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What went on in 2020

6 panel discussions, 2 keynotes,  2 masterclasses, 2 Q&A sessions, 1 startup demo day and 1 startup pitch competition

2020 Notable Speakers

Kristian Teleki

Director of Sustainable Ocean Initiative at World Resource Institute

Reuben Wambui

Africa Regional Coordinator UN Environmental Program Finance Initiative

Veronika Veits

Director of International Ocean Governance at European Commission, DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

2020 Programme outline

Day 1
24/11/2020
Day 2
25/11/2020
12:00 - 12:05
Virtual Room

Opening Address

David Green
CEO at V&A Waterfront
12:05 - 12:20
Virtual Room

Keynote Address: The African potential in the Blue Economy

Dr. Drishty Ramdenee
Head of Department, Ocean & BIO Economy at EDB, Mauritius

Panel Discussion: The need for early-stage private capital investment in the Blue Economy

Christian Lim
Founding Partner at Blue Oceans Partners
Maelis Carraro
Managing Partner at Catalyst Fund
Cerin Maduray
Finance Sector Specialist at WWF
Maren Hjorth Bauer
Managing Partner and Founder at Fynd Ocean Ventures
Dennis Fritsch
Project Coordinator Sustainable Blue Economy at UNEPFI

Panel Discussion: Disruption in the fishing and aquaculture industries

Francis Nderitu
Managing Director at Raino Tech4Impact
Flavio Corsin
Director of Partnerships at Aqua-Spark
Ernest Osundwa Were
Director at DryGro
Serge Raemaekers
Executive Director at Abalobi
Beth Wagude
Program Manager at IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative
Craig Smith
Marine Programme Senior Manager at WWF-SA

Panel Discussion: Disruption in the shipping industry

Angelica Kemene
CEO & Co-founder at Optima-X
Tonye Membere-Otaji
Founder & CEO at MVXchange
Edem Dotse
Founder & CEO at Swiftly.Global
Richard Stephenson
Member of Executive Board at Gestion Maritime & Executive Chariman at TonnEdge
Capt. Londy Ngcobo
Global Speaker | Entrepreneur

Panel Discussion: Disruption in the ship-building industry

Jasper Schuringa
Innovation & Corporate Venturing Manager at Damen Shipyards
Nir Gartzman
Co-founder at The Dock
Rémi Champeaux
CEO at Hy-Generation
Peter Shaw
Founder, Ocean-Trax
Bruce Tedder
Chairman at SABBEX and Co-founder at BlueCape NPC

OceanHub Africa Startup Pitch Demo Day

Marius Hugo
Managing Director at Mean Sea Level
Ruben Hazelzet
Founder at Soapbox South Africa
Anton Berkovitz
Executive Director at Impact-Free Water
Simon Hazell
Co-founder & CEO at Inseco
Sara Andreotti
Chief Operations Officer at Sharksafe Barrier

Breakout Session: Open Q&A with Investors

Bastiaan Hochstenbach
Co-founder & Partner at E4EAfrica
Christian Lim
Founding Partner at Blue Oceans Partners
Cerin Maduray
Finance Sector Specialist at WWF
Maren Hjorth Bauer
Managing Partner and Founder at Fynd Ocean Ventures
16:30 - 00:00
Virtual Room

Masterclass: Beyond Mitigation: Innovation and funding opportunities for Climate Action

Jacob Winiecki
Principal Consultant at BFA Global
Bethany Kanten
Consulting Associate at BFA Global
12:05 - 12:20
Virtual Room

Keynote Address: The need for collaboration in order to achieve the objectives of SDG-14

Paul Holthus
President & CEO of World Ocean Council

Panel Discussion: Building the pipeline of ocean-impact startups

Ross Brooks
Investment Manager at Katapult Ocean
Rob Quartel
Founder and Executive Chairman at NTELX
Forbi Perise Nyosai
Africa Regional Representative at SOA
Kolisa Yola Sinyana
PhD Candidate at UCT
Kenneth Oguzie
CEO & Co-founder at ACTIV, VP at DOTCAN
John Dutton
Head of UpLink at World Economic Forum

Disruption from marine renewable energies

Matthew Bray
Co-founder & CEO at Brayfoil
Marius Hugo
Managing Director at Mean Sea Level
Francisco Boshell
Renewable Energy Markets and Standards Analyst at IRENA
Luiselio Salvaterra Pinto
Founder & CEO at Krypton
Andrew Johnstone
CEO at Climate Fund Managers

Panel Discussion: The role of governments and authorities in the development of the Blue Economy

Richard Labelle
Independent Consultant
Dr Mohamed Seisay
AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Sustainable Development ....
Reuben Wambui
Africa Regional Coordinator UN Environmental Program Finance Initiative
Jon-Age Øyslebø
Minister Counsellor at the Norwegian Embassy in South Africa
Veronika Veits
Director of International Ocean Governance at European Commission, DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Kristian Teleki
Director of Sustainable Ocean Initiative at World Resource Institute

Panel Discussion: Disruption in the coastal tourism and ocean-sport industries

Lance Greyling
Director of Enterprise and Investment at City of Cape Town
Megan Morikawa
Director of Global Sustainability Office at Grupo Iberostar
Jethan D’Hotman
Marine Technician at SAEON
Nikita Kekana
Non-Executive Director and Legal Advisor at OceanHub Africa
Sara Andreotti
Chief Operations Officer at Sharksafe Barrier
15:30 - 16:40
Virtual Room

OIA Startup Pitch Competition

16:40 - 00:00
Virtual Room

Breakout Session: Open Q&A with entrepreneurs

Marius Hugo
Managing Director at Mean Sea Level
Sara Andreotti
Chief Operations Officer at Sharksafe Barrier
Tonye Membere-Otaji
Founder & CEO at MVXchange
16:40 - 00:00
Virtual Room

Masterclass: Applying SDG Impact Standards to the Blue Economy

Susan De Witt
SDG Impact Associate at UNDP
“I was impressed by how smoothly this
virtual event ran.”
Craig Smith​
“I really enjoyed the diversity of points of view in the panel.”
Flavio Corsin
“Great topics, great speakers, great spirit.
You’re building something special.”
Ted Janulis
“I thank you all on behalf of the African
Union-IBAR. Very interesting discussions.”
Dr Mohamed Seisay​

2020 Sponsors & Partners

Find out more about the 2023 event

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