PENANG – Fresh Studio have spent the last few years building an innovative seafood sourcing system mostly from small scale farmers in Vietnam to supply one of the largest wholesalers in the world.

Therefore, Nicolas Privet, Aquaculture and Fisheries Manager of Fresh Studio, was invited by The World Fish Center to join a workshop in Penang, (Malaysia) to share his experiences and knowledge in connecting small-scale farmers to markets.

This Workshop, part of a GIZ project 'Pro Poor Business Models for Small Scale Aquaculture' was intended to further help identify business models and finance options which could deliver positive development outcomes in the growing aquaculture sector. The workshop focused on:

• Building understanding of the economic, social and environmental case for investments into small and medium-scale aquaculture enterprises;
• Sharing knowledge of business examples and models for aquaculture investment, particularly among practitioners working with small and medium scale aquaculture and agriculture businesses;
• Conducting a mapping of the financial and technical assistance landscape for small and medium scale aquaculture enterprises in Asia, identifying gaps and ways of filling those gaps;
• Developing a shared vision among participants on follow-up action.