employing 70% of Ugandans, there is need to close potential performance divide through commercialization, value addition and trade.

Despite being ranked the world’s most entrepreneurial country, few Ugandan businesses hit the big time. It is the skills gap that needs to be filled. CACANA skills for aquaponics entrepreneurship and mentor business in the grower support program to success. This includes record keeping, farm management, savings and credit and microfranchise.

This backyard farming suits sedate life of adults and senior citizens or those planing or already in retirement. These trusted, respected senior citizens can impart their knowledge and experience, acquired over years in different disciplines but cannot be employed on the normal hectic and competitive job markets to retire with dignity while mentoring the youth as role models. The commercial production generates money needed by the elderly entrepreneur while at the same time providing highly nutritious food and day to day mild physical and mental exercise, activity and occupation to suit and sustain the elderly into good health and respectability.

We teach entrepreneurship and business in the grower support program which includes record keeping and farm management. and we teach aquaculture the science of fish and hydroponics the science of plants.