OceanHub Africa

Name

OceanHub Africa

Legal name

Ocean Hub Africa

Website

https://oceanhub.africa

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blue Economy Startup Acceleration and Ocean Impact Ecosystem Building

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

akta.pro primary industry

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI)

Keywords

• Ocean impact startups
• Blue economy acceleration
• Venture development services
• Impact investment advisory
• Ecosystem building consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Investment Returns: ForSea Invest provides catalytic capital ($100K-$800K) with venture-development support to ocean-impact ventures. Returns realized through equity appreciation and successful exits.
2. Interest-free Loan Facility: Blue Loop Facility provides interest-free loans up to $30,000, with specialized tickets up to $80,000 for plastic circularity projects. Capital is repaid and 'paid forward' to next generation entrepreneurs.
3. Advisory and Consulting Services: Specialized advisory services to help organizations navigate, build, and invest in the African Blue Economy for corporate partners, investors, and public institutions.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OceanHub Africa is Africa's leading ecosystem builder for ocean-impact entrepreneurship, operating a platform that combines a 12-month startup acceleration program, an internal venture studio that co-creates low-tech ocean solutions (autonomous underwater vehicles, solar-powered outboards), catalytic investment vehicles (ForSea Invest and Blue Loop Facility), coastal community development programs, and strategic consulting services. The organization supports African ocean-positive startups and coastal communities from ideation through scale, connecting entrepreneurs with mentors, investors, policymakers, and global networks.

Product overview

OceanHub Africa is Africa's leading catalyst of ocean-impact entrepreneurship, operating a multi-component platform structured around three core verticals: Support (Acceleration Program, Venture Studio, and Coastal Community Development), Connect (ecosystem building including Ocean Innovation Africa, Blue Support Hub, and Great Blue Wall Initiative), and Invest (ForSea Invest and Blue Loop Facility). The Acceleration Program is a 12-month intensive startup acceleration initiative offering mentorship, global network access, and investment readiness; ForSea Invest is Africa's first impact-first investment vehicle providing $100K–$800K catalytic capital; the Blue Loop Facility offers interest-free loans up to $30K for early-stage ventures; the Venture Studio internally co-builds essential low-tech ocean solutions; and Coastal Community Development provides tailored support to coastal populations. These products operate as an integrated ecosystem supporting African ocean entrepreneurs from ideation through scale.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ForSea Invest: Africa's only impact-first investment initiative dedicated to scaling ocean-positive ventures, providing catalytic capital blending investment funds ($100K to $800K) with venture-development support.
• Blue Loop Facility
• Blue Support Hub
• Ocean Innovation Africa (OIA)
• Ocean Venture Studio
• Blue Market Insights

Products and services

• Acceleration Program A 12-month intensive acceleration program supporting African ocean-impact startups from MVP to market growth, providing mentorship, global network access, and investment readiness support. The program accepts up to 24 startups per year across two intakes and includes in-person bootcamps, Ocean Innovation Africa Summit participation, and remote coaching.
• ForSea Invest Africa's first impact-first investment initiative dedicated to scaling ocean-positive ventures, providing catalytic capital blending investment tickets ($100K-$800K) with venture-development support to unlock early-stage innovations.
• Blue Loop Facility A solidarity-based catalytic fund bridging early-stage funding gaps for Africa's blue ventures through interest-free loans up to $30,000, with specialized tickets up to $80,000 for plastic circularity projects, using a pay-it-forward repayment mechanism.
• Venture Studio An internal venture-building program that co-creates and validates essential low-tech ocean solutions from ideation to market readiness, filling critical market gaps where conventional high-tech ecosystems fail. Portfolio includes Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and solar-powered electric outboard engines for coastal communities.
• Ocean Innovation Africa (OIA) OceanHub Africa's flagship annual event convening investors, policymakers, researchers, and entrepreneurs to drive deal flow, foster collaboration, and set the agenda for the sustainable African Blue Economy.
• We Consult Specialized advisory services empowering corporate partners, investors, and public institutions to navigate, build, and invest in the African Blue Economy, bridging the gap between intent and impact.
• Coastal Community Development Programs providing accessible technology and tailored support to Africa's coastal populations, focusing on capacity building, coaching and mentoring, and resource funding facilitation to foster inclusive, regenerative growth in coastal ecosystems.
• Blue Support Hub A pan-African community of practice powered by OceanHub Africa, bringing together Entrepreneurial Support Organisations to collaborate, share knowledge, and strengthen the ecosystem through training of trainers and an alumni program.

