"I have been growing seaweed my whole life. I never knew you could eat it."Seaweed farmer, Zanzibar coast
of Tanzania's seaweed was leaving the country.
Tanzania is Africa's largest seaweed producer, farming hundreds of thousands of tonnes each year, almost entirely by women on Zanzibar's Indian Ocean coastline. In 2020, over 99% of that harvest was exported raw, unprocessed, to cosmetic factories in Asia and Europe, at the lowest possible value.
Marine scientists Nancy and Jerry Mang'ena were studying the impact of climate change on that coastline when they discovered the women behind the industry. Every woman they met had grown this crop for years. None of them had ever eaten it.
farming Zanzibar's coast. Earning the margin they deserve.
Through the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Nancy met entrepreneurs who opened her eyes to seaweed's extraordinary nutritional potential. She spent months travelling across Zanzibar, speaking directly with farming communities. The mission became clear.
Healthy Seaweed Cafe built a guaranteed offtake model that pays every farmer in its network 2 to 4 times conventional market rates. The income stays in Tanzania. The brand stays in Tanzania.
"We are not a supplement company that sources from Africa. We are an African company that is building the infrastructure for the world to receive the gifts of our ocean. The farmers who grow this product are not our suppliers. They are our co-founders."
Nancy Iraba, Founder & CEOacross Tanzania. The country growing the most seaweed is finally eating it.
From supermarkets, pharmacies, health stores, and hospitality establishments across six major Tanzanian cities, Healthy Seaweed Cafe now reaches 80% of the market with products traceable to the women who grow them, while opening regional and international markets.
The Numbers
Five Years of Building from the Ocean Up.
Our Impact Model
Creating Value That Flows
From Ocean to Community
Every product you buy sets this chain in motion, from Zanzibar's coastline to your table and back to a sustainable future.
Women Farmers
We work with coastal women farmers who cultivate seaweed using sustainable methods that protect our oceans and support their communities.
Impact outcomes
WE CREATE
LASTING IMPACT
The Journey
How We Got Here
The Spark
Amidst Covid-19, while researching the impacts of climate change on seaweed farming, co-founders Nancy Iraba and Jerry Mang'ena identified a major gap: despite seaweed's nutritional and health benefits, it was largely absent from African diets. Through field visits across 20 villages in Zanzibar, they found that over 90% of seaweed farmers were unaware of the health benefits of the crop they cultivated. This insight laid the foundation for Seaweed Cafe.
Testing the Idea
Starting from a home kitchen, we began a 6-month R&D process and produced our first proprietary seaweed gel, selling online. Co-founders Fatuma Mang'ena and Irene Iraba joined the team during this phase, allowing us to validate consumer demand, refine our products, and better understand the local market.
Early Growth
We moved into our first dedicated processing space, expanded our product portfolio, and secured our first major investment of USD 25,000. In the same year, we were recognized with the GoGettaz Social Impact Award at the African Food Systems Forum.
Building Resilience
Operating primarily through sales revenue, we continued growing the business and strengthening our market presence. Our work was recognized globally when Seaweed Cafe was selected as a Top Innovator by the World Economic Forum's UpLink initiative.
Scaling Impact
We established our own industrial processing facility and transitioned to a B2B2C model, expanding distribution through more than 100 retail partnerships, bringing seaweed-based nutrition closer to consumers and achieving our first $100k in sales.
Our Vision
By 2030, we aim to reach 1 million consumers with nutritious seaweed products while creating sustainable income opportunities for 1,000 coastal women seaweed farmers through our guaranteed market offtake model.
External Validation
The World Has Noticed.
The People
The Team Behind the Brand.
Our Ecosystem
Backed, Funded & Partnered By
The institutions, investors, and organisations that believe in Tanzania's seaweed economy and the people who build it.
Join the Movement
Every Purchase Supports 383 Farming Families.
When you buy Healthy Seaweed Cafe, you are not buying a supplement. You are investing in the infrastructure of Tanzania's blue economy.