Genetic improvement through selective breeding has been used for millennia on crops and livestock, but up until the 1980s, little had been done to utilize this process for farmed fish. In response to the inadequate supply of tilapia seed and the deteriorating performance of the fish in many aquaculture systems in Asia, WorldFish and partners began the Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) project to develop a faster-growing strain of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) that was suitable for both small-scale and commercial aquaculture. This factsheet provides a background of the development of the GIFT project, its success and benefits to the developing world.