Rashid Rashid refused to let the grief and tragedy of losing his firstborn son overwhelm him and instead vowed to establish a legacy that would honour his memory long after his death, not only in Tanzania but throughout the African continent.
“While I was in the UK, my firstborn son died. His name was Aatif. Due to the travelling schedules and the burial requirements of the Muslim religion, I could not reach my son’s funeral in time to bury him, and that was very hurtful for a long time,” recalls Rashid.
“I went through a very difficult period and depression was the worst part of it. By the time I got back up, I promised to cherish the name of my son and make it a legacy, hence the name of the company, Aatif Aquaponics Limited,” he adds.
Modern Agricultural Practices
Rashid, co-founder and chief executive officer of Aatif Aquaponics, is at the helm of a company that distinguishes itself from the rest through innovative approaches. By embracing sustainable agriculture, Rashid and his team are pioneering new techniques like hydroponics and aquaponics to grow high-quality crops efficiently and environmentally conscious.
Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing crops or medicinal plants, without soil by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in an artificial environment.
Aquaponics – on the other hand – is a food production system that couples aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish, snails or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics, whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically grown plants.
“Because of my experience in the hospitality industry for over four years and the skills I gained in the UK, we realized there are some gaps that we could close and establish a foothold in the industry. We started the company with three co-founders, each with experience in different areas of the industry.
“Our company is growing horticulture crops using smart farming techniques of hydroponics and aquaponics farming. Zanzibar with all its booming industry, almost 80% of horticulture demand is imported from Tanzania mainland, Kenya, South Africa and sometimes even from the EU,” explains Rashid.
Business Orientation
As a young boy growing up in Zanzibar, Rashid remembers how throughout his secondary school years he was so business and work oriented that he would always engage in part-time work or small business ventures.
“This experience gave me a sense of what I wanted to do when I finished university. My ultimate goal was to always work for my self instead of being employed by someone else. I did my undergraduate degree in Business Administration in Zanzibar and immediately after finishing, I went to work in the hospitality industry with the purpose of getting as much experience as possible in the booming industry.
“By then I was planning on eventually opening an auditing or accounting firm. I was lucky in 2016 to win a Chevenig Scholarship award and studied into Oil and Gas Management in The UK. At the time, I thought petroleum exploration in Zanzibar was going to be big so I wanted to be prepared for the industry.
“By chance, during our normal studies I came across a non-credit class course of smart farming of hydroponics and aquaponics and just took the class our of curiosity. My interest peaked, when I realized the huge market potential in Zanzibar for such skills on the hospitality industry.
“So as the business oriented person and the skills I had, I knew I could become an entrepreneur in Zanzibar through selling a unique proposition to the hospitality industry.”
Surviving Covid-19
When Aatif Aquaponics started operating in 2018, the company had just one employee. Today, Rashid and his team are made up of twelve full time workers and eight part time employees. Significantly, 50% of their workforce is women and over 70% are below the age of 35.
However, the positive and impressive growth trajectory the company experienced when they started off suddenly found itself under threat as the Covid-19 pandemic swept accross the world.
“In Zanzibar during that time almost the whole country was bankrupt as the industry employs upwards of 50% of the workforce. Our company was not spared, and we contemplated closing it. Lucky for us, when the pandemic was over and in mid-2022, we started cultivating again.
“Since we had a complete structure ready to go, it was easier for us to grow and sell faster than traditional farmers in Zanzibar and we managed to gain around ten customers in just a single month of operations, who are still with us today, because they love our quality and trust us.
“The demand for high-quality fresh crops in the tourism industry is quite high and the best way to stay ahead of the curve is to ensure we install as many smart farms as possible. We are also looking at the export market, where there are some crops that can fetch a premium price and are easily grown in a hydroponics and aquaponics set ups and we plan of having at least 30% of our production be exports in the next five years,” Rashid says.
From Strength to Strength
Looking back, Rashid realizes the milestones that company has achieved within a relatively short time. It is these successes that give him and his team the motivation and zeal to keep pushing towards realizing their goals.
“When we started the company, we only had one small set up that could produce 200 or less crops in a month,” he says.
“During this time, we struggled to keep the company afloat and we almost gave up, but during that time, we managed to not only survive but thrive and are now operating the largest hydroponics farm in Tanzania and have increased our employment from 1 to 20.
“One of our earliest customers in Zanzibar was a restaurant called Mama Mia Restaurant. They have been buying from us from 2019, when we started raising funds, they realized the market capacity of Zanzibar and they trusted our resolve that they agreed to become equity partners in our company and invested a lot of money to make our dream come true,” he adds.
Learning to Grow
Rashid says he has learned a lot from his entrepreneurship journey and points out how he discovered the value and benefits of trusting his team members to get some of the tasks done.
“Before I started and during my early years as an entrepreneur, I was the hands-on person. I wanted to do everything by myself, never trusted anyone to help me, and whenever I gave my staff any work to do and they failed to perform it to my satisfaction, I ended doing it myself.
“I wanted to quit so many times but I kept on going. Eventually, I realized that if I wanted my staff to perform and be efficient and effective I had to teach them the skills myself or look for people who are as passionate as me in my project.
“To me that is the most significant lesson. I had to learn to grow. The better the team the better the company. If you are passionate about something, do not just go for skills, look for people with a similar passion to your own, those are the people who will give their all to ensure the company grows,” Rashid explains.
