A SENSATIONAL 2023: YEAR IN REVIEW
A BIG YEAR FOR OIO and THE GLOBAL OCEAN HEALTH INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM!
This year saw ocean health innovation increasingly emerge as the ‘little brother’ of climate tech, and a growing swell of attention placed on ocean-focused solutions, all as Ocean Impact Organisation (OIO) continues to level up. From our team expanding, to the growth of our events and programs, the results we’ve achieved this year will allow us to continue amplifying our impact in 2024. Thank you for following our journey as we pursue our mission to support and accelerate ocean impact startups.
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Delivered our inaugural Healthy Oceans Social Club event in Sydney
Sponsored the Blue Solutions Summit and moderated a panel, as part of the Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival
Participated in several other events, including the Climate Investor Forum, Ocean Business Leaders Summit, and inaugural Futures Conference.
Joined the Fair Catch Alliance to advocate for improved seafood import controls and country of origin labelling
Ran our second year of the Ocean Impact Accelerator Program (OIAP), accepting six innovative startups into the 2023 Cohort
Participated in the inaugural Prior Family Foundation Roundtable, a unique gathering of Australian impact charities and organisations
Launched our fourth global Ocean Impact Pitchfest, which was recognised as a 1000 Ocean Startups initiative for the first time
Awarded scholarships to 13 emerging early-career ocean scientists for our 3rd Ocean Impact Ideation Program - with the support of Sarah & Sebastian and Morris Family Foundation
Expanded our team and Board, with Elisa-Marie Dumas joining OIO as our Innovation Programs Manager, and the appointment of Kirsten Pollard and Hannah Marshall to the OIO Board
Attended Climate Week and the 1000 Ocean Startups Annual Gathering in New York City
Delivered our 2nd INNOVOCEAN showcase event at the Australian National Maritime Museum, with tickets open to the public for the first time
Delivered our inaugural OIAP Investor Day at Tank Stream Labs
Released our 2023 Impact Snapshot, which you can view now.
Ocean Impact Accelerator Program 2023
In June, we announced the six pioneering startups participating in our 2023 OIAP Cohort - Aquacultr, Azul Bio, Clean Earth Rovers, ecoSPEARS, Hullbot, and Shark Stop - each working on solutions to transform ocean health.
With the program now in its second year, the startups from Australia and the USA spent 5-months working alongside OIO with the ultimate goal of expanding their business and impact on Planet Ocean.
This all culminated in a proud moment for OIO as each startup took to the INNOVOCEAN stage to pitch live. This exciting moment in the day saw a little bit of everything; from Mat Goddard of Aquacultr tantalising the crowd with the sustainable barramundi that would be served later on, to Andre Borrell from Shark Stop demonstrating the effectiveness of their shark-bite-resistant wetsuits with a dive knife!
Please view the live pitches from INNOVOCEAN by visiting this YouTube playlist, or email us to review current investment opportunities with OIAP startups.
The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2023
We were thrilled to launch our fourth year (can you believe it!) of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest in 2023, which was recognised as a 1000 Ocean Startups Initiative for the first time.
The global initiative saw 12 fantastic startups celebrated as Finalists from 200 applications across 54 countries. We can’t wait to chat with each of the startups on the Ocean Impact Podcast in the coming year!
The results of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2023 were announced live during an award ceremony at INNOVOCEAN. Cornwall-based startup Cleaner Seas Group were awarded the overall Winner. They took home the $50K cash prize for their solution to capture microfibres from washing machines, stopping them from entering the ocean and waterways.
Please visit this article for a run-down of the Pitchfest 2023 results, and find the full list of Winners, Runners Up, and Spotlight Award recipients below:
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First Runner Up: Washbox Global (Australia)
Second Runner Up: NovFeed (Tanzania)
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Climate Spotlight Award Presented by Star of the South:
Monitoring Spotlight Award presented by Dicker Data:
Sustainable Harvesting Spotlight Award presented by Auxilium Foundation:
Plastic Spotlight Award proudly presented by Zip Water:
Ocean Impact Ideation Program 2023
OIO was excited to award 13 scholarships this year to Australian-based early-career ocean scientists to participate in the Ocean Impact Ideation Program (OIIP), thanks to the support of Sarah & Sebastian and Morris Family Foundation.
The OIIP, now in its third year, is our earliest phase innovation program that aims to turn ocean academics into ‘oceanpreneurs.’ The program was open to late-stage PhD candidates through to three years post-PhD, and we were thrilled to have some of our OIIP scholars and past participants in attendance at INNOVOCEAN this year.
We’re excited to continue expanding our ideation program in future, to support and accelerate driven scientists with the greatest chance of achieving commercial success and ocean impact. We welcome interest from commercial and philanthropic partners to enable us to expand the program in 2024 and beyond.
INNOVOCEAN 2023
As you might’ve picked up on throughout this recap, we were enormously proud to host our second INNOVOCEAN showcase event this year. For the first time, tickets were open to the public - and we sold out! Sydney’s beautiful Darling Harbour saw 230 people descend once again upon the Australian National Maritime Museum for the only event of its kind in the APAC region.
INNOVOCEAN 2023 Featured:
Live pitches from the six startups in the Ocean Impact Accelerator Program
The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2023 live awards ceremony and winners announcement
A ‘Startup Zone’ connecting OIAP participants with prospective investors
Keynote Address by the ABC’s Stephen Oliver
Two expert panels around the ocean health innovation ecosystem
Participation from six incredible Ocean Youth Ambassadors
Opportunities for guests to network and explore collaborations for impact!
In addition to INNOVOCEAN, we this year hosted a range of side-events for some of our program participants, alumni, and investor community. Such as introducing our latest OIAP cohort to the magical Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, where we lead a day of connection and community building in Manly, including a morning snorkel of Shelly Beach followed by brunch…
…and our inaugural Investor Day, hosted by OIO at Tank Stream Labs in Sydney, which brought together active impact investors and innovative startups from the OIO community.
Expanding Our Team and Board
(L-R) Elisa-Marie Dumas, Hannah Marshall and Kirsten Pollard.
Our events and programs weren’t the only area we ‘levelled up’ in this year. A key hire for OIO was that of Innovation Programs Manager, and we were blown away to have received over 500 applications to our ad for the role - we’re clearly in demand! Sorting through the incredible talent was no small feat, and we couldn’t be happier with the appointment of Elisa-Marie Dumas (E-M) to the role in August.
We were also thrilled to appoint Kirsten Pollard and Hannah Marshall to the OIO Board in 2023. Kirsten and Hannah bring their enormous experience to their appointment as non-executive Directors (NED), joining Professor Peter Steinberg on the OIO Board alongside our co-founders Nick Chiarelli and Tim Silverwood. Learn more…
That’s a wrap!
As you can see, 2023 was a huge year for Ocean Impact Organisation and we’re excited for an amazing and impactful 2024!
We want to thank everyone who has supported us, spread the word, and followed the OIO journey so far. It’s with the support of ocean stakeholders across the globe, from beachgoers to business owners, that we make our greatest impact.
Wishing you a wonderful Festive Season and a Happy New Year,
From the OIO team
