From the freshwater lakes in Namibia to coastal hubs like Lagos, Mombasa, and Cape Town, Africa’s blue economy is projected to generate $1.5 trillion in revenue by 2050, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The bluetech sector, often categorised as part of the wider climate tech sector due to its strong focus on climate resilience and sustainability, encompasses technologies that monitor, restore, and sustainably manage ocean and freshwater resources.
However, despite its immense potential, Africa’s bluetech economy is currently the least funded among climate tech verticals, receiving just 6% ($230 million) of the total funds raised by climate tech startups on the continent, according to our Briter Intelligence data.
Investor understanding of the blue economy remains limited, often leading to misconceptions about how ventures in the sector operate and where their profitability lies. Early-stage bluetech solutions often require years of R&D before commercial rollout, especially in ocean environments that demand rigorous testing and regulatory approval. For this reason, bluetech is often seen as too complex, too risky, and too slow to return profits compared to software or fintech ventures. While innovation exists, weak infrastructure prevents bluetech ventures from scaling commercially. For instance, in the fisheries sector, post-harvest losses are estimated to be about 20-40%, and most fishers lack access to refrigeration, reliable transport, and financial planning tools. Also, certain policy environments act as inhibitors rather than enablers, and some governments offer limited support to bluetech startups on the continent. In some cases, these governments impose high import levies and duties, making it difficult for blue tech startups to set up shop and scale their operations.
How Africa’s bluetech companies are scaling despite challenges
Yet amidst some of these challenges, Africa’s bluetech innovators are building solutions to help the continent tap into the $1.5 trillion opportunity. While blue tech cuts across multiple climate tech domains, the sector is currently built around four major themes: 1) blue food systems, 2) blue circularity, 3) blue infrastructure & energy, and 4) blue protection. Other sectors include ocean data, ecotourism, and port efficiency.
Actors operating in the blue food systems focus on responsibly using resources from oceans and freshwater (like fish and seaweed) to provide healthy food and improve food security globally. For instance, Samaking, a Kenyan aquaculture company, is focused on bridging Kenya’s massive fish supply-demand gap. The company works with fish farmers using pond and cage farming systems, and provides input financing (in-kind credit), technical training, and access to cold-chain aggregation and distribution systems that reduce post-harvest spoilage.
“When people think of the blue economy, it’s often about biotech or overly complex high-tech solutions, but in Africa, the problem isn’t technology; it’s supply chain inefficiency. Farmers are losing fish, not because of science, but because there’s no cold chain and the market doesn’t work,” said Clinton Obura, founder and CEO of Samaking. The company’s distribution model is a hybrid of B2B and B2C, serving formal buyers such as supermarkets and enterprises, while primarily reaching consumers through women-led informal fish-trading networks that handle up to 84% of Kenya’s fish sales.
Organisations operating in the blue circularity space aim to regenerate aquatic ecosystems and maximise the sustainable use of marine resources. South Africa’s SeaH4 produces alternative fuels using farmed seaweed. Their algae-based fuel is designed to power vessels within carbon-neutral fleets and can be adapted for any combustion engine, decarbonising marine and aviation transport. The company's operations focus on extending and localising the green hydrogen value chain in Africa, ensuring that African countries own and benefit from their renewable resources rather than exporting them raw. SeaH4 generates revenue through two main models: selling fuel directly (e.g., e-methanol, e-fuels, bio-LNG) to industrial and transportation clients and developing and managing plants for clients, where SeaH4 designs, builds, and operates fuel facilities on behalf of asset owners for an annual management fee.
“This is our chance to leapfrog. We must embrace new technology and get ahead of the curve by creating an enabling environment for innovation,” said Johannes Bochdalofsky, CEO and Cofounder of SeaH4.
What type of capital and support do African bluetech startups need?
While Africa’s innovators are building solutions to address the continent’s bluetech challenges, funding remains a significant constraint. African bluetech companies have raised only about 6% of all climate funding.
Our data also shows that less than a third of bluetech ventures have raised more than $1 million, and only about 3% have raised more than $20 million (those being Anzana Electric Group and Victory Farms). This shows that the current capital pathway that exists for bluetech startups on the continent is long and fragmented, creating a gap for early-stage ventures that require $250k-$1 million to bridge pilot testing to commercial viability.
