Welcome to our November newsletter!
As expected, momentum from the Blue Economy Finance Forum in
Monaco and the UN’s Third Ocean Conference in Nice carried
into the second half of 2025. Despite geopolitical, funding,
and other headwinds, the ocean investment community has
demonstrated both determination and resilience in continuing
to make progress on the goal of creating a sustainable blue
economy for us all.
Welcome to Sustainable Ocean Investing 2.0:
We started using the phrase “Sustainable Ocean Investing
2.0” during New York Climate Week, as we believe it’s become
increasingly clear that we’re entering a new phase in
developing a broad and deep capital market for the oceans.
To explore this new frontier, we co-hosted an event with
MITRE and T. Rowe Price during New York Climate Week at The
Explorers Club, “Unlocking the Ocean Economy: Accelerating
Investments for Economic Growth and Global Security.” We
convened over 100 members of the blue economy investment
community to examine how the investing landscape is
evolving, what areas appear most promising for scaling, and
what new tools and approaches are being developed for
expanding investor engagement and participation.
Some examples from our gathering included Builders Vision’s
Project Wave initiative (Peter Bryant and Sindre Østgard);
the first “blue unicorn” and the 100% fish movement (Thor
Sigfusson); T. Rowe Price’s new innovative blue bond fund
(Samy Muaddi); AiiM Partners’ successful exits and an IPO
next year from their first fund – 2020 vintage (Shally
Shanker); and a panel highlighting ocean sectors that are
scaling, such as data, autonomy, blue food, and maritime
decarbonization (Nick Rotker). The program also featured a
discussion covering all major investable asset classes:
stocks (Rockefeller Capital Management), bonds (T. Rowe
Price), alternatives (S2G Investments), and PE/blended
finance (Pegasus Capital Advisors).
Sincere thanks to all who joined us, and especially to our
partners MITRE and T. Rowe Price. Stay tuned for a
forthcoming write-up summarizing the discussion.
1000 Ocean Startups Annual Gathering and Ocean Exchange
Competition:
We had an awesome experience at the 1000 Ocean Startups
Annual Gathering, this time held in conjunction with One
Ocean Week in Seattle, Washington. It was great to catch up
with old friends and meet new ones; the conversations were
engaging and the energy to act apparent. Huge gratitude to
Ron Tardiff and the World Economic Forum Lighthouse team for
putting together an inspiring and enjoyable gathering!
In our closing remarks as co-chair of the steering
committee, we made three observations:
-
1000 Ocean Startups has become increasingly global,
having made a conscious effort to seek members in new
geographies. One tangible result of this process: the
establishment of an APAC community within the
organization.
-
With over 550 (!) startups supported and 61 member
organizations, we’re beginning to see the power of the
data that is being generated within our community.
Thanks to efforts by the World Economic Forum’s
Lighthouse team, we were able to look at the ocean
landscape with a deeper understanding.
-
More than ever, the theme of “radical collaboration” was
evident during our time together. We first heard that
expression from our good friends at Lonely Whale, and
believe it captures the good-spirited sense of urgency
we all feel.
We also were delighted to attend the annual Ocean Exchange
competition in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the fifth year.
As usual, Millie Pitts and her remarkable team curated an
amazing event with a broad range and depth of ocean
innovation on display. Here is
a link
with the award winners and a few highlights. We were also
fortunate to have the opportunity to deliver a presentation
to the attendees about, you guessed it… sustainable ocean
investing 2.0. If you’ve never attended Ocean Exchange, we
highly encourage you to consider attending next year!
Looking Ahead to COP30:
Helena is on her way to COP30 in Belém, where she will be
managing
the Ocean Pavilion
for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Scripps
Institution of Oceanography. If you’re attending the
conference please feel free to reach out or just stop by
(Blue Zone, PV-D120).
A handful of sessions we’re excited about:
As always, thank you for your support and wishing you a
happy holiday season!
The Investable Oceans Team
