Yalelo
Yalelo is Sub-Saharan Africa's largest aquaculture company, raising GMO-free tilapia in Lake Kariba and selling fresh, frozen, and prepared fish products directly to consumers through 80+ retail stores and quick-service restaurants across Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, DRC, Malawi, and South Africa.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersLusaka, Zambia
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Yalelo does
Yalelo is a vertically integrated aquaculture company headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia, and the largest producer of freshwater fish in Sub-Saharan Africa by its own characterization. Founded in 2011 and operating as part of the FirstWave Group, the company raises GMO-free tilapia (locally known as bream) in large cages in Lake Kariba using a feed formulation built on 90% locally-grown soy, maize, and wheat. Its core technology is a cage-based lake farming system supported by a Siavonga production facility, a fleet of refrigerated trucks for cold-chain delivery, and 80+ company-owned retail stores across Zambia.
The company's commercial model is direct-to-consumer: it sells fresh, frozen, smoked, fillet, and pre-packaged tilapia products through its own retail network, bypassing traditional wholesale channels. It serves mass-market African families seeking affordable, healthy protein, with distribution extended through wholly-owned subsidiaries into Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and South Africa. In 2023, Yalelo extended downstream into branded quick-service dining through Yalelo Fish & Chips, operating two mall locations in Lusaka.
Revenue is generated through transactional retail and restaurant sales rather than enterprise contracts; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company has raised $16.5 million in disclosed institutional capital from FMO and Finnfund (both 2019) to support capacity expansion. Its operational footprint of 1,001–5,000 employees, multi-country retail presence, and integrated farm-to-fork positioning make it a category-defining protein brand in the Zambian market and a scaled aquaculture platform across the region.
Yalelo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Yalelo
- Legal name
- Yalelo Zambia
- Website
- https://yalelo.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Yalelo is Sub-Saharan Africa's largest aquaculture company, raising GMO-free tilapia in Lake Kariba and selling fresh, frozen, and prepared fish products directly to consumers through 80+ retail stores and quick-service restaurants across Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, DRC, Malawi, and South Africa.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Yalelo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Aquaculture
- NAICS
- Finfish Farming and Fish Hatcheries (112511), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (31171), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (311710)
- SIC
- Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Tilapia & Warmwater Fish Hatcheries (e.g., Catfish, Carp) (AFAEAKAE)
Keywords
Where Yalelo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lusaka
- HQ country
- Zambia
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices4 records
Markets served
Yalelo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Fresh and Frozen Fish Products: Sale of fresh, frozen, smoked tilapia products including whole fish, fillets, and packs sold through company-owned retail stores across Zambia and regional markets.
- Quick-Service Restaurants: Yalelo Fish & Chips quick-service restaurants launched in 2023 serving healthy, affordable fish meals. Two locations operating with thousands of meals sold monthly.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Yalelo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Yalelo grows and sells fresh tilapia (Kariba bream) raised in large cages in Lake Kariba, distributing fresh, frozen, smoked, fillet, and pre-packaged products through 80+ company-owned retail stores across Zambia and additional stores in Uganda, Kenya, DRC, Malawi, and South Africa. In 2023, the company launched the Yalelo Fish & Chips quick-service restaurant concept at Lusaka shopping malls, extending its farm-to-fork vertical integration into prepared meals.
Product overview
Yalelo operates as a vertically integrated aquaculture business producing fresh tilapia (bream) from Lake Kariba, Zambia. The product portfolio centers on fresh, frozen, smoked, and value-added tilapia products (fillets and packs) sold through retail stores across multiple African countries. The company has expanded into quick-service restaurants under the Yalelo Fish & Chips brand, launched in 2023, representing a farm-to-fork evolution. All products are GMO-free, grown without antibiotics, and fed with 90% locally produced feed, with cold chain integrity maintained through refrigerated delivery.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fresh Fish
Quantifiable outcome
- Thousands of meals sold monthly at Yalelo Fish & Chips restaurants
Companies that use Yalelo
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Yalelo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Yalelo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Yalelo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lake Harvest: Zimbabwe-based tilapia and bream producer operating aquaculture in Lake Kariba. Directly comparable to Yalelo as a Sub-Saharan African freshwater-fish aquaculture business sharing the same lake system and overlapping regional customer base.
