A shrimp farming startup's path to bigger impact
Also: Xurya's milestone, BRIN's new telescope and Pertamina's net zero shipping
Hey guys,
In today’s newsletter, we take a look at Aquarev, a relatively new company that is the brainchild of The Meloy Fund, an impact fund focusing on fishing and seafood-related enterprises.
Aquarev empowers shrimp farmers through various means, and what I like most is the fact they’ve chosen to work with farmers using a profit-sharing financing model.
The company has only had one year of operation, but is eyeing break-even next year and plans to go heavier on its sustainability agendas.
Apart from Aquarev, we also have quick updates on Xurya, BRIN and Pertamina.
Shrimp and impact: Aquarev’s path to smarter farming, bigger profits
Aquarev, a startup focusing on shrimp farming solutions, says it aims to double down on its sustainability efforts and also hit break-even in 2025, despite only having one prior proper year of growth and operations.
“2024 has been a big year for us as we launched multiple new sites and expanded our operations to Sulawesi along with existing sites in Java and Sumatra. Being a fairly new company, this was our first proper year of growth and operations,” says Aquarev co-founder and CEO Marvin Joseph Kolibonso.
The company, which is a venture-build of The Meloy Fund, began its activity in Indonesia with a pilot program aimed at implementing best practices in shrimp aquaculture, and has since achieved remarkable results, including a twelvefold increase in productivity and a twenty-twofold increase in farmers' revenue.
Shrimp Smarts
With Indonesia being the world’s third largest producer of farmed shrimp but a largely inefficient one at that, Aquarev sees a huge opportunity here for farmers to level up.
The company provides technical and financial assistance to help shrimp farmers optimize its operations and improve sustainability standards by, among other things, designing optimized farm layouts and offering hands-on construction support to maximize efficiency, productivity, and environmental sustainability.
Aquarev offers two tailored solutions to meet the needs of shrimp farmers at different levels of operation: Eco-Advance, for farmers looking to transition into intensive farming operations; and Eco-Plus, for farmers aiming to improve the existing traditional or semi-intensive practices.
What’s great for farmers is that Aquarev works with them using a profit-sharing model to ensure risk transfer. Moreover, the entire process is monitored and managed using an internal system, providing transparency to farmers and allowing them to track every stage of the process.
Eye on impact
As far as impact is concerned, Aquarev says it focus on 4 key areas to drive positive environmental and social impact. Firstly, it implements a Blue Carbon initiative, which prevents land clearing in mangrove ecosystems and supports mangrove conservation that enhances biodiversity and strengthens climate resilience. It also has an Aquaculture Improvement Program (AIP) that helps farmers improve their practices, adhering to industry standards like Aquaculture Stewardship Standards (ASC) and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP).
Additionally, Aquarev leads impact research on effluent management and pollution control to enhance sustainability, while also carrying out community empowerment by engaging local communities through education, training, and livelihood projects.
Over the past three years, the company says that it has excelled in sustainability metrics, meeting industry standards for effluent management and biosecurity. It vows to take that impact ethos into the big year ahead.
“While in 2025 we will fully focus on growth, we also want to focus on sustainability even more in 2025 moving towards certifications and improving the traceability of our shrimp,” Marvin says.
In other news…
Xurya’s Solar Projects Hit 100 MW Milestone
Xurya, known for its no-upfront-cost solar power leasing model, has announced a big milestone: hitting over 100 MW of solar power capacity across almost 200 projects throughout Indonesia. As it celebrates its sixth anniversary, the company is helping more than 100 businesses switch to solar energy. This move isn’t just good for business; it’s a big step toward cutting carbon emissions and supporting Indonesia’s green energy goals. By making solar energy more accessible and affordable, Xurya is playing a key role in the country's renewable energy shift.
BRIN's New Telescope to Help Tackle Space Debris
Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is almost done building a massive telescope at the Timau National Observatory in East Nusa Tenggara. With a mirror stretching 3.8 meters across, this telescope is set to be a game-changer for tracking satellites and dealing with the growing issue of space debris. Space junk has become a major concern since it can collide with active satellites and cause serious damage. Until now, BRIN has relied on smaller telescopes, but this new one will make monitoring fast-moving objects like satellites and debris much easier.
Pertamina Targets Early Net Zero with Greener Shipping
Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) is pushing to cut carbon emissions by nearly 1 million tons by 2030, with an even bigger goal of hitting net-zero emissions by 2050—10 years ahead of the national target. The company is making this happen by adding new dual-fuel ships and shifting to green fuels. Over half of its fleet can now run on biofuels or other eco-friendly options, and they've also introduced six vessels that use cleaner alternatives like LPG and LNG. PIS is working hard to reduce the environmental impact of the shipping industry, one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions.
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As someone working in shrimp aquaculture, it's great to see the focus on sustainable farming practices and profit-sharing models getting attention. We’re definitely pushing hard to improve both farm productivity and environmental impact. Thanks for spotlighting our work!