Ocean Exchange is not a conference nor an awards show. It is a curated environment where founders building solutions for the Blue Economy come to stress-test their theses with people who govern, advise and invest energy and capital in the next generation marine infrastructure.

I came to it in 2022 through a trusted introduction from Bill Brennan, then chair of the Ocean Exchange board and former president of one of the leading water infrastructure platforms in the United States. He told me simply: “You need to see this.” He was right.

The case for ocean conservation and the aspiration to build resilient, climate-adapted infrastructure naturally converge. Coastal systems are under pressure. The frequency and severity of weather events is accelerating. The communities and economies that depend on healthy oceans need solutions that are not just scientifically sound but commercially viable and scalable. That is exactly what Ocean Exchange is designed to surface.

The track record is hard to argue with. Over 15 years, the organization has put more than 1,000 solutions through a rigorous screening process from 70-plus subject matter experts, recognized 200 finalists, and seen participant companies collectively raise $3 billion. The awards, now including three $100,000 Neptune Awards, two $50,000 Awards and five $10,000 Collegiate Awards, are non-dilutive, which matters enormously at the pre-revenue stage when founders need validation, not dilution.

Phoenix Waste Solutions won the Neptune Award in 2024 and has since secured nearly $2 million in additional non-dilutive funding, including grants from the National Science Foundation and a U.S. Air Force contract. Minesto went from Ocean Exchange finalist to IPO on the Swedish NASDAQ to a significant installation in the Faroe Islands. These outcomes are not arbitrary; they reflect the coupling of best-in-class entrepreneurs with motivated investors.

As a voting delegate, you do something more consequential than observe. You screen the candidate projects directly, bringing your own expertise to bear on founders presenting solutions across marine decarbonization, AI-driven ocean monitoring, aquaculture, carbon capture, alternative materials, and coastal resilience. The peer community you join, spanning industry, government, academia, and conservation, all pointed at the same problem, makes the commitment even more worthwhile.

That community just got bigger. Last year, Ocean Exchange formally integrated into the Marine Technology Society, one of the oldest and most respected professional organizations in the field, founded in 1963. The combination extends Ocean Exchange’s geographic reach and connects its startup ecosystem to an even broader global network of engineers, scientists, policymakers, and investors. It is a meaningful step forward.

I am a PADI Divemaster and have spent a lot of time underwater. The ocean has a pull on me that goes well beyond my work. But you do not need to be a diver to recognize that if the intersection of ocean health, climate resilience, and emerging technologies interests you, this is the room to be in.

The annual event takes place each fall in Fort Lauderdale. If you are considering joining as a delegate or a screener, reach out. I am happy to share what the experience looks like from the inside.

About the Author: Vittorio Lacagnina is a Partner in the Institutional Client & Product Solutions group at Apollo Global Management, where he leads capital formation for infrastructure. He has 28 years of industry experience spanning investment banking, principal investing, and capital formation across senior roles at Goldman Sachs, Babcock & Brown, SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners, QIC, and Partners Group. He serves as a Member of the Board of Governors of Ocean Exchange and is a PADI Divemaster and ocean conservationist affiliated with the AWARE Foundation, Plastic Oceans, and Sea Shepherd.

Connect with Vittorio on LinkedIn.

The post BLOG: Why I Show Up for Ocean Exchange — And Why You Should Too appeared first on Ocean Exchange.

Jessica Harvey, Chief Executive Officer, Guy Harvey Foundation

Every fall, I sit in a room full of student founders and watch them pitch solutions to problems most adults haven’t figured out how to solve. A high schooler explaining a low-cost sensor to track coral bleaching. A college team walking a panel through a prototype for cleaner ballast water. It’s the kind of afternoon that resets my sense of what’s possible for our oceans, and it’s become one of the highlights of my year as CEO of the Guy Harvey Foundation. 

The Guy Harvey Foundation (GHF) has partnered with Ocean Exchange for five years, and each year the relationship has deepened. Ocean Exchange is a global ecosystem built to speed up the adoption of workable solutions for healthy oceans and a sustainable blue economy. Now in its 14th year, Ocean Exchange has distributed more than $2.9 million in grants to early-stage, mostly pre-revenue startups; the kind of funding that turns a promising idea into reality.

Each fall, Ocean Exchange runs its main awards program, three global prizes worth $100,000 apiece, alongside a Collegiate Awards track built for earlier-stage student ventures and a high school scholar award that recognizes outstanding concept, design and execution of solutions to conservation issues by high school students using Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and/or Math.

The GHF sponsors prizes in both the collegiate and high school categories, and most years, my team and I sit on the judging panel.

What the Students Teach Me

High schoolers show up with working solutions to problems that stump people twice their age. College teams bring prototypes built to hold up in real field conditions. Several past finalists have gone on to land spots on Forbes 30 Under 30, and it’s easy to see why once you’ve watched them present.

Building the Ecosystem Together

Conservation doesn’t move forward on good intentions alone. It moves forward when young innovators get funding, a stage, and a network willing to open doors for them. That’s what Ocean Exchange builds, and it’s why the GHF continues to support the incredible platform they provide.

This year’s event runs October 25-27 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I encourage you to share the link to register for the Collegiate Awards with someone you think has the next big idea in ocean conservation. The deadline to register is September 16th.

