This past year marked major milestones for Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) on our ocean impact investing journey. In 2023, SOA deployed the most it ever has in a single year - $1.08M in grants and investments, and another $694K through its affiliate venture capital fund, Seabird Ventures. This two-pronged approach helped startups face increasing fundraising challenges.
In 2023, higher interest rates, and political uncertainty surrounding the future of U.S. climate policies, saw the climate venture market hit a 30% drop. Despite persistent obstacles, SOA is proud to have deployed $4.66M to visionary founders and grantees since 2018.
We were honored to launch the Ecopreneur Network (EN) and introduce its inaugural 2023 class. In deepening our commitment to visionary ocean-health-startup founders, we pioneered an entirely new model of support for the entire sector. This leap ushered in a new era of for-profit ocean innovation. Gone is the age of costly, time-bound accelerators. Our founders now receive lifetime venture support.
The mentorship and funding we’ve poured into the sector have advanced equity for ocean advocates of all ages, genders, geographies, and backgrounds. The proof is in the results: the average age of SOA grantees is 28; half of all EN startups are female-founded or led, and 56% of all grant initiatives to date have been female-led; in 2023 specifically, $676K in investments and grants went directly to developing countries, and Indigenous people led 16% of grant-funded initiatives.
Measured against 30+ scientific metrics, the collective efforts of our investees and grantees have decreased pollution, reduced bycatch, and mitigated greenhouse gasses more so than in any previous year SOA has recorded. That's possible thanks to SOA's supporters who fueled our unprecedented 2023 impact.
I know our founders and grantees will continue building on the foundation laid this past year. And 10 years after its founding, SOA is doubling down on our commitment to fueling their evolution, while ushering in new initiatives over this next decade.
Daniela V. Fernandez
Founder and CEO,
Sustainable Ocean Alliance
SOA differentiates itself in the ocean impact space by being able to rapidly provide nimble, friendly capital to a diverse global community of ocean-focused people and organizations.
We added over 100 ocean solutions in 2023, bringing the total to 376 (56 companies and 320 grants) across 83 countries since 2018. Of the 130+ solutions who contributed data to the 2023 report, SOA and our affiliate venture capital fund Seabird Ventures have supported them to-date with over $4M in grants and investments, enabling the creation of blue jobs and stimulating blue economies in critical ecosystems.
Data are from the time of first investment in 2018 and first grant in 2020.
SOA takes a unique approach to solving key ocean challenges by deploying capital through a combination of grants to grassroots orgs and leaders as well as investments in for-profit startups. This strategy has led to SOA supporting a diverse community of people driving ocean solutions and measuring a range of metrics and magnitudes.
For this report, SOA collected self-reported data from companies and grantees active in 2023. We analyze and aggregate data guided by a methodology informed by scientists, investors, startups, and ocean experts. We classify data by five critical ‘areas’ of impact that relate to UN SDG and Ocean Decade 2030 targets, and map to our goal to decarbonize, detoxify, regenerate, and replenish, the planet.
This report represents the work of hundreds of people dedicated to restoring ocean health and we are indebted to them as the driving force behind SOA.
—
Craig Dudenhoeffer
Chief Impact & Investments Officer
Co-founder, Ocean Solutions Accelerator
Taylor Garrett
Associate Director of Grants & Impact
2023 IMPACT: 28,212 Tonnes of CO2 Avoided or Removed | 16 Countries
Decarbonization was a focus of our 2023 grantmaking and investments strategy. As a result of increased capital deployed as well as scaling by previously supported solutions, the amount of carbon dioxide removed and avoided increased significantly as compared to 2022. An estimated 18,959 tonnes was sequestered by blue carbon ecosystems (mangrove, seagrass, marsh, kelp) and 9,253 tonnes was avoided, primarily through more efficient and sustainable material production. According to the EPA, the average passenger vehicle emits 4.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, so these reductions are roughly equivalent to taking over 6,000 cars off the road for a year.
