The Blue World Perspective 2021

Blue
World
Perspective
A publication by Katapult Ocean
2021 Edition

32

For years, the overarching view was that the ocean is so vast that it is simply too
big to fail. The folly of this approach is now evident. The new dominant narrative
is that the problems are so complex that the ocean is too big to fix. This view is
also misguided. The ocean’s problems are real, but actions can, and are already,
being taken to solve them.
From the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy’s 2020 report
Ocean Solutions that Benefit People, Nature and the Economy

Innovating at the
ocean-climate nexus
For too long, the world’s attempts to grapple with the climate crisis have had an ocean-sized blind spot. Despite the profound
inter-connections between oceans and climate, in the first twenty years of negotiations of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change before the Paris Summit in 2016, oceans were not mentioned in any of their official texts. Only in
the last decade have ocean advocates effectively lobbied for oceans to be included in the preamble of the Paris Agreement and
persuaded the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to publish a new Special Report on “the Ocean and Cryosphere
in a Changing Climate” in September 2019.
This recent attention has made one thing clear: in a profound sense, oceans and the climate are part of one global living system.
Oceans are central to the regulation of our climate, absorb massive quantities of heat and carbon, and provide the thermal inertia
anchoring relatively stable weather patterns across the earth’s surface for millennia. In our attempts to address the climate crisis,
we have focused primarily on terrestrial emission sources, impacts of climate on earth-bound populations and ecosystems, and
promising land-based solutions, but have often ignored both the negative impacts of climate change on oceans and the exciting
potential of ocean-based climate solutions. In essence, we failed to connect the dots.
Dr. Daniel Vermeer
Duke University
Our inability to adequately account for ocean/climate processes increases our climate risks and limits our ability to use the ocean
to effectively mitigate and adapt to climate-related threats. We need to give more attention to the ocean/climate nexus, mapping
the linkages between climate patterns and ocean impacts, as well as exploring potential ocean-based opportunities to mitigate
and adapt to climate change. These approaches are diverse, including offshore wind development, blue carbon ecosystem
restoration, coastal resilience, macroalgae cultivation, and many others – some of which are featured in this report.
How can accelerate progress? We can start by re-centering oceans in our conversations about the climate crisis. We can also
help increase investment and implementation of ocean-centric approaches to mitigate climate change and improve our ability to
adapt to a more turbulent world. This 2021 Blue World Perspective helps to make a compelling case for ocean-based innovation
on climate, and we can build on this momentum. The oceans have always paid a critical albeit under-appreciated role in our
climate, but they must be an even more important arena for ambitious climate action in the future. To bring these solutions to
scale, we must challenge our taken-for-granted approaches to climate action, and re-orient to a new geography of possibilities on
the world’s seas.

Oceans @ Duke – an education, research, and engagement strategy for sustainable oceans
The world is at a crossroads. The ocean economy – including shipping, energy, tourism, and
fisheries – is growing faster than the terrestrial economy. At the same time, threats of climate
change, shrinking fish stocks, coastal degradation, sea level rise, and agricultural and plastic
pollution are also rapidly escalating. Universities have a critical and unique role in transforming
human use of the oceans to be more sustainable and more prosperous.
Drawing on the world-class researchers, facilities, academic programs and students across its
multiple Schools and Institutes, Duke University is building an international reputation for its
strength in ocean science, governance, and business. Beyond its faculty and programs, Duke has
an impressive network of committed alumni in ocean-related fields and works closely with partner
organizations around the world to make positive change.
By creatively connecting and supporting its faculty, students, alumni, and partners, Duke is
helping to create a generational shift that transcends boundaries, balances social, economic,
and environmental objectives, and directly tackles some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

5

Letter from The CEO
For yet another year, the pandemic was a big part of our lives and, like the rest of the world, we’re looking forward to
the recovery. Still, we believe that COVID-19 has made us more creative and inspired us in the search for even
better solutions to overcome the barriers from not being present in the same room. Once again, our accelerator
program was fully digital, but with greater efficiency and more collaboration between the teams as a result of our
use of smarter digital solutions. Our digital Investor Day was also a success, gathering an all-time high number of
investors from all over the world! After a slight decline in 2020, the number of founded startups is increasing again.
The mitigation of climate change is high on the agenda for governments as well as businesses, investors and
startups; during COP 26 in Glasgow, almost 200 countries agreed on the Glasgow Climate pact. This global
agreement will accelerate action on climate this decade and finally completes the Paris Rulebook. Not a minute too
soon!
By the end of 2020, The High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) released the
framework Transformations for a Sustainable Ocean Economy to secure ocean health and wealth for generations to
come. “A healthy ocean contributes $1.5 trillion to the global economy annually and millions of jobs in fishing,
tourism, transportation and other sectors. The ocean provides food, energy and medicine. It is the source of
recreation, discovery, identity and culture for billions of people. The ocean also stabilizes the climate by absorbing
about a quarter of CO2 emissions and producing half of the world’s oxygen.” To secure a sustainable future for the
ocean we need new solutions to secure ocean health, produce more renewable energy, reduce emissions from
ocean transportation, sustain the biodiversity in the ocean and develop new sources of protein, and gather more
knowledge about the life below the water.
In response to the Ocean Panel's call to action, Katapult Ocean was one of the founders of the 1000 Ocean
Startups coalition that was launched in May 2021. The coalition has committed to backing at least 1000
transformative ocean startups that will help regenerate ocean healthy by 2030.
Jonas Skattum Svegaarden
CEO, Katapult Ocean

