SOCIAL IMPACT ACCELERATION

ROUND 4 – SOCIAL IMPACT ACCELERATION 

A. Social business description

A1. Social mantra one-liner 

Hi, my name is Mary Grace Silverio and I am the founder of Tambanokano Aqua Farm. Our mantra is Developing Livelihood Through Sustainable Mudcrab Production from Farm to Table. We envision creating a sustainable future for coastal communities by revolutionizing the aquaculture industry with our innovative crab modular system. We foster environmental sustainability while empowering local economies.

We’re facing a global food shortage by 2050, with seafood already declining. Philippine mud crab production has decreased 29% annually from 2018 to 2022. Globally, the UN FAO reports a 30% decline in catch efficiency, threatening food security and coastal livelihoods.

A2. Social impact clarity and significance

Meet Ivan. He dropped out of school because his fisherman father only earns $97 monthly to support their family of 6. Since joining Tambanokano, his father’s income doubled to $206. Ivan’s now back in school, exemplifying our mission to address UN SDGs to preserve marine biodiversity, enhance food security, provide economic growth and ensure long-term sustainability.

A3. Solution effectiveness and ESG integration

Our recirculating aquaculture system allows mud crab harvesting in 15-20 days, reduces risks from pollutants and diseases and we reuse 85% of water, with the remaining 15% used to water neighboring community plants. The system can be built in any size and place, as long as it’s enclosed making it adaptable for any scales of operation. We launched our pilot in September 2023, offering the only traceable and sustainable crab farming operation.

We’ve integrated strong ESG practices into our strategy:

1. Environmental: Our “crab condos” minimize habitat destruction. We release 1% of mother crabs for wild replenishment after strict health checks while we repurpose crab shells for agricultural compost and our food waste from crab paste is composted. 
2. Social: We’ve doubled fishermen’s income and support single parents in crab paste businesses.
3. Governance: We maintain transparency and use industry-standard KPIs.

Our diversified revenue model includes live crab sales (40%), ‘Crab-in-a-box’ subscriptions (30%), crab paste sales (10%), and franchising (20%). This diversification ensures stable cash flow and mitigates market risks.

We had been recognized at the 2024 BEAT Awards, featured in major media outlets such as Rappler and GMA News. We also have been Invited to be a panel speaker at the Social Business Day 2024 by Yunus Center and was a Finalists in US-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation business pitch in Laos.

B. Social impact acceleration

B1. Mechanisms to accelerate impacts

Looking ahead, we plan to accelerate our impact over the next 3-5 years. Our strategy involves:

1. Geographic expansion: Starting in Bolinao, Pangasinan, we’ll expand to other regions in the Philippines and explore international markets. By 2027, we aim to have operations in at least 5 key regions of the Philippines, including Bolinao, Metro Manila, Bicol, and two other strategic locations. As of this recording, we are exploring collaboration with Bryan and Jacinda Martin, founders of Reefs for Life, and Luis of Humanizate, a winner at the Social Business Creation competition in 2022. These partnerships will help us start expanding particularly in Caramoan, Bicol, and Mexico City, Mexico by 2025.
2. Impact depth: We’ll increase production capacity through our hatchery and grow our facility and additional crab modules. Currently, we produce approximately 480 kilos of crabs a year. By 2027, we aim to increase this to 2160 kilos per year. This growth will allow us to impact more fishermen and communities. We currently work with 4 fishermen, and we project to increase this to 18 fishermen by 2027, effectively multiplying our social impact tenfold. This is aside from other impacts such as the volume of water we are able to conserve, solo parents we are able to help and crabs released in the wild. 
3. Franchise growth: We aim to establish 5 franchisees by 2027, spreading our impact model. Each franchise is projected to produce 480 kilos a year and employ 1 local fisherman. Based on these projections, our franchise network alone could contribute an additional 1080 kg of crab production yearly and provide stable employment to 5 fishermen by 2027.

In total, combining our direct operations and franchise network, we project to increase our monthly production from the current 480 kg to 2160 kg by 2027. This growth will allow us to impact approximately 13 fishermen and their families and 45 solo parents, 900 people with secured crab supply, significantly boosting local economies and food security in our areas of operation.

