The Ocean 14 Capital fund, a London-based impact fund focusing on the multi-trillion-dollar ‘blue economy,’ has received €10M from the Constitutional Reserve Fund of Monaco to support its mission of funding sustainable solutions to improve ocean health.
How will the funding be used?
With this backing, the UK impact fund plans to invest in 8 companies this year and to grow its portfolio to between 20 and 25 businesses within three years.
The Ocean 14 Capital fund will focus primarily on investing in growth-stage businesses. It is aiming that around two-thirds of the fund will go to companies based in Europe, with the remainder aimed to invest in the rest of the world.
According to the OECD, the fund aims to act as a tidal surge to supercharge the blue economy, a sector using ocean resources for economic growth and preservation, which is expected to be worth $3T by 2030.
After securing €10M, the private equity firm has now raised €100M since launching its growth-stage impact fund in December 2021.
Chris Gorell Barnes, the founding partner of Ocean 14 Capital, says, “Oceans are the critical life-support system for life on earth. If we are to save the planet, there is clear evidence that if we don’t have a healthy & functioning ocean, we have zero chance. The ocean provides half the oxygen we breathe, absorbs half the carbon, feeds the world, and employs hundreds of millions of people. It will be game over for humanity if it’s not functioning.”
“Philanthropy is doing a solid job, but institutions are realising that we need to overhaul the capital market to stand a chance of averting the climate crisis,” he adds.
Saving seas
Founded in 2021, Ocean 14 Capital Fund 1 is an impact fund targeting €150M and focused on driving a sustainable and regenerative blue economy.
The company has already made three investments this year — SyAqua (shrimp breeding technology specialist) and AION (plastic management platform).
The Ocean 14 Capital Fund completed an €80M first close in December 2021, with backers including the European Investment Fund (EIF), Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker, Builders Vision, Minderoo Foundation, and British businessman Alex Beard and Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström.
Jean CASTELLINI, Minister of Finance and Economy of Monaco, says, “I believe this investment will enable Ocean 14 Capital to deliver the innovation needed to meet our climate and sustainability goals.”
“The sustainable blue economy is now a key focus for us, and this is a rallying cry for start-up and scale-up marine innovators globally to come forward and help avert the crisis in our oceans and return them to a healthy, thriving state.”