2023 IMPACT: 17,981 Tonnes of Solid Pollution Avoided or Removed and 4,000 Tonnes Upcycled | 26 Countries
Detoxifying our planet requires removing waste and avoiding creating even more through efficient use and re-use, as well as maintaining ecosystems that naturally filter and remove waste. In 2023, SOA solutions removed 12,400 tonnes of pollution, primarily in India, Indonesia, Kenya, Colombia, Ghana, Guatemala, and the United States. Over 5,000 tonnes of waste was avoided, mostly by startups implementing alternative solutions for product, packaging, and fishing gear. In addition to mitigating solid waste, over 150,000 cubic meters (60 Olympic swimming pools) of water wasn’t polluted by toxic brine or agricultural runoff thanks to solutions leveraging bio and technical remediation.
2023 IMPACT: 227 Hectares of Coastal Ecosystems Restored | 19 Countries
Regenerating ecosystems is a broad category, but in terms of 2023 SOA solutions it predominantly means seeding and monitoring mangroves, seagrass, kelp, marsh/estuaries, and reefs. In 2023, 60% of all area restored was mangrove forest, and over 35,000 mangroves were planted. Over 10,000 corals were planted across the Bahamas, Indonesia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Brazil, and Timor-Leste, and 736 hectares of coastal ecosystems were monitored for ongoing restoration progress. The average New York City block is two hectares, meaning a relatively small group of organizations restored over 100 city blocks in a year.
2023 IMPACT: 4,203 Tonnes of Blue Food Generated and 215 Tonnes of Catch Avoided | 16 Countries
Replenishing our fisheries requires improving monitoring and fishing practices, expanding biodynamic aquaculture and mariculture, and implementing more sustainable alternatives to environmentally taxing foods and agricultural processes. Exploring the impact of kelp as a sustainable food source and carbon sink was a focus of 2023 grantmaking, and included: grants to three farms in Alaska and British Columbia; researching kelp and potential farming impacts in Ireland and Namibia; and using AI to estimate its biomass in Canada and the Philippines. Over 200 square kilometers of fisheries were monitored by advanced technologies meant to improve efficiency and reduce waste, and 405 vessels were using new tech to make fishing more sustainable.
2023 IMPACT: 1.9M Hours of Data Collection, 139 Reports Published, 12,325 People Trained, 136,566 People Engaged by Grant Initiatives | 36 Countries
This impact area pertains to equipping decision-makers and the next generation of ocean advocates with accurate data, as well as providing education, opportunities, and exposure to people that need it most. Many of the recipients are students and young grassroots leaders (average age of 26) working on small but locally impactful initiatives. Advocating for a moratorium on deep sea mining was a focus in 2023, and grants supported activation in 14 countries and helped increase the number of signatures on SOA’s joint petition for a moratorium to over 300,000.
In 2023, SOA awarded 98 grants and invested in 12 companies—operating across a combined 61 countries—in addition to welcoming 11 new companies to the Ecopreneur Network. The average SOA grant was $5,930, and average investment amount was $71.8K by SOA and $138.8K by Seabird Ventures.
Of all capital deployed, 38% supported operations in Developing Countries and $302K was invested in companies that joined the Ecopreneur Network in 2023.
SOA funded more grants and investments in 2023 than any previous year.
Startup
Canada
Region
Greenhouse Gas: Blue Carbon & CO2e Removal or Avoidance
Dragan Tutic
2024
Oneka Technologies envisions a future where fresh water will be accessible to a greater number of individuals without negatively impacting the health of our planet. Wave energy, or energy derived from wave movements, is the potential energy stored in the ocean swells. This energy is dense, renewable, highly predictable and ever present. Using this green energy to process sea water into fresh water affordably, results in zero greenhouse gases being emitted. Oneka Technologies offer a variety of solutions to meet a wide range of water needs: resorts to small communities (Iceberg-class) and water-intensive industries to larger coastal municipalities (Glacier-class). Oneka is a Canadian company that engineers, finances, installs, maintains and operates 100% mechanical desalination buoys to deliver fresh water to its clients, using only the energy of the ocean swells.
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United States of America
Region
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Vinit Bansal
2024
PierSight Space is building a constellation of All weather imaging satellites for persistent ocean surveillance. With our satellite constellation, we will be able to create dynamic maps of all human activity at sea i.e. all ships, icebergs and offshore oil rigs will always be in front of our eyes with a refresh rate of every 30 minutes. This helps in solving the Illegal Unreported Unregulated(IUU) Fishing problem ( $4Bn Problem), Detect and Support cleanup efforts for Oil Spills in Oceans as well as help reduce emissions by helping ships navigate through complex waterways.
