The Africa Aquaculture Research and Training Center is a regional center of excellence for research, training and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the African aquaculture sector. Opened in 1998, the WorldFish-run research center in Sharkia, Egypt, has played an important role in the development of the aquaculture sector in both Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa. The center has trained more than 1700 government officers, university staff, farmers, extension agents and researchers from 105 countries since 1999. With an extensive 62 ha situated in the Nile Delta, the center provides access to facilities that replicate commercial farm conditions so that trainees learn through both theoretical sessions and practical training.