An initiative has been launched to support African tech start-ups involved in the Blue Economy.

The US$1 million Africa Blue Wave programme aims to recruit 40 ‘high-potential’ innovators from Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Madagascar and Mozambique. It will provide them with initial capital investment, guidance, mentorship and networking opportunities to enable them to take their climate and ocean solutions to market.

Africa Business Communities reports that the initiative follows a successful year-long pilot programme and is supported by development agency FSD Africa, impact innovation firm BFA Global and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

‘Our long-term goal, as envisaged in the Great Blue Wall initiative, is to transform coastal economies into drivers of positive conservation and socioeconomic development,’ says Thomas Sberna, regional head of coastal and ocean resilience for IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa.

Applications close on 15 October

10 October 2023
Image: Freepik