Contents
Introduction
The Katapult Ocean portfolio
Impact investment thesis
A growing startup ecosystem
Testing the waters:
Investor activity in the ocean space
Riding the waves:
What's trending in the ocean space?
10
12
13
14
24
30
1
2
3
4
5
New Frontiers
Ocean Health
Harvesting
Ocean Energy
Transportation
Katapult; more than an accelerator
Acknowledgements
References
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Introduction
At Katapult Ocean we believe in a world where a thriving ocean is in harmony with economic development.
That is why we invest in and support startups that have a positive impact on our ocean. To that end, we:
Invest in startups that build profitable businesses with a positive impact on our ocean.
Catalyse capital, talent, companies and startups to accelerate the ‘blue shift’ within the ocean industries.
We inspire businesses, research institutions and investors to consider the importance of collaborating with
startups and how to do so effectively and aspire to foster a more sustainable future by putting human
ingenuity and capital to work.
Steward ocean startups to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals with a main focus on
Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) 14, Life Below Water.
2020 was a challenging year in the ocean tech startup ecosystem, with a slower growth in the number of
startups joining the space and looking for seed funding. Fortunately, 2021 showed a significant recovery
and became the highest recorded year with interesting developments in each of the ocean sectors.
We are pleased to see a growing number of investors testing the waters of impact investment; in the
European ocean impact ecosystem, we see that a high number of investors completed their first
investment in this space. For us that makes sense: we believe that the future of investing is where your
money can both solve substantial issues in the world and return your investment and we've now proven
this with two impact unicorns at Katapult in 2021.

“
In backing diverse founders with a fierce focus
on addressing society’s most pressing issues,
Katapult has simultaneously developed a
playbook for delivering investor returns and
contributing to building a better society and
planet. While we have seen the promise of this
model since Katapult’s inception, its fruition is
highly rewarding, and I am very optimistic for
the potential of further unicorns in Katapult’s
existing and future portfolio companies.
Tharald Nikolai Nustad
Founder & Owner, Katapult
As a part of our investment process, we have screened close to 2000 ocean startups and mapped the global landscape for
impact-driven ocean startups. Every year, we share the findings in this report; The Blue World Perspective.
In the 2021 edition, we have additionally mapped the ocean investor landscape, diving deeper into the trends we see within
each sector, as well as showcasing some good examples of how companies are working to grow their impact. We have also
collaborated with industry partners to share what they see, the initiatives they are taking to protect our ocean and why they
believe there are exciting investment opportunities in the ocean space.
Our aim with this report is to highlight the vast opportunities presented by ocean resources. We also want to address the
challenges our ocean is currently facing and showcase potential solutions that lie in the growing number of strong ocean
impact startups and our joint efforts to support them.
11

A global portfolio of 42 investments
in companies that have a positive impact on our ocean
12
9

Impact investment thesis
We invest and support startups who have a positive impact on our ocean
As an impact investor, Katapult Ocean firmly believes that the only way to make investments future-proof, is to integrate impact into decision making, using the UN
Sustainable Development Goals as a guiding framework. Combining this process with the high growth potential in innovative, tech-driven startups, we believe
sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand. We look for impact along three dimensions. Our portfolio is weighted towards direct impact but will also include
transitional and deep tech impact startups.
Our investment domains
Ocean Health - we invest in technology, infrastructure, products and services that are underpinned by circular economy models for a reduced environmental footprint.
Transportation - Regulatory tailwinds, high-cost pressure and demand for low-emission transport solutions create exciting investment opportunities within propulsion,
digital technology, materials and ship design.
Harvesting – Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture will play a significant role in the future of food, as will technology to enable the efficient and sustainable utilization of
organic ocean resources.
Energy – Investments lowering the cost of offshore renewable energy deployment while improving performance will accelerate the shift towards low and zero emission
energy sources.
New frontiers – we invest in technology to explore and sustainably utilize ocean resources. Data collection and monitoring technologies will play a vital role.
Sustainability
and profitability
go hand in hand!
13

A Growing Startup
Ecosystem
In this chapter, we take a look at how the global ocean startup landscape is
evolving through the insights we get from our pipeline data. We show you where
the action is, the latest trends, and what technologies will impact the ocean over
the following years. Dive in and enjoy!
14