B2. Financial stability and profitability

Our diversified revenue model ensures sustainability and profitability. In 2023, we had generated $13400 revenue and most of our sales will come from our  ‘Crab-in-a-box’ subscription and live crab sales. Our net income is almost at $4000. Our customers love to buy from us through our website and through Facebook. Our CLV is 3 times more than our acquisition cost. Right now, we are focusing on getting restaurants and exporters to increase our bulk orders, lower down the logistics cost while pushing for more sales and aiming to export our crab paste that supports our solo parents and women community.  We project reaching profitability by 2025, with a current gross margin of 55.9% and a projected net profit margin of 62.2% by 2027.

B3. Team and leadership

Our team’s diverse expertise drives our success. I lead strategy and marketing since I have 15 years of digital marketing experience and Kuya Boyong oversees aquaculture with 35 years of experience. We acknowledge that we are a small team and we cannot cover everything all at once that is why we asked help with our advisory board including 

Erwin Lizarondo, Social Business Creation Philippine Hub Initiator and Camille Albaraccin, Chief Greenovator at Everything Green for our Social Business Development

Paul Pajo, OIC Director, Incubation Management Head & Acting TBI (Technology Business Incubator) Manager of Benilde HiFi for our business modeling

Jan Ralph Ebora Program Manager for Startup Development at New Energy Nexus for sustainable energy development

Reynald Alpajando, Technology Business Incubator Manager of STEP APP TBI for our crab farming and aquaculture research and development

Jeremy Salomon, Phil Export for our trade export team

atty. Jocel Isidro Dilag, CEO of Legal Dex AI for our legal advises

Kevin Gayao CEO of IOL Inc as our Business Finance Mentor

Usually I meet them at least twice or once a month to give them our progress, challenges and seek feedback for improvements. 

B4. Partnership and collaboration

We’ve fostered key partnerships to amplify our impact. We collaborate with local NGOs like Batang Muntinlupa and Lingkod Muntinlupa, government agencies including the Department of Agriculture, and universities such asSultan Kudarat State University, Department of Science and Technology  for research support. Business support: Hub for Innovation for Inclusion, Bridge for Billions, Arizona State University, De La Salle College of Saint Benilde. We’re exploring potential partnerships with Reefs for Life and Humanizate, recent grand winners of the Social Business Creation competition, to further expand our impact.

C. ESG reporting

C1. Measurement and reporting

We measure our impact through key indicators:

1. Number of fishermen employed and their income increase
2. Volume of water saved compared to traditional methods
3. Number of queen crabs released for replenishment
4. Number of single parents supported through our crab paste business
5. Number of people who gets crabs on a regular basis

We’ve already doubled local fishermen’s monthly income from  $100 to $240 USD.

Our ESG practices align with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, specifically GRI 13 for Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing Sectors. We regularly engage stakeholders to assess our compliance and communicate our efforts transparently.

C2. Compliance with ESG standards and frameworks

We adhere to the UN Global Compact principles and are aligning our practices with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards for the aquaculture industry. We regularly engage with stakeholders to assess our compliance level and understand industry best practices.

D. Learning curve

Fieldwork revealed three key lessons: community engagement is vital, with local fishermen refining our crab module design; diversification ensures sustainability, leading to new products; and environmental impact must be measurable. We’ve improved by establishing a fishermen’s advisory board, diversifying to five revenue streams, and implementing rigorous impact measurements. Our approach shifted from production-focused to holistic and sustainability-centered, with regular feedback sessions and reviews. Prioritizing local fishermen hiring has improved efficiency, community support, and market position. We remain committed to continuous innovation for business, community, and environmental benefit.

Closing 

Tambanokano Aqua Farm is not just about crabs – it’s about transforming lives and building a brighter future for coastal communities. Through our innovative approach, strategic partnerships, and unwavering commitment to our mission, we are confident that we can make a lasting and meaningful impact on the world.

We invite you to join us on this journey of sustainability and social impact. Help us turn our vision into reality. Together, let’s change lives, one crab condominium at a time.