Overview
European start-ups and scale ups in the blue economy face significant challenges, such as limited access to risk capital and regulatory barriers. There is an estimated financing gap of €60 to €70 billion for blue economy small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU.
To support the sector, the European Commission launched BlueInvest in 2019. This initiative aims to accelerate the growth of ocean-based technologies and boost innovation and investment in the sustainable blue economy. Funded by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) and supported by the European Investment Fund (EIF) BlueInvest works with start-ups, SMEs, scale-ups, investors and other stakeholders.
Through events, networking, coaching and matchmaking, BlueInvest fosters a vibrant community, enhancing investment readiness and market intelligence. It plays a central role in the EU's efforts to expand the blue economy and aims to mobilise over €1 billion in public and private investments by 2028. The initiative provide support to blue economy companies in areas like capacity building, investment readiness, and fundraising while investors can benefit from the European Investment Fund’s InvestEU equity products.
With the Ocean Pact's renewed focus on the blue economy, BlueInvest is intensifying its financial and advisory support.
Objectives
The objectives of BlueInvest is to
- support investment readiness and access to finance for innovative start-ups, SMEs, and scale-ups in the blue economy
- provide a market path through technical assistance, visibility, matchmaking and opportunity-building for investors and companies
- guide investors to specialise their investment strategies into blue economy related areas and to maximise their related investments
- foster a community and investment ecosystem to help finance the go-to-market and scale-up and to fuel the transition to more sustainable finance and impact investment
Actions
BlueInvest community
BlueInvest is a community of entrepreneurs, investors, corporates and innovation stakeholders interested in the blue economy. It offers concrete help with investment and growth prospects in the sector, network opportunities to meet potential partners and investors, access to exclusive events, market intelligence and learning opportunities.
BlueInvest readiness assistance
BlueInvest readiness assistance is an exclusive coaching programme for high potential EU start-ups and SMEs with innovative products and solutions for the sustainable blue economy.
Businesses and projects selected for the investment readiness assistance will receive coaching packages tailored to their readiness levels and business objectives. The programme is impact-driven, providing business support to help start-ups and SMEs build capacities for growth and attract investment.
BlueInvest fundraising assistance
BlueInvest fundraising assistance is a new coaching programme aiming to support equity rounds closures for 20 high potential EU start-ups with innovative blue economy solutions.
Companies will receive a tailored set of up to 20 days of 1:1 advisory service by investors and investment-readiness experts with a proven track-record of preparing start-ups for negotiations with investors at the seed-level, as well as for A- and B-series financing.
BlueInvest investor capacity building
Limited awareness of market opportunities in the blue economy curbs investment in this sector. BlueInvest aims to address this via an investor capacity building programme. Through a series of four highly structured training sessions, BlueInvest will help investors discover blue economy investment opportunities and develop fundraising and investment strategies to leverage them.
BlueInvest project pipeline
The BlueInvest project pipeline is a showcase of start-ups and SMEs with qualified, innovative sustainable products and solutions for the blue economy.
If you are an investor looking to expand your portfolio with solutions contributing to the healthy oceans and resilient coasts, the BlueInvest project pipeline will help you find your next investment opportunity.
If you are a start-up or an SME with solutions for sustainable blue you can submit your application to establish relationships with investors, corporates and key stakeholders.
BlueInvest events
BlueInvest events are aimed at increasing your business impact. Events feature learning opportunities, knowledge exchange, networking and B2B matchmaking in formats designed to transform your business and identify your next investment opportunity.
BlueInvest knowledge centre
Open to members of the BlueInvest community, the knowledge centre offers capacity-building courses, training events and exclusive webinars to accelerate business for investment, market access and international expansion in the blue economy.
Related links
BlueInvest on the Maritime Forum website
Join the BlueInvest Community on this website designed for the Community
News
Mediterranean Algae, a Spanish company tackles nutrient pollution in ports and coastal waters. Its system uses algae to clean seawater. It also provides reliable real-time data on water quality. This helps ports meet EU requirements and reduce their environmental impact.
Founded in the Netherlands, Zeefier is an innovative company developing textile dyes made from seaweed. By replacing petrol‑based chemistry with a renewable ocean resource, Zeefier offers an alternative that enables textiles to remain biodegradable.
Northern Light Composites (nlcomp), an Italian startup founded in 2019, is tackling one of the biggest challenges linked to composite materials: the end‑of‑life of fibreglass and carbon‑fibre products.