Abalobi

What Abalobi does

Abalobi is a South African non-profit and public benefit organisation (legal name: ABALOBI ICT4FISHERIES) founded in 2015 and headquartered in Cape Town, with a stated mission to cultivate thriving, equitable and climate-resilient small-scale fishing communities globally. Its core product is Abalobi Monitor, a 1st-mile data and traceability software platform that enables fisher organisations to capture catch data, assert data ownership, generate reports, and meet traceability requirements from boat to market. Surrounding the platform is an integrated service stack: Fish With A Story (market access model linking fisher cooperatives to fair local and global markets plus financial services), E-Learning for Fishers (digital-literacy and skills-building programmes), Data Toolkits (participatory ecological knowledge capture), and Tailored Tech & Support Packages (deployment support for NGOs and governments). Abalobi also operates Abalobi Labs, a wholly-owned SPV for investment into Abalobi-built technologies and integrations, and is a registered financial service provider in South Africa.

The organisation applies a 'Tech + Touch' community-led GTM motion in which technologies are co-designed with fishing cooperatives, fisher organisations, NGOs, and government partners, rather than distributed through conventional sales channels. Revenue mechanics are blended: the primary stream is grant, donation, and award-based funding channeled through the non-profit, supplemented by annual subscription-style tech & support packages for NGO and government deployments sold via an Airtable portal (pricing not publicly disclosed), and transaction-linked market-access services via Fish With A Story. Customer segments are grouped into small-scale fishing communities and fisher organisations (primary), fisher cooperatives (primary), and NGOs and governments (secondary), with marketing conducted primarily through storytelling documentaries ('Coding for Crayfish', 'Fish With A Story'), earned media via award recognitions (Earthshot Prize, Ashoka, Zayed Sustainability Prize, WEF Uplink, UNESCO), and partner-network word-of-mouth.

Operational scale is constrained—headcount is reported at 1-10 employees—and no revenue, ARR, or transaction volume has been disclosed. Geographic operating footprint is Africa-anchored with claimed international collaboration through local partners, and the company has accumulated two known funding rounds totalling approximately $350,000 (Catalyst Fund 2018; Conservation International Ventures 2024).

Name

Abalobi

Legal name

ABALOBI ICT4FISHERIES

Website

https://abalobi.info

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

South African non-profit (ABALOBI ICT4FISHERIES) providing first-mile data, traceability, and market-access software—Abalobi Monitor and Fish With A Story—for small-scale fishing communities, cooperatives, NGOs, and governments across Africa and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fisheries management and traceability software

NAICS

Aquaculture (11251), Fishing, Hunting and Trapping (114)

SIC

Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900)

akta.pro primary industry

Supply Chain Traceability & Farm-to-Fork Data Systems (AFAAAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Aquaculture Farm Services & Operations Support (net cleaning, diving, grading, harvesting) (AFAEAAAM)

Keywords

• Small-scale fisheries
• Fisheries traceability software
• Catch data collection
• Market access platform
• Fisher cooperative technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Non-profit / Grant Funding: Abalobi ICT4FISHERIES is a registered non-profit and public benefit organisation that operates primarily through grants, donations, and supporter funding. The organisation is also a registered financial service provider and incorporates ABALOBI Labs as an SPV for technology investment.
2. Tech & Support Packages: The organisation offers technology and support packages to fisher communities, NGOs, and governments for deploying and maintaining Abalobi's data and traceability technologies.
3. Market Access Services: Through the Fish With A Story model, the organisation facilitates market connections for fisher cooperatives providing access to fair local and global markets along with linked financial services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Abalobi builds and delivers a first-mile data and traceability software platform (Abalobi Monitor) for small-scale fisheries, enabling fisher-led catch data capture, fisher registration, and QR-code product traceability from boat to plate. It complements this with Fish With A Story, a market-access and storytelling model that connects small-scale fisher cooperatives to consumers and retailers, and with bundled technology and support packages, e-learning, and data toolkits.

