Business

East Africa has abundant fish resources, and for many coastal communities in Kenya, fishing and other related activities are a crucial source of food, local trade, and export. The lack of basic infrastructure like electricity in rural communities means that small-scale fisheries and farmers risk losing a significant portion of their harvest before it reaches consumers.

CoolCatch is building the infrastructure that closes this gap. The company operates four integrated layers: contracted supply from outgrower farms in Kenya and Uganda, certified toll processing with near-zero waste, temperature-tracked cold chain logistics, and a franchised last-mile distribution network of solar-powered hubs operated by community traders, known as Super Agents. Super Agents are typically women who have been selling fish informally for years. CoolCatch equips them with a solar fridge, a franchise operating playbook, and automated mobile money payment settlement. Creating a model that is asset-lite, replicable, and designed to scale without proportional capital.

Impact

By introducing cold chain infrastructure into informal fish markets, CoolCatch directly reduces post-harvest loss across its network. Their hubs run on off-grid solar refrigeration, replacing ambient storage and kerosene-based cooling. Through their ERP system, CoolCatch generates a traceable record from outgrower to end consumer, providing the data foundation for verified carbon accounting and impact reporting. Its contracted outgrower model reduces the economic pressure that drives overfishing and ecosystem degradation in freshwater systems.