100 Innovators Shaping Africa's Blue Economy
The ‘ 100 Innovators Shaping Africa’s Blue Economy’ catalogue is the result of a year-long, continent-wide effort led by Katapult Ocean Africa , with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) . Through interviews with more than 150 founders across Africa’s blue economy, the project set out to better understand who is building solutions across ocean, coastal, and freshwater systems, and what they need to grow. Again and again, the same picture emerged: a deeply innovative ecosystem, rich in talent and ambition, but still operating largely out of sight of capital, policy, and global climate conversations.
Briter contributed to the catalogue by helping contextualise Africa’s blue economy through data. Using Briter Intelligence , capital flows, ecosystem actors, and sector dynamics were mapped across aquaculture, fisheries, circular economy, ocean data, conservation, and maritime logistics. This data layer helps situate individual founder stories within a broader market reality, showing not only what is being built, but where gaps, opportunities, and patterns are emerging across regions and subsectors.
The initiative sits within a wider NORAD-backed programme aimed at strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship across the blue economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through Norwegian development cooperation, the programme supports platforms like the collaboration between Katapult Ocean and Ocean Hub Africa to identify, develop, and connect high-potential ventures to markets and capital. It reflects Norway’s longstanding commitment to sustainable ocean-based growth, climate resilience, food systems, and marine conservation, with a focus on building investable pipelines rather than isolated projects.
This catalogue features 100 early-stage companies operating exclusively within Africa’s blue economy, many at the very beginning of their fundraising journeys. It is designed for investors, policymakers, ecosystem builders, and partners looking to understand where innovation is happening and who is driving it. Above all, it is a visibility tool. One that celebrates Africa’s blue economy innovators, strengthens the connective tissue of the ecosystem, and helps channel attention and capital towards solutions that matter for livelihoods, climate resilience, and inclusive growth.
