What went on in 2021
10 panel discussions, 4 keynotes, 1 hackathon, 1 startup demo day, 1 startup pitch competition, 2 exhibitor pitch sessions, 16 targeted B2B meetings, 1 in-person exhibition, 1 virtual exhibition, and the first African Chapter of the Global Ocean Hackathon.
Speaker Selection
2021 Programme
Registration, Welcome Tea and Exhibition
Opening Address
Keynote Address
Exhibitor Pitches
Panel Discussion: Businesses Changing Mindsets - Advocacy in Ocean Sports & Tourism
Exhibitor Pitches
Lunch Break & Exhibition
Panel Discussion: Bag It - Towards a Circular Plastics Economy in Africa
Panel Discussion: Going Further and Faster Together - Collaborative Frameworks for Innovation
Closing Address
Hackathon Launch
Sign-In
Opening Address
Keynote Address
Video Highlights from In-Person Event
Panel Discussion: Wind in our Sails - "Greening" Maritime Transport Industries
IUCN Special Session
Dassault Systèmes 3DS Experience Lab Introduction
OceanHub Africa Startups & Experts
Panel Discussion: Green is the New Blue - Ocean Solutions to Climate Change
Panel Discussion: Bag It - Towards a Circular Plastics Economy in Africa (From in-person event)
Panel Discussion: Businesses Changing Mindsets - Advocacy in Ocean Sports & Tourism (From in-person event)
Rebroadcast of Panel Discussion: Wind in our Sails - "Grenning" Maritime Transport Industries
Sign-In
Opening Address
Keynote Address - Sustainable fishing exists: How the Marine Stewardship Council is helping to recognise and drive change on the water.
Panel Discussion: Rising Faster than Sea Level - Accounts, Policy, and Research to Enable Blue Economy Growth
Panel Discussion: "Something touched my foot!" - The Untapped Potential of the Seaweed Industry
Ocean Innovation Africa Pitch Competition
Panel Discussion: Ready, Willing and Able - Sustainable Wild-Capture Fisheries in Africa
What Cannot be Measured Cannot be Improved - Fireside Chat on Ocean Data
Panel Discussion: Going Further and Faster Together - Collaborative Frameworks for Innovation (From in-person event)
Special Session: Equity and Justice in the Blue Acceleration
Panel Discussion: Island Style - Blue Economy of Small Island Developing States
Closing Address
Videos from the sessions
Opening Address
Keynote
Panel Discussion
Plenary
Panel Discussion
Panel Discussion
Panel Discussion
Panel Discussion
Panel Discussion
Panel Discussion
Fireside Chat
Panel Discussion
Panel Discussion
Closing Address
Hackathon
48 hours to decode the ocean
Ocean Innovation Africa was proud to host the first African Chapter of the Ocean Hackathon in Cape Town at the 2021 summit.
Organised by Campus Mondial de la Mer in France, this global event sees teams around of hackers in each competing city working for 48 hours straight on data-based solutions to some of the ocean’s most pressing environmental problems.
The Cape Town Hackathon took place at the Two Oceans Aquarium, where three teams of data scientists, project managers, web developers, marine scientists and communication specialists hacked, ate and slept for the 48 hours while they worked on their challenge.
Cape Town Challenges
Using computer vision and image recognition to define metrics in coral reef images – coral group, ID, colony boundaries, and percentage of bleaching.
Using image data sets and labels to create a computer vision script that will identify in which locations pictures were taken in order to link to nearby charities, further refining selection criteria based on photo content.
Using the available demographics and plastic data in Nigeria to optimise locations of waste management centres to areas likely to result in highest productivity.
- 1st prize of R8000 went to the team from SosoCare, who used the 48hrs to develop a solution to improve plastic waste tracing, creating more opportunities for waste pickers in underserved communities whilst preventing more plastic from entering the ocean.
- The R5000 2nd prize went to the Reef Support CoralAI team who used computer vision to measure and define coral colonies from photos, contributing to the conservation of these vital ecosystems.
- The 3rd prize of R3000 went to the team from SaveLocal, who developed a solution to identify geolocation from photos for hashtag-based donations for marine conservation charities.
Three representatives of the winning team from SosoCare flew to Brest, France, to present their solution during the Ocean Hackathon Grand final, in December 2021.
Pitch Competition
The French Embassy in South Africa sponsored over R30,000 in prizes for the OIA 2021 Africa Startup Pitch Competition. Six startups from South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Kenya were shortlisted from over 60 entries to pitch to the live audience of key blue economy stakeholders at OIA 2021. Expert judges from the French Embassy in South Africa, Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Lab, Investec, OceanHub Africa and UNECA had the difficult task of choosing the 3 winning startups.
NovFeed, a Tanzanian startup producing high-protein fish feed from organic waste, thereby reducing pressure on wild fish stocks and supporting farmed alternatives, won the first prize of R15000.
Second prize of R11250 went to SeaH4, a South African company that turns farmed seaweed into biofuel, reducing the impact of human energy needs on the earth’s climate.
The third prize of R7500 went to EcoAct Tanzania who use equitably sourced plastic waste to make plastic timber for construction. The finished product reduces the demand for raw materials while simultaneously preventing ‘waste’ plastics from entering the ocean.
Our sincere gratitude to the French Embassy in SA and our expert judges, and congratulations to all of the applicants – we look forward to seeing you at the next edition of OIA!
Testimonials
I'm proud to call you friends and look forward
to further engagements.”
trade mission from Canada to South Africa
through Ocean Innovation Africa. The mission was
very successful both from business opportunities
and networking with incredible entrepreneurs
and scientists”
companies and individuals taking part.
Thanks for creating a great platform to
make these connections”
and it was wonderful to meet fellow panellists
and to also see some old friends."
2021 Sponsors & Partners
Headline Sponsors
Event Sponsors
Knowledge Partners
Honourable Partners
Media Partners