Product overview

Abalobi is a non-profit organisation operating a platform-plus-programmes model centred on two core offerings: Abalobi Monitor (first-mile data and traceability software) for fisher organisations to manage catch data, ownership, reporting and traceability, and Fish With A Story (market access model) connecting fishers with fair local and global markets and financial services. These are supported by Abalobi Labs (investment vehicle for Abalobi-built technologies), E-Learning for Fishers (skills-building), Tech & Support Packages, and Data Toolkits. The portfolio collectively enables co-management, Fisheries Improvement Programmes, traceability from boat to market, and financial inclusion for small-scale fishing communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fish With A Story: Market access model connecting fisher groups and cooperatives with fair local and global markets and linked financial services.
• Abalobi Monitor
• Abalobi Labs

Products and services

• Abalobi Monitor

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports co-management, implements fisheries improvement programmes, and uses innovative data, traceability, cold chain and market technologies for social, economic and ecological sustainability

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and major.

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Abalobi participates in the STF Global Food System Innovation Database and Network being developed with FAO. The organisation was named a Seed Grant Finalist in the $1 million Seeding the Future Global Food System Challenge, which is being developed in partnership with FAO.
• World Economic Forum (White Paper)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2026Abalobi is highlighted as an innovative company in the World Economic Forum's white paper on sustainable blue food production in Africa. The white paper outlines how Africa can leverage blue foods and features Abalobi among the innovative companies and initiatives across Africa.
• AshokacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Abalobi is an Ashoka Fellow Organisation, recognised for its innovative social entrepreneurship model in supporting small-scale fishing communities.
• Zayed Sustainability PrizemajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Abalobi was named a Food Prize Finalist in the Zayed Sustainability Prize, one of the world's most prestigious awards for sustainability innovation.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Abalobi has been recognised as a UNESCO Digital Literacy Case Study, demonstrating its role in advancing digital literacy among fishing communities through technology education and skills-building initiatives.
• World Economic ForumcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Abalobi has been featured as a WEF Uplink Top Innovator and is listed among the Uplink Top Innovators platform, providing international visibility and connection to the global innovation ecosystem.
• The Earthshot PrizecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Abalobi was selected as a Revive Our Oceans Finalist in the Earthshot Prize, one of the most prestigious environmental awards globally, significantly raising its international profile.
• Ocean Risk Alliance (ORIC)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Abalobi won the Ocean Resilience Innovation Challenge (ORIC) organised by Ocean Risk Alliance, supporting its work on climate resilience for fishing communities.
• 1000 Ocean StartupssupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Abalobi is part of the 1000 Ocean Startups ecosystem, connecting with other ocean innovation startups globally.
• OceanHub AfricasupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Abalobi is an OceanHub Africa startup, gaining access to mentorship, networks, and support for scaling ocean innovation in Africa.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pelagic Data Systems: Provides electronic catch documentation and traceability for small-scale fisheries, the same first-mile data capture problem Abalobi Monitor solves. Most directly comparable peer on product offering and target customer base.
• FishWise: Non-profit working with seafood businesses and fisheries on sustainability, traceability, and social responsibility. Comparable mission, NGO funding model, and small-scale fisheries engagement.
• Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP): Global NGO engaging fishery improvement projects and supply chain stakeholders on sustainable seafood. Comparable NGO structure, fisheries-improvement focus, and certification pathway work.
• Blueyou: Sustainable seafood sourcing company connecting small-scale fisheries to international markets. Closely comparable to Abalobi's Fish With A Story market-access model with linked financial and trading services.

Broad incumbents

• MSC (Marine Stewardship Council): Global standard-setter for sustainable seafood certification. Abalobi's traceability and FIP support feed into MSC-style certification pathways, making it an adjacent incumbent in the same value chain.
• FoodLogiQ: Food supply chain traceability and supplier management platform. Comparable traceability functionality targeting seafood and broader food categories, with stronger enterprise SaaS distribution.
• TraceLink: Large-scale supply chain traceability and compliance platform serving life sciences and food. Provides an enterprise incumbent benchmark for the underlying traceability tech Abalobi is deploying.
• Open Blue: Large-scale sustainable aquaculture producer with integrated traceability from farm to market. Comparable end-to-end traceability philosophy though at commercial aquaculture scale rather than small-scale.

Emerging players

• SmartCatch: Digital catch reporting and fisheries analytics platform for commercial and small-scale fisheries. Comparable data-collection and reporting workflow to Abalobi Monitor.
• Providership / ThisFish: Traceability and supply chain transparency software for seafood, with a focus on small-scale fisheries. Closely comparable feature set to Abalobi Monitor on catch data and traceability.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/abalobi_app
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/abalobi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Abalobi