ENTREPRENEURS IN THE BLUE ECONOMY ARE TACKLING WASTE AND GENERATING ENERGY

African Impact Accelerator welcomes its fourth cohort of ocean-minded entrepreneurs. OceanHub Africa, which runs the accelerator, is promoting small businesses that have the potential to tackle waste and generate energy, using Africa’s largely untapped ocean resources.

During the course of two months in 2023, OceanHub Africa (OHA) received 188 applications from 19 countries. From this group, OHA identified eight ocean-minded startups that have been carefully selected for the fourth cohort of a support progamme for SMMEs and startups, representing a diverse range of impactful solutions. OHA is also proud to acknowledge that this cohort showcases a substantial portion of startups led and owned by women.

THE SELECTED STARTUPS ARE:

• Akili (South Africa) tackles the challenge of plastic and e-waste by repurposing components from broken laptops and transforming PET bottles into recycled 3D filament (rPET) to create entry-level computers.

• D-Olivette (Nigeria) converts household waste into clean energy, organic fertiliser and reusable water with its innovative digesters and accessories.

• Healthy Seaweed Company (Tanzania) produces high-quality seaweedbased food to increase local consumption and create markets for female seaweed farmers.

• Kuza Freezer (Kenya) provides innovative and low-cost solar-powered freezers to small-scale businesses in the fish value and supply chains, reducing postharvest losses and increasing daily income sustainably.

• Reef Pulse (Réunion) develops decision-support solutions for coral reef conservation stakeholders through non-intrusive coral reef monitoring using hydrophones.

• ReNile (Egypt) offers end-to-end solutions for smart farming, focusing on water, air and soil-quality management with online application models for farming.

• Sealife Organics Ltd (Mauritius) utilises seaweed and green waste to create affordable and organic agricultural products.

• Tunisa Baits (Tunisa) uses marine worms to present an alternative and sustainable source of protein feed for aquaculture industries.

• In the course of 2023, these startups will receive extensive support from OHA’s accelerator team and have access to a wide range of networks, services and resources.

About Oceanhub Africa

OceanHub Africa is a non-profit ocean-impact catalyst supporting oceanimpact ventures through acceleration programmes and leadership of a global ocean-minded ecosystem to nurture an environmentally conscious and profitable economy. The organisation’s mission is to connect, inspire and support entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, businesses and other stakeholders to accelerate the development and adoption of new sustainable ocean solutions across Africa.

Acceleration Programme

Personal, product and business developments for startup market and investor readiness. OceanHub Africa’s eight-month online incubation programme supports up to 10 of Africa’s most promising impact-for-profit startups focused on preserving and restoring the health of the ocean, while developing equitable and sustainable livelihoods.The accelerator is on a mission to support ocean-minded startups with the express aim of nurturing an environmentally conscious and profitable economy that effectively mitigates the effects of global warming as well as the overexploitation and pollution of the ocean. Leveraging its highly qualified network of stakeholders and facilitators, it will deliver to the accelerated startups a programme that seeks out sustainable pathways yielding stable profits (ROIs) and avenues for scalable growth throughout Africa.

Blue Economy and Entrepreneurship Consulting

We provide tools and insights to policy and decision-makers to unlock the local Blue Economy while developing knowledge to motivate finance support for African Blue Growth.

Policy Support

Providing tools and insights to policy and decision-makers to unlock local, sustainable, equitable Blue Economy. Scoping studies, road maps and impact reports form part of the support offered.

Finance Support

Developing knowledge and understanding to motivate and channel funding.

Startup Support

There are four aspects to the startup programme:

• Coastal community programmes: We support with programme design and implementation for low-tech high-social impact Blue Entrepreneurship incubation. We focus on capacity building and resource management. Public examples of coastal community programmes we work and have worked with are Pemba Seascape (Tanzania) and Pemba Bay Seascape (Mozambique).

• Industry focus programmes: Sponsored blue entrepreneurship incubation programmes with a clear focus within the African Blue Economy. Examples of previous work include Circular Plastic Economy and Alternatives to Seabed Mining.

• Soft landing: Services to ocean-minded businesses scaling up in Africa: business development support into new markets; product/service adaptation to African markets for expansion; fundraising for growth.

• Fundraising and post development: Individual growth support outside OHA’s acceleration programme is offered.

Ecosystem Support

Thought leadership, matchmaking and convening within the African Blue Economy. Through our multiple ecosystem programmes such as Ocean Innovation Africa, we aim to showcase development opportunities in the African Blue Economy and establish collaborations to drive its growth.

Great Blue Wall

A wall against biodiversity loss and climate change through the promotion and development of a grassroots regenerative Blue Economy in Africa.

• IUCN-led Great Blue Wall initiative is aimed at replicating the Great Green Wall initiative and raising an initial $1.5-billion to connect and protect a chain of seascapes in the Western Indian Ocean to further Blue Economy growth from grassroots to system level, for the benefits of people and the ocean.

• OceanHub Africa is a founding partner of the Great Blue Wall, establishing a connected network of Nature and People Positive Seascapes in the West Indian Ocean.

Ocean Innovation Africa

Inspire more entrepreneurs, entice more private investors and catalyse more partnerships.

• The purpose of the Ocean Innovation Africa Summit is to bring together the thought leaders and stakeholders of the Ocean Economy, demonstrate the economic viability of a decidedly more sustainable Blue Economy in Africa and inspire ocean-conscious entrepreneurs.

1000 Ocean Startups

A coalition to accelerate Ocean Impact Innovation endorsed by UN Ocean Decade. Protecting our Ocean requires a combination of awareness to change behaviours, new policies to create the framework for change and innovation to move into action. OceanHub Africa is a co-founding partner and steering committee member of the coalition as a member of the Advisory Network of the High Level Ocean Panel.

Global Ecosystem for Global Solution (GEOS)

The GEOS Program is a framework to catalyse the co-design, development and deployment of equitable, durable and scalable ocean-based solutions. GEOS brings together partners from around the globe with a common objective of generating knowledge and innovative solutions to address climate change and related ocean challenges. The Global Ecosystem for Ocean Solutions is an Ocean Visions Program endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Contact Details:

40 Dock Rd, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town 8001

Salena Fourie, Marketing Communication Lead

Emails: salena@oceanhub.africa | contact@oceanhub.africa

Websites: www.oceanhub.africa ww.ocean-innovation.africa www.1000oceanstartups.org