Oceans economy accelerator nonprofit OceanHub Africa has selected six entrepreneurs and their ventures as the second cohort of companies that will be supported through acceleration programmes.
The entrepreneurs from Nigeria, Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa were selected from among about 130 applicants from 24 African countries.
The six entrepreneurs selected are Tanzanian recycled plastics eco-building materials venture Arena Recycling Industry co-founder Ailars David, South African wind turbines performance and reliability venture Brayfoil Technologies CEO Matthew Bray, Nigerian community circular economy venture Givo co-founder Victor Boyle-Komolafe, Namibian sustainable fish products venture Green Ocean Namibia founder Eva Shitaatala, Tanzanian biopesticide venture Plant Biofenders founder Never Mwambela Zekeya and Nigerian recyclables for healthcare venture Soso Care co-founder Nonso Opurum.
Over the next six months, the entrepreneurs' projects will be supported by the accelerator’s team, mentors and partners to grow their business, including through product development; access to business, engineering and scientific expertise; and access to market leads and support along the fundraising journey, from pitching to structuring deals from OceanHub Africa's extensive network of international impact investors.
The entrepreneurs will also have access to hands-on services from OceanHub Africa's corporate partners including cloud and information technology services, engineering and software suite for prototyping and testing, legal counselling, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence development support, and communication and marketing services.
"The development of the Blue Economy is an immensely important first step towards creating sustainable development pathways and this is what OceanHub Africa strives to achieve when scouting for entrepreneurs," the accelerator says.
"Africa offers a particularly high potential in terms of blue economy developments, paving the way to ocean community-based resource management and offering an ideal ground to test and scale impact innovation."
Africa's oceans economy, which involves an area three times the size of its landmass, is seen to be a major contributor to continental transformation and growth of industries such as fisheries and aquaculture, marine renewables and biotechnologies, boat building and shipping, coastal tourism and ocean sports.
OceanHub Africa is based at the V&A Waterfront, in Cape Town, and is home to a strong scientific, technical and business skills ecosystem. The nonprofit organisation grew its pan-African reach with this year’s cohort, and delivered its programme online to accommodate for travel restrictions, the organisation states.