Meet the Advance Africa Team

We are a leading consultancy firm specialising in sustainable growth and development through innovative solutions in aquaculture, fisheries, agriculture, environment, and data.

Let’s work together

Senior management at Advance Africa

Co-founder and Managing Member

Fred Formanek

Fred is a founding member of Advance Africa and is the Managing Member of the group.

Fred has in excess of 30 years’ experience in project and business development and management (in Africa, the Western Indian Ocean region, Asia and the Middle East) and has served on numerous boards in southern Africa for companies specialising in agriculture and aquaculture. He brings extensive design and specification, capital costing, construction supervision, project management and business development experience to the Group.Furthermore, Fred is the core member of the team with regard to market-related business assessments, with significant and long-term experience in market research and development.

Fred’s large-scale project management experience and business development experience in Africa ensure a well-coordinated and executed project for our clients.

Senior Consultant and Manager of Consulting Division

Jim McCafferty

Jim is a Senior Fisheries and Aquaculture Consultant and Manager of the Consulting Division. He has an MSc in Ichthyology and Fisheries Science and is currently pursuing his PhD.

Jim's strong strategic vision, leadership skills and business acumen, in combination with over 10 years of experience in fisheries science and aquaculture, allows him to provide oversight of the overall operations, strategies and objectives Advance Africa pursues. Jim's ichthyological, fisheries and agricultural expertise extends to bio-economic assessments of marine and freshwater fisheries, on-the-ground surveys, modelling multi-use environments, value-chain analyses, ecological risk assessments, biodiversity assessments, capacity building, mentoring, aquaculture feasibility studies, scoping studies, business plan development, bio-economic and financial modelling, strategy and policy advice, and guideline development for sustainable agriculture and aquaculture projects in African countries.

Head of Fisheries and Aquaculture

Professor Emeritus Thomas Hecht (PhD)

Prof Tom Hecht (PhD in Fisheries Science) is regarded as a leading authority in fisheries science and aquaculture throughout Africa and the Western Indian Ocean Region.

He has over 45 years of experience in fisheries science and aquaculture research, teaching and industry development in both the consulting and academic domains. Prof Hecht’s career began in academia where he was the Head of the Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science at Rhodes University, South Africa.

Upon retiring from Rhodes University, Prof Hecht became a consultant in fisheries and aquaculture to the private and public sectors in Africa.His consulting work has allowed him to teach and advise on fisheries and aquaculture strategy and implementation opportunities in numerous countries. He has been entrusted by national and local governments and regional bodies to establish development frameworks and policies, governing fisheries and aquaculture sub-sectors and industry programmes.

Our team members

Senior Consultant

Rachel Wright

Rachel holds an MSc in Ichthyology and Fisheries Science.

Her skills include fisheries science, aquaculture, preparation and hosting of training courses, facilitation of stakeholder engagement workshops, GIS mapping and spatial data analysis, land use planning, infrastructure planning and design, research, data analysis and report writing, market research, design of experimental protocols, and the design of database management systems. Rachel’s master’s degree research investigated the population structure of yellowfin stock in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans using genomic analysis, to identify appropriate management boundaries between the stocks of this large pelagic species.

Consultant

Nyiko Mabasa (PhD)

Nyiko holds a PhD in Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, and has expertise in aquaculture research, teaching and curriculum development in academia.

Her skills include aquaculture, scientific research, report writing, experimental design, fish feed formulation and manufacture, design and construction of aquaculture recirculating systems, treatment, recycling and reuse of wastewater in aquaculture and aquaponics, statistical analysis of data, life cycle assessment, training course design and development, and international project coordination and management. Nyiko’s PhD research investigated the mitigation of salt accumulation in recycled brewery effluent through the integration of water treatment, agriculture and aquaculture.

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Consultant

Brett Pringle

Brett holds and MSc in Ichthyology and Fisheries Science.

His professional experience has focused on recreational and small-scale fisheries, aquaculture and data systems; this includes the development of data collection tools, project management of data collection projects, biological monitoring, experimental design, developing and administering surveys, value chain analyses, socio-economic mapping and risk vulnerability assessments. Brett has been responsible for product-managing data collection and visualisation tools designed for data collection in the small-scale fisheries and aquaculture sectors. This includes conceptualising data storage, analysis and reporting requirements, and user interface development, based on industry needs.

Consultant

Ben Pellegrini

Ben has a Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development and has extensive experience in the development of sustainable aquaculture and agriculture projects.

Ben has expert data collection, research, community engagement and socio-economic development skills and he has been responsible for project research, planning and coordination in several East African, Southern African and Western Indian Ocean locations.