Even early-stage funding below $250k presents its challenges. As Johannes Bochdalofsky, CEO and co-founder of SeaH4, says, “When you do find early-stage funding, it’s probably from abroad. But what happens is that investors want the HQ and IP to move to their economic zones, so we end up losing ownership”
Among the themes within bluetech, blue infrastructure & energy, and blue food systems are the most funded areas, raising $106 million and $96 million, respectively. These areas overlap with broader climate and ESG themes, making it more relevant in many VC investment theses, according to Shivni Bhudia, lead venture scout at Katapult Africa. The blue infrastructure & energy and blue food systems also advance food security and social impact, making them attractive to more investors who look for such impact deals, Bhudia notes. For instance, blue infrastructure and energy align with the renewable energy sector, while blue food systems, such as alternative proteins for fish feed, also fit within the agriculture and circular economy domains.
While blue infrastructure & energy and blue food systems currently receive the most funding, unlocking further growth across other bluetech verticals will depend on more than investor interest. Experts in the ecosystem point to three core priorities that could accelerate the flow of capital into Africa’s bluetech landscape:
- Philanthropic capital to derisk investment: Philanthropic capital plays a huge role in derisking investment, funding risky pilots and early-stage innovation. “Private capital in Africa doesn’t like taking early risk. That’s why philanthropic organisations and development funds need to put money on the table first, to de-risk the sector,” said Herland Cerveaux, managing director of OceanHub Africa, a leading accelerator that supports and invests in bluetech startups on the continent. He draws parallels with broader climate finance efforts, saying bluetech can “fast-track its growth” by adapting lessons from climate tech’s evolution.
- Flexible financing at every stage: While equity has been the major source of funding for African bluetechs, taking 48% of the total funding since 2015, founders believe that Africa’s bluetech startups need flexible financing at every stage. “A truly successful model combines catalytic grants for experimentation, equity once solutions are validated, and working capital debt to scale proven solutions,” said Clinton Obura of Samaking. Johannes Bochdalofsky, from SeaH4, agrees, supporting public-private financing partnerships where governments guarantee loans that investors provide to developers, reducing the perceived risk for foreign investors and protecting local firms.
- Closing the bluetech data gap: Cerveaux argues that more bluetech funding can be unlocked on the continent if the ocean data gap can be closed through tools like Briter Intelligence that generate insights and guide investors on where to allocate capital. “There’s such a big data gap in the sector. We need solutions that improve data for sustainable ocean management or guide investors on where to put money,” he noted.
So who is investing in African bluetechs?
Several impact investors, including Aqua-Spark, DOB Equity, the DOEN Foundation, Veris Investments, Katapult Ocean, and OceanHub Africa, are active in Africa’s bluetech sector. While concerns about the sector’s immaturity and risk have kept most major investors on the sidelines, climate tech investors like Katapult Ocean treat this perception as an opportunity to have a first-mover advantage. “While everyone is saying it’s way too early, we must understand the nature of ocean investments and do our homework to be able to de-risk it in a meaningful and effective way,” says Lucretia Chopera, Africa Deal Flow Manager at Katapult Ocean, an impact VC firm. In blue food systems, the VC firm has supported firms like Tanzania’s Healthy Seaweed, Abalobi in South Africa and Keep It Cool in Kenya.
OceanHub Africa, a South Africa-based impact accelerator, backs existing bluetech startups across the continent, providing resources and as much as $180,000 in support to companies selected for each cohort. “For us, when we’re talking about bluetech, we want to make sure that we support and invest in solutions that solve ocean sustainability issues,” said Herland Cerveaux, the accelerator’s director. OceanHub Africa prioritises investment in sustainable blue food, pollution reduction, marine-based energy, and carbon sequestration to support technologies that address pressing ocean sustainability challenges. Additionally, the accelerator supports startups focused on ocean data, ecotourism, and port efficiency, other important themes within the bluetech sector
While a host of investors are actively supporting bluetech ventures on the continent, there is a need for more specialised investors. Expanding this pool of dedicated backers will help bridge the knowledge gap that can often slow sector growth and close the $250k-$1 million gap, allowing founders to scale their solutions.
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