- Victory Farms: Kenya-based tilapia aquaculture company with integrated cold-chain distribution and retail. Directly comparable to Yalelo in vertical integration, target customer (African protein consumers), and East African market expansion strategy.
- Premier Fishing: South African aquaculture and fishing company producing farmed abalone, oysters, and finfish including tilapia. Comparable to Yalelo as a Southern African aquaculture competitor overlapping in tilapia and the broader Sub-Saharan African protein market.
Broad incumbents
- Regal Springs: One of the world's largest vertically integrated tilapia producers, with operations in Honduras, Indonesia, and Mexico. Comparable to Yalelo as a global tilapia benchmark and source of competitive pressure on premium, traceable tilapia positioning.
- Astral Foods: South African integrated poultry producer with feed milling and processing operations. Comparable to Yalelo as a Sub-Saharan African protein incumbent competing for the same animal-protein share-of-stomach in Southern Africa.
Regional players
- Tropoja Farms: Ugandan tilapia aquaculture company. Comparable to Yalelo as an East African freshwater-fish producer operating in a neighboring geography and a regional market Yalelo is also expanding into.
Emerging players
- Africa Atlantic Holdings: Ghana-based aquaculture company focused on tilapia and shrimp. Comparable to Yalelo as a Sub-Saharan African aquaculture operator pursuing vertically integrated production for the regional protein market.
Others
- Zambeef Products: Zambia's largest integrated cold-chain food producer with retail and distribution across the country. Comparable to Yalelo as a Zambian protein competitor using similar cold-chain and retail distribution infrastructure to reach the same domestic consumers.
- Hungry Lion: Pan-African quick-service restaurant chain focused on chicken, with locations across Zambia and Southern Africa including malls in Lusaka. Comparable to Yalelo Fish & Chips as an African QSR operator targeting the same mall-based, value-meal consumer.
- Aller Aqua: Global fish feed manufacturer with operations in Africa including Zambia. Comparable to Yalelo as a critical supplier ecosystem participant whose feed costs and quality directly shape Yalelo's cost structure and product positioning.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Yalelo social profiles
Digital presenceYalelo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Yalelo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Yalelo subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Yalelo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Yalelo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Yalelo
What does Yalelo do?
Yalelo grows and sells fresh tilapia (Kariba bream) raised in large cages in Lake Kariba, distributing fresh, frozen, smoked, fillet, and pre-packaged products through 80+ company-owned retail stores across Zambia and additional stores in Uganda, Kenya, DRC, Malawi, and South Africa. In 2023, the company launched the Yalelo Fish & Chips quick-service restaurant concept at Lusaka shopping malls, extending its farm-to-fork vertical integration into prepared meals.
Is Yalelo a public or private company?
Yalelo is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Yalelo founded?
Yalelo was founded in 2011. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Yalelo based?
Yalelo is headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia, in the Africa region.
How does Yalelo make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Fresh and Frozen Fish Products are the primary driver. The others are quick-Service Restaurants.
Who are Yalelo's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lake Harvest, Victory Farms and Premier Fishing. Broad incumbents are Regal Springs and Astral Foods. Tropoja Farms is listed as a regional player. Africa Atlantic Holdings is listed as an emerging player. Others are Zambeef Products, Hungry Lion and Aller Aqua.
Does Yalelo have an API?
No public API is recorded for Yalelo.
What industry is Yalelo in?
Yalelo's product category is Aquaculture. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAEAKAE, Tilapia & Warmwater Fish Hatcheries (e.g., Catfish, Carp). Its NAICS code is 112511 and its SIC code is 2092.