Quick Read:
- Nigerian fintech founder Samuel Eze has launched Fishcluster Industries, an AI and robotics platform for commercial aquaculture
- The move comes months after the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked OurPass MFB’s licence in a sweep of 46 microfinance banks
- Fishcluster has landed paid pilots with three major Nigerian aquaculture operators covering roughly 1,000 devices
- Africa faces a 3-million-tonne annual fish supply gap that the startup hopes to help close
Nigerian fintech founder Samuel Eze has traded digital payments for pond-side robotics, unveiling a new AI and drone startup barely months after regulators pulled the plug on his previous company. Eze, best known for founding one-click checkout venture OurPass, has emerged from stealth with Fishcluster Industries, a platform that uses sensors, artificial intelligence and autonomous robotics to help commercial fish farms cut losses and boost feed efficiency.
The timing is striking. OurPass, which Eze built into a business-banking play after pivoting away from e-commerce checkout, lost its microfinance banking licence last month when the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked charters for 46 dormant or undercapitalised microfinance banks. The regulator cited weak assets and failure to maintain minimum capital. That collapse followed a rocky stretch for OurPass, including a missed payroll in February 2025 and accounts from former staff describing a toxic workplace and an erratic leadership style.
Fishcluster, incorporated in Delaware with operations based in Nigeria, is pitching itself as an “AI & Robotics Operating System for Commercial Aquaculture.” Its platform combines three modules, SENTI for environmental sensing, FOS for operations management, and FORGE for autonomous execution, designed to track water quality metrics like dissolved oxygen, temperature and ammonia levels in real time, while deploying drones and surface vehicles across large fish ponds.
The Nigerian fintech founder’s pivot isn’t without commercial traction. Fishcluster has already secured paid pilot contracts with three leading Nigerian aquaculture operators, covering close to 1,000 devices, with a pipeline the company values at roughly $1 million if the pilots scale into full deployments. Eze says the opportunity is significant: Africa imports over 4.2 million metric tonnes of fish annually to plug a structural supply gap of about 3 million tonnes, with Nigeria alone short by 2.2 million tonnes.
“Every industry eventually gets its operating system,” Eze said, describing aquaculture’s moment as having “arrived.”
Still, questions linger. Fishcluster was reportedly built in just six months, a tight timeline for hardware-heavy robotics, and will need to prove device reliability and measurable gains in feed conversion before any wider rollout. Eze’s fintech track record, including the CBN blacklist and OurPass’s internal turmoil, is also likely to follow him into future fundraising conversations.