Link: https://www.f6s.com/2026-ocean-exchange-collegiate-awards/

About the Author: Jessica Harvey is Chief Executive Officer of the Guy Harvey Foundation, where she leads the organization’s work in ocean conservation through research, education, and partnerships across the blue economy.

Preferred Contact: info@guyharveyfoundation.org

Website: https://www.guyharveyfoundation.org

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When tourism in Southeast Asia came to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating economic struggle, many coastal communities found resilience in a tradition that’s deeply rooted in the region’s recent history: seaweed cultivation. With its applications in food, biostimulants, animal feed, and more, seaweed farming allowed the locals to diversify their sources of income beyond tourism, fishing, and land agriculture. Since we began investing in the sector three years ago, we’ve had the inspiring opportunity to visit seaweed farms in Indonesia and the Philippines, where we witnessed seaweed’s impact on sustaining the livelihoods of farmers on the ground.

We met Agus, whose father, I Made Simbik, was among the pioneers of seaweed farming in Indonesia after the practice was brought there from the Philippines in the 1970s. Agus now leads Indonesian farm operations at Sea6 Energy, which develops sustainable, seaweed-based solutions for agricultural production and climate resilience. We also paid a visit to Coast 4C, where smallholder seaweed farmers are making a transition to more sustainable, regenerative farming in the Philippines—effectively protecting marine ecosystems while improving their practice with better-quality seedlings and science-based guidance.

For these farmers, seaweed is more than a source of income: it’s their way of building a sustainable livelihood for themselves and coastal generations to come. The potential for impact is only one of the reasons why Potato Impact Partners invests in seaweed companies in Southeast Asia.

Potato Impact Partners is a Singapore-based impact investor focused on seaweed innovation and the blue economy. We see ourselves as the bridge to Southeast Asia and work to generate more capital flows and collaboration in this region that is ripe for potential and opportunity.

Coastal communities in Southeast Asia contribute to nearly a third of the world’s seaweed production. The region has massive scaling potential, thanks to extensive coastlines spanning 170,000–180,000 kilometers and about 70% of the population living along the coast. Despite growing momentum and supportive policy developments in parts of Southeast Asia, several structural challenges continue to slow the growth of the blue economy. Drawing on our experience in the seaweed value chain, we highlight some catalysts needed to unlock and scale the region’s blue economy.

Evolving Financing Models

Startups in Southeast Asia often don’t fit traditional venture capital models – which relies on 10x returns over a 7-10 year time horizon – because that framework was built for asset-light software companies. This is very clear in the case of seaweed startups.

These businesses are frequently capex-heavy and require longer commercialization timelines. Equipment and manufacturing are not capital light, and working with biology takes time.

We need to evolve financing models and look beyond equity to alternative forms of capital such as blended finance. This could include debt to purchase equipment or working capital, given the seasonality of the seaweed business, which are more suitable types of financing vehicles that don’t dilute the founders.

Intentional, patient capital is not optional—it is the foundational structure that this industry requires.

Research and Knowledge Gaps

Despite Southeast Asia’s large production capacity, significant gaps remain in localized research and technical infrastructure. Much of the global innovation ecosystem for seaweed—including R&D funding, advanced processing technologies, and intellectual property development—is still concentrated in Europe and North America. Meanwhile, many producers in Southeast Asia continue to face limited access to climate-resilient solutions, disease management, technical training and scientific data. 

Building stronger regional knowledge ecosystems through partnerships between startups, universities, governments, and coastal communities will be critical to unlocking innovation that is tailored to local market realities in the Southeast Asian blue economy. 

Fragmented Infrastructure

The aquaculture and seaweed supply chain in Southeast Asia also remains highly fragmented. 

In the case of seaweed, complex intermediary networks within the value chain contribute to price volatility and reduce margins for farmers and coastal producers. There is also limited access to hatcheries, climate-resilient seedlings, and processing infrastructure. While production capacity exists, value-added processing and downstream commercialization are still developing.

Future regional growth will be accelerated by reducing this fragmentation through solutions such as end-to-end traceability, ensuring that smallholder farmers are integrated into the supply chain, rather than excluded from it, as well as more processing in the region. 

Building the Ecosystem

Capital alone doesn’t build markets—ecosystems do. Through collaborative action, we can truly scale the blue economy in Southeast Asia.

At Potato Impact Partners, we lead programs and initiatives to bring stakeholders together for learning and engagement. This includes our biannual Seaweed Squad Investors Call, leading working groups in coalitions such as 1000 Ocean Startups, and helping organize learning activities, such as a recent seaweed study tour to South Korea. We also participate in knowledge sharing when possible, such as through our whitepaper, speaking on industry panels, and sharing investment notes and diligence with co-investors.

Through our capital, we send a market signal that what we invest in matters. Through our time and collaboration, we can build partnerships across various stakeholders to strengthen the entire value chain. 

About the Author: Tessa Charupatanapongse is Investment Lead at Potato Impact Partners, an impact investor spurring positive contributions to food security, climate action, and the resilience of coastal communities through investments in sustainable seaweed innovation. Tessa leads deal sourcing and due diligence and drives ecosystem building within the sustainable seaweed aquaculture value chain.

Preferred Contact: hello@potatoimpactpartners.com

Website: https://www.potatoimpactpartners.com/

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