Dave Okech

Dave Okech is an Aquaculture Fellow and a social entrepreneur who believes in inclusive development. In 2018, he launched his flagship aquaculture innovation, “AquaRech App”, a mobile application that has connected more than 3,000 small-scale fish farmers directly to the market. Benefits go beyond simply the economic: the mobile app gives women the tools and platform to purchase fish without engaging in the sex-for-fish trade, an entrenched issue in the Lake Victoria region. A serial innovator, his first foray into small scale innovations was solar-powered egg incubators that cut overheads for poultry farmers and increased earnings by more than 60%. Dave founded the Cage Fish Farmers Association of Kenya to advocate for cage fish farming policy in Kenya to secure the needs of the small farmers. Dave has won several international awards for his work, including Mandela Washington Fellow 2016, Acumen Fellow 2019, and Global Farmer Network Fellow 2020. Dave is committed to building from the ground up an inclusive aquaculture ecosystem, for the well-being of all Kenyans. He has a diploma in actuarial science.