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United States of America
Region
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Aarav Chavda, Roland Salatino, Kahan Chavda
2024
INVERSA builds supply chains for invasive species to produce Invasive leather for the fashion industry. The company currently manages 3 invasive species - lionfish, carp, and python - to tackle the harm caused by two problems: biodiversity loss and fashion. The UN has declared invasive species a top 5 driver of biodiversity loss. Today, invasives drive 60% of species extinctions and $423 billion/year in economic damages, undermining ecosystem health and climate resilience. Separately, the $4T fashion industry is the world’s 2nd-largest polluter, driving deforestation, biodiversity loss, and 10% of global GHG emissions. With one supply chain, INVERSA offers 2 solutions to tackle invasive species and prevent the harm they cause in global ecosystems: invasive species management services for state governments and sustainable luxury leathers for fashion brands. To date, the company has removed over 50,000 invasive animals, restoring ecosystems throughout the U.S. and Caribbean.
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United States of America
Region
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Chris Oakes
2023
Seagrass and coral habitats are rapidly declining worldwide. Reefgen has developed multiple robotic nearshore restoration platforms to plant coral and seagrasses, with the ability to develop the required 30x-75x productivity- rate enhancements over manual planting necessary for humankind to meet the challenge of restoring our coastal life support ecosystems.
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Italy
Region
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
Alessandro Romano
2023
Ittinsect is a biotech startup that developed a sustainable alternative protein ingredient, both from the environmental and economic standpoint. Ittinsect produces high performance feed ingredients through the biotechnological treatment of novel raw ingredients including insects, microalgae and agricultural by-products, in line with the circular economy principles. A fish raised with Ittinsect-based feeds has a healthier digestion and improved growth performance at no extra cost for the fish farmer. With Ittinsect, there is no longer need to catch fish from the marine environment as nutrition for farmed fish.
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United Kingdom
Region
Pollution Reduction: Circular Use, Waste Removal or Avoidance
Carlo Fedeli, Thibaut Monfort Micheo
2023
FlexSea develops novel seaweed derived biomaterials to replace single use plastics in various verticals. Their truly home-compostable materials are derived from naturally occurring seaweed biopolymers from widely cultivated red seaweed strains.
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Cambodia
Region
Pollution Reduction: Circular Use, Waste Removal or Avoidance
Barak Ekshtein
2023
TONTOTON is an environmental impact program focused on collecting and treating mismanaged, hard-to-recycle plastic in highly polluted coastal villages of Cambodia. Their mission is to reduce plastic leakage through plastic action financing while promoting waste segregation in households and businesses and collecting mismanaged plastic on the ocean-bound. TONTOTON operates its material recovery facility for sorting and processing plastic into building materials and plastic boards. The boards are used to build classrooms and house repairs in disadvantaged communities.
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Belgium, Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, Italy
Region
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Sayri Arteaga Michaux
2023
uWare Robotics is taking the aerial drone revolution underwater to protect our oceans and secure our future. uWare is a European dual-use startup that builds autonomous underwater solutions so that any blue industry can have the data necessary for sustainable operations. Port activities and offshore renewable energy are crucial to our sustainable future. They are skyrocketing and need underwater data to manage their activities and protect their assets. Yet, current solutions for underwater data are cumbersome, dangerous and expensive. uWare’s end-to-end solution of fully autonomous underwater drones and accompanying AI-based data processing makes underwater data safe, efficient and affordable. A vision that is backed by first customers such as Fraunhofer Smart Ocean technologies, the Oceanographic Institutes of Spain and Portugal, Marine Inspection companies Créocean and Seaviews as well as defense consortia in critical infrastructure inspection. uWare has also been welcomed into prestigious blue economy networks such as the Sustainable Ocean Alliance Ecopreneurs and the EU BlueInvest program.
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Switzerland
Region
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Benjamin Li, Florence Tremblay Otis, David Lunsford, Florence Cuttat
2023
Stream Ocean's mission is to help anyone working in the ocean to monitor their impact on marine biodiversity.
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