12 Blue Startups and SMEs selected for the Blue Finance Accelerator

Jakarta, March 9, 2023 – The Blue Finance Accelerator (BFA), implemented  by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) through the UN Accelerating SDGs Investment in Indonesia (ASSIST) Joint Program and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), named the 12 blue ventures selected to participate in an accelerator program, to scale up SDG-aligned impact for the blue economy. 

The 12 ventures were selected from a group of 187 applications, through a competitive screening process, and included seven startups and five SMEs. The startups were selected from a range of industries including sustainable aquaculture or fisheries platforms, plastic pollution and waste management platforms. The five selected SMEs were from an aquaculture services business, a sustainable ecotourism provider; and coastal community empowerment platforms. 

In addition to the sectors, the program also targets a focus on women’s empowerment. 50 percent of the selected ventures are led or managed by women, and the accelerator will also deliver training via a gender lens, where participants will be introduced to practices on integrating and achieving gender equality into business activities.

The selected startups and SMEs will benefit from the support provided by a dedicated team of industry experts. Over a six-month period, the program aims to build capacity and support businesses and SMEs in the blue sector, covering areas such as sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, marine debris management, reduction of plastic pollution, ecosystem management and coastal community resilience, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation. Participants will receive tailored curricula and modules, ranging from business acceleration to impact management Through individual mentoring and consultation, the team of advisors and mentors will also support selected startups and SMEs throughout the process to ensure business growth.

The BFA program is committed to supporting selected startups and SMEs, providing opportunities for greater exposure and networking where they can connect with other ecosystem players in the blue sector, such as industry experts, investors and governments. They will also gain access to the broader UNDP and Instellar networks of the social entrepreneurship and impact investment ecosystem. Access to such networks participants are hoped to further growth through potential collaboration or investment opportunities.

In addition, this program also offers the opportunity to gain access to mixed financing schemes.

Each team will take part in the accelerated phase from February to May and demonstrate the results of the mentorship on Demo Day in June.

Supported by Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, BFA is also supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) under the ASSIST Joint Program and consulting firm Instellar Indonesia as implementing partner.

To learn more about the participating companies, visit instellar.id/bfa

For more information about the Blue Finance Accelerator, please contact:

UNDP Indonesia Technical Assistant Impact Investing, Cindy Colondam – cindy.abigail@undp.org

Instellar Enterprise Development Officer, Paramesworo Daniel – fannypdaniel@instellar.id.

Instellar Enterprise Development Officer, Ahmad Rofai – ahmad.rofai@instellar.id.

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About Blue Finance Accelerator (BFA)

The Blue Finance Accelerator is a program presented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in collaboration with the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment as the main ministry partner, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Instellar Indonesia as the Implementing Partner. This 6-month accelerator program aims to provide capacity building and support mechanisms on business and impact for startups and SMEs operating in the blue sector – sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, marine debris management, plastic pollution reduction, climate change mitigation or adaptation. The program will target a minimum of 12 startups/SMEs, consisting of seven startups and five SMEs to undergo acceleration. 

About UN Accelerating SDGs Investment in Indonesia (ASSIST) Joint Program

The ASSIST Joint Program supports the Government of Indonesia to meet countries SDG targets by 1) taking proven and new financing instruments to scale through provisions of pre- and post- transactions technical assistance for innovative financing instruments; and 2) providing capacity building to relevant stakeholders to improve institutional capacities to access and utilize finance towards the achievement of the SDGs. The Joint Program will help create new partnerships to leave no one behind.