MALDIVES, INDIAN OCEAN - APRIL 2017: Overview of a coral reef full of life with a couple of ... [+]
Given that the oceans cover more than two thirds of the Earth and play a vital role in sustaining the planet’s eco-system, you would have thought they would be a top priority for philanthropists and investors looking to save the planet.
And while the land-based carbon economy goes from strength to strength with plenty of plans to plant hundreds of thousands of new trees and other nature-based solutions, the multi-trillion dollar ‘blue economy’ often gets overlooked.
Fortunately, some organizations and investment funds – like Ocean 14 Capital – are literally taking a deep dive into this area and spearheading the work to find sustainable solutions to improve the health of our oceans.
“Without a healthy functioning marine ecosystem, there is zero chance of humanity's survival on the planet and many people still don't realise that,” said Ocean 14 Capital co-founder and the fund’s investment adviser, Chris Gorell Barnes.
To this end, he added that the oceans absorb 80% of the excess heat and 60% of the CO2 in the atmosphere. It also plays a key role in providing fresh oxygen and food security for millions of people.
It is little wonder that the ocean economy is globally worth $2.8 trillion, equivalent to the largest seventh largest economy in the world, according to Gorell Barnes.
He said while there has been a lot of interest in seagrass, mangroves and shoreline biodiversity, there are many other aspects of the blue economy which have still yet to be explored, like the role the seabeds play in absorbing carbon.
“If we don't have a healthy, thriving marine ecosystem then the ocean won’t be able to sequester carbon,” he explained. “If there no healthy fish stocks or coral, then the ocean cannot produce the oxygen we breathe.
“Investing in the blue economy and making it sustainable is the most important investment thesis of our time. We need to have sustainable fisheries, if we are feed the world and ensure food security.”
The Ocean 14 Capital €150 million impact fund is on track to invest in eight companies this year, and to grow its portfolio to between 20 and 25 businesses within three years.
Following the Principality of Monaco’s €10 million commitment from the sovereign wealth fund, the private equity firm has now raised €100 million since launching the growth-stage impact fund in December 2021.
The fund aims to act as a tidal surge to supercharge the blue economy, a sector using ocean resources for economic growth and preservation.
The impact investment fund has already made three investments this year, with shrimp breeding technology specialist SyAqua is among the first beneficiaries of the fund.
The plastic management platform AION has also received investment. The Norwegian business uses proprietary technology to offer ‘Circularity As A Service’ to large-scale industries, ensuring the plastic we already have is kept in use for as long as possible.
The Ocean 14 Capital fund will focus primarily on investing in growth-stage businesses. It is aiming that around two thirds of the fund will go to companies based in Europe, with the remainder aimed to be used to invest in the rest of the world.
It previously completed a €80 million first close in December 2021, with backers including the European Investment Fund (EIF), Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker, Builders Vision, Minderoo Foundation, and British businessman Alex Beard and Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström.
Gorell Barnes said it is now the largest fund in the blue economy and has around 900 deals in its pipeline.
“We have the science, the network, the understanding of marine conservations; we’ve got experience of building multibillion dollar asset management businesses, and we’ve got industry know-how, in terms of investing in and executing within the industry,” he added.
“We’re at a pivotal point in finance, and I think it’s going to be as revolutionary as the technology shift we’ve had in the last 20 years.
“We’ll see how impact investing becomes totally transformational in terms of how capital is deployed, there will be a lot of new regulations coming in, driving institutional capital to invest in vehicles that are having a positive and measurable impact on the environment and society.”
