Hosted by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Portugal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Affairs, Itad, Global Fund for Coral Reef (GFCR), Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA)
Blue finance has huge potential to protect our oceans – but only if it also works for the people who depend on them.
This session will look at how blue finance can be designed to genuinely support coastal communities, reduce poverty, and build resilience.
Speakers will include the UK Special Representative for Nature, Portugal’s State Secretary for Fisheries and the Sea, and organisations involved in the delivery of initiatives funded by the UK’s Blue Planet Fund, including the Global Fund for Coral Reefs and the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance. Additionally, Itad will share lessons from an ongoing evaluation of the Blue Planet Fund.
Speakers will share perspectives and examples of how Blue Finance can best support both poverty reduction and ocean sustainability. They will discuss what works, where trade-offs exist, where gaps remain, and how partnerships can be strengthened to ensure blue finance delivers measurable economic, social and environmental benefits.
Ideal for anyone interested in inclusive blue economy investment, community resilience, or turning ocean finance into tangible impact

Africa’s ocean innovation ecosystem is growing but remains constrained by limited coordination and rarely surfaces to the co-investment tables where it could unlock scale. This session marks the launch of 1000OS Africa, the African regional community of the global 1000 Ocean Startups coalition, hosted by the World Economic Forum.

Bringing together entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders, investors, and catalytic funders, the session will also focus on surfacing Africa’s ocean deal flow needs, strengthening local investment pathways, and identifying how collaboration across the ecosystem can better support ventures from early-stage to scale.

Participants will engage in a targeted discussion to align priorities, explore co-investment needs, and shape the role of 1000OS Africa in building a more connected and effective ocean innovation continuum across the continent.