Norway-based impact investor Bluefront Equity’s second impact fund has made its first investment: The acquisition of FiiZK Digital, a company that drives impact for the seafood industry through digital solutions that optimize production for fish farmers.
Bluefront launched its second fund – Bluefront Capital II – in April 2024. The fund’s investment mandate covers investments in companies with products, services and technology contributing to a more sustainable seafood value chain. More specifically, this includes product services and technologies aiming to improve ocean health and biodiversity, in addition to animal welfare.
Bluefront’s second fund is given a thumbs up by one of the world’s most renowned global impact investment firms, Cambridge Associates, which builds custom portfolios for investors in pursuit of outperformance and making a positive, real-world impact. Investors in the fund include Havfonn, the Steensland group, 3S Invest, Klaveness Marine, TD Veen, Cubera, and more.
FiiZK Digital
Bluefront has reached an agreement to acquire FiiZK Digital AS, which delivers digital solutions that enable fish farmers to conduct strategic production planning by optimizing biological and financial conditions.
“More than 40% of the salmon that is produced in Norway is supported by FiiZK Digital’s solutions. This is a fantastic starting point to further develop the company. We will streamline the business and contribute with new equity that will enable the company to develop even better and more holistic solutions that will make fish farmers’ operations more efficient, sustainable and profitable,” said Kjetil Haga, partner at Bluefront.
FiiZK Digital has more than 20 years of experience in developing and producing digital solutions for the seafood industry. The company’s main product, named “Horizon”, consists of various applications that cover everything within biological and financial planning, strategic and tactical optimization, presentation of historical data, budgets and rolling forecasts that are integrated with customers’ other solutions. The system is typically utilized by fish farming companies’ employees that are in charge of production planning and finance.
In addition, FiiZK Digital provides the solution «CTRL» (pronounced «control»), which is a specialized solution for production monitoring that is utilized by those responsible for fish farming operations. CTRL feeds operational data into the planning tool Horizon. Both products are used by both traditional ocean-based farmers and land-based fish farmers.
“Optimizing production through data-driven decision-making enables fish farmers to enhance sustainable food systems by improving efficiency, reducing mortality, and promoting better fish welfare,” said Bluefront-partner Simen Landmark.
“As the FiiZK Group wanted to focus their efforts on closed and semi-closed fish cages, and Bluefront is already heavily invested in suppliers of digital solutions, this transaction suited all parties. The employees in FiiZK Digital are positive to our new owners and we look forward to developing a streamlined digital solution provider to the seafood industry together with Bluefront,” said Torbjørn Skjetne, co-founder and managing director of FiiZK Digital.
