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FUNDING OCEAN INNOVATORS COASTAL RESILIENCE
A market opportunity neglected by many investors, How can we safeguard our coasts in the face of the
could the ocean prove more appealing? The second growing threats posed by climate change and the ac-
panel discussion, moderated by Damian Payiatakis, celerating loss of biodiversity? The third panel's dis-
Head of Sustainable and Impact Investments at cussions focused on existing best practices, as well
Barclays, invited a panel of investors involved in the as the challenges and opportunities that arise from
ocean sector to shed light on how they seek out, se- them.
lect and support innovators in this emerging sector.
From ecological and climate arguments to financial "Involving communities at a grassroots level and
ones ("early investors will be the most likely to be- using a bottom-up approach" is seen as a key step
nefit", says Rita Sousa, a partner at Faber Ocean), forward, particularly by Dale Galvin, Director Gene-
the panellists gave pointers on how to raise capital ral of the Global Fund for Coral Reef (GFCR). Rupert
and seek sustainable returns to support innovations Hayward, President of Blue Action Lab and Director
over the long term. "We're doing this because we see of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, discussed the
the urgency," concluded Jamie Rowles, co-founder Bahamas' example of coastal protection.
of Planet Fund, who was joined by Lian Michelson,
Investment Director for Vala Capital: "We need to get
on with a mission that may take 20 years, but most of
all we need a sustainable ocean."
IN
Monaco's Minister of Economy and SIGHT
Finance, Jean Castellini, was invited
to share his experience of managing “We need to create a narrative for the
public finances and investments mass market so that the solutions we
in the blue economy, pointing out are developing today become the norm.
that "while the trend in these invest- You have to imagine that the next Marc
ments’ dates back only a few years, Zuckerberg is not creating Facebook but
Monaco's Constitutional Reserve finding solutions to save the ocean”.
Fund has been investing for over 20 James Lindsay, Director of Builders Vision
years in a sustainable manner. The
blue economy will become central to
the global economy in the long term,
which will lead to social progress"