Quantifiable outcome

• $15.5M raised by portfolio companies as of Cohort 5
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• 1000 Ocean StartupscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member of largest global ocean innovation network, leveraging alliance to elevate visibility of African blue economy startups and align with goal to back 1,000 ocean ventures by 2030.
• Great Blue WallcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrica-driven roadmap to achieve nature-positive Western Indian Ocean by 2030. OHA aligns ventures with GBW objectives to unlock regenerative blue economy benefiting 70 million coastal people.
• Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerOHA facilitated strategic introduction between Captain Fanplastic and IOC at Ocean Innovation Africa 2022, enabling connection to World Bank-funded SWIOFish2 project for regional scaling.
• United Nations Ocean Decade Africa TaskforcestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerOHA serves as regional connector identifying priorities and actions for Africa, bridging gap between policy frameworks and investment-ready opportunities.
• Katapult OceanstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerOHA has potential to nominate portfolio companies for Katapult Ocean's acceleration program post-graduation.
• The Ocean Project SeychellesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLicensed Captain Fanplastic's ocean literacy approach for local delivery in Seychelles as part of regional scaling through IOC.
• AWS ActivateminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides up to $75k worth of cloud services to accelerator participants for technical infrastructure support.
• The Earthshot PrizeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOHA is a nominator organization for The Earthshot Prize, promoting portfolio companies for this prestigious global award.
• University of Cape TownstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides self-development coaching through Graduate School of Business Centre for Coaching for entrepreneur resilience and development.
• IUCNstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Great Blue Wall and IUCN Bahari-Mali project supporting Mapape Cooperative's blue carbon initiatives.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Sustainable Ocean Alliance: Global ocean-impact accelerator and youth network. Comparable as an ocean-focused accelerator with cohorts, venture support, and policy advocacy, though operating globally rather than Africa-specific.
• Katapult Ocean: Global ocean-impact accelerator and investment platform. Directly comparable to OceanHub Africa as an ocean-impact accelerator that selects and backs startups, with which OHA has a nomination partnership.
• 1000 Ocean Startups: Global coalition aiming to back 1,000 ocean ventures by 2030. Comparable as a network convening ocean-impact startups and supporters; OHA is a founding member.
• Sea Ahead: Blue economy innovation platform and accelerator. Comparable as an ocean-impact ecosystem builder supporting ocean startups through acceleration and venture building.
• Hatch Blue: Aquaculture-focused accelerator and venture fund. Comparable as an ocean-impact accelerator with investment vehicles and venture development support, though specialized in aquaculture.

Broad incumbents

• World Ocean Council: International ocean industry alliance. Comparable as a convening body for ocean-related stakeholders including investors, researchers, and corporates, though broader and policy-oriented rather than acceleration-focused.
• Aqua-Spark: Global aquaculture investment fund. Comparable as a specialized ocean-impact investor listed as an OceanHub Africa investor partner, focused on sustainable aquaculture.
• S2G Ventures: Impact investor in food, agriculture, and ocean. Comparable as an institutional investor partner providing capital access through the OceanHub Africa ecosystem.
• Builders Vision: Impact investment and venture platform. Comparable as a capital partner in OceanHub Africa's Blue Loop Facility, operating as a broader impact investor spanning oceans, food, and climate.

Emerging players

• Conservation X Labs: Innovation accelerator focused on conservation technology. Comparable as an impact-focused accelerator with venture support and challenge prizes, though broader than ocean-only.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OceanHubAfrica
• Facebookfacebook.com/OceanHubAfrica
• LinkedInza.linkedin.com/company/oceanhub-africa
• Instagraminstagram.com/oceanhub_africa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OceanHub Africa