A seaweed farmer tying harvested lines against the Tanga coastline, Tanzania

Unlocking capital for Africa's seaweed economy.

A blended finance vehicle connecting global capital to women seaweed farmers in the Western Indian Ocean.

TODAY

Verified, Tanga seascape

403
Farmers reached
39
VSLA groups formed
78%
Women-led sales
19.5M
TZS direct farmer income (H1 2026)
5-YEAR VISION

2024–2028 target

25,000
Farmers
$50M
Capital mobilised (USD)
1:125
Leverage ratio

Designed for every stakeholder

For investors

Deploy capital into a verified 1:125 leverage structure, starting with the VSLA Matching Fund already active in Tanga.

VIEW OPPORTUNITIES

For farmers / Kwa wakulima

Gain access to fair financial instruments, modern equipment, and guaranteed offtake agreements.

ACCESS SUPPORT

For partners

Contribute research, market access, or co-implementation capacity to a facility already running on the ground in Tanga — not a concept, a live pilot.

PARTNER WITH US

Four financing instruments

Each instrument targets one specific barrier — from first savings capital to carbon revenue.

ACTIVE

VSLA Matching Fund

Capital injection to amplify the lending capacity of local Village Savings and Loan Associations, providing immediate liquidity for farming inputs. 39 groups formed toward a 75-group target.

SDG 1 SDG 5 SDG 8
ACTIVE

SFaaS Equipment Finance

Seaweed-Farming-as-a-Service: leasing models for tubular nets and drying racks, improving yield without upfront capital strain.

SDG 9 SDG 14
SCALING

Guaranteed Purchase

Forward contracts establishing minimum price guarantees for premium-quality seaweed, stabilising farmer income against market volatility. Pilot launching Q2 2026.

SDG 8 SDG 12
FEASIBILITY

Blue Carbon Credits

A feasibility study assessing seagrass and mangrove carbon sequestration potential across Kilwa, Tanga, and Mtwara as an additional revenue stream.

SDG 13 SDG 14

About the facility

AFSFF is where women's work meets global capital — not as charity, but as a climate-resilient, investment-ready livelihood model in coastal Africa.

The Africa Fair Seaweed Finance Facility connects global capital to women seaweed farmers in the Western Indian Ocean. Led by Action For Ocean (AFO) and Mawimbi Ocean Innovations, AFSFF launched in May 2024 with a USD 200,000 feasibility grant from Convergence Blended Finance.

A group of seaweed farmers processing and tying harvested lines together on the Tanga coast

Theory of change

1. Women form or join VSLA groups
2. AFSFF matches savings 1:1
3. Equipment financing enables deep-water conversion
4. Guaranteed purchase removes price risk
5. Groups reach self-sufficiency

Track record

Tanga seascape deployments, H1 2026 — the same four instruments described above, by actual status.

VSLA Matching Fund 39 groups formed, deployed in Tanga ACTIVE
SFaaS Equipment Finance Equipment leasing underway ACTIVE
Guaranteed Purchase Pilot launching Q2 2026 SCALING
Blue Carbon Credits Feasibility study underway, Kilwa/Tanga/Mtwara FEASIBILITY
ROADMAP — NOT YET CURRENT ACTIVITY

5-year vision expansion

By 2028, the plan is to extend the Tanga model to Kilwa, Mtwara, Dar es Salaam, and Kenya, mobilising $50M in capital and reaching 25,000 farmers. Expansion figures are targets, not current deployment.

Latest updates

COMING SOON

Field updates will be published here

Check back for verified programme news.

COMING SOON

Quarterly progress reports

Summaries of the Tanga seascape pilot, published each quarter.

COMING SOON

Partnership announcements

New co-implementation and funding partnerships.

Resources

Investor brief

Overview of the facility's financial structure and instruments.

REQUEST BY EMAIL

MEAL methodology

Our Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning framework.

REQUEST BY EMAIL

SROI data roadmap

How we're building the evidence base for a verified SROI ratio.

REQUEST BY EMAIL

Get involved

Whether you're an investor, a farmer or VSLA group, or a prospective partner — tell us how you'd like to engage and our team will follow up directly.

Online submission is being connected — for now, please email us directly and we'll respond within the timeframes below.

Get in touch

HQ

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

We aim to respond to all enquiries within 3 working days.