Sector specific trends and
evolution over time
After the reduction in the number of ocean-tech startups that we saw in 2020, 2021 showed a significant
recovery and became the year with the most startups with interesting developments in each of the ocean
sectors.
Harvesting has grown significantly over the last few years to become the sector with most startups in 2021.
Transportation recovered from previous year’s contraction trend.
There was a substantial contraction in Ocean Health, both in relative and absolute terms. Having gone from
the most important sector in contribution and absolute startup numbers in 2020 to the second least in 2021.
Frontier Technologies has shaken its contracting trend, and after a significant growth in ocean-tech
startups it has become almost as relevant as Transportation.
Energy has remained as the least important sector in terms of number of startups and contribution to the
sectors mix, yet it has maintained a stable contribution with no tangible growth.
Number of startups
Startup numbers over time
2018 2019 2020 2021
100 %
90 %
80 %
70 %
60 %
50 %
40 %
30 %
20 %
10 %
0 %
Startup numbers by sector, relative
2018 2019 2020 2021
Energy Harvesting Transportation
Frontier Tech Ocean Health Other
Number of startups
Startups numbers by sector, absolute
2018 2019 2020 2021
Energy Harvesting Transportation
Frontier Tech Ocean Health Other
16

100 %
90 %
80 %
70 %
60 %
50 %
40 %
30 %
20 %
10 %
0 %
Contribution to pipeline evolution
2018 2019 2020 2021
Europe Americas Asia Oceania Africa
Number of startups
Volume per continent evolution
2018 2019 2020 2021
Europe Americas Asia Oceania Africa
Europe and The Americas are
leading the way
Europe contributes the most ocean-tech impact, providing more than half of the startups we have seen. Americas is the second largest
contributor, providing less than half the number of startups as Europe. Asia comes third and the remainder of the globe barely contributes with
less than 4% of the volume.
The growth in total number of startups number was over indexed mainly by Europe, which had shown a contracting trend since 2018 but
showed substantial growth in 2021. This growth was generalized across all the sectors except ocean health. Americas and Asia also grew
relative to the previous year, but they were not quite able to recover to 2018 and 2019 levels.
17

It’s harvesting season
Harvesting became the largest sector across continents for the first time
For the first time, Harvesting became the most important sector across Europe, Americas and Asia. It is worth noting that besides energy, each continent
has its own trends and different contributions across the remaining 4 sectors
Harvesting We saw a significant reduction in the number of harvesting startups in Americas and Asia in the years preceding 2021. However, in 2021
there was a strong recovery across the three continents, making it the most relevant category of ocean-tech in volume and contribution.
Ocean Health We saw a decline in this sector across all three continents during the last year. This led it to become the sector with least number of
startups in Europe, second last in Asia, but remains the second largest in the Americas.
Energy The energy sector has had the lowest contribution across the three continents in every year. Its behavior is rather stagnant, and we see no
significant trend or increase in the number of startups we see year over year. The ocean clean energy sector is still a quite young sector when it comes to
startups, but with important development in the ocean wind industry, we expect a growth in the number of startups that we see in the years to come.
Americas
Asia
Europe
Number of startups
2018 2019 2020 2021
2018 2019 2020 2021
2018 2019 2020 2021
Energy Frontier Tech Transportation Harvesting Ocean Health
18

Unexpected
gap
Pipeline of 2021
Previous pipelines
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Year of foundation
Fewer companies founded in 2020 than expected
The nature of a startup means that most of the companies we see in our pipeline was founded within the last 3 years. And although it takes about 2
years for a company to go from foundation to be relevant for seed investment, we usually see the largest number of startups within one year from
foundation date.
Given this expected behavior, in the 2021 pipeline of startups we expected to see the largest number of companies founded in 2020, however we didn’t
see that this time. The causalties are hard to pinpoint, although it's tempting to hypothesize that the pandemic might have had some effect here. This is
a development we will be following the next years. The long tail to the left of the peak in the graph, indicates that many startups take a long time to be
ready to search for seed investment, or to acknowledge that they need support from an accelerator to kick start their growth.
19

We continue to see low numbers
of female-founders
The total number of has fallen compared to past years. This contraction can be explained by the different characteristics of each sector as certain sectors have
higher contribution of female founders.
Energy and Transportation contribute the fewest female founders to the Ocean-impact startup space. Given that these industries rely heavily on Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, in which there are generally more men than women, it might not be surprising that we see fewer
female founders in the sector. According to UNESCO’s Cracking the Code-report, only 35% of STEM students in higher education globally are women, and only
3% of female students in higher education choose information and communication technologies (ICT) studies. Female founder participation is substantially higher
in Ocean Health and Harvesting, where we see more startups with at least one female founder. Still, even in these sectors, the number of female founders is lower
than we would like to see.
The sharp decrease we saw in the contribution of startups within the Ocean Health sector, the sector with highest participation of female founders, originated the
contraction in overall number of female founders we saw in our pipelines last year. Notably, we saw negligible change in the percentage of women in the founding
teams in each sector.
% change in female founder of the total founding team
Sector contribution to overall female founders in pipeline
45%
40%
64%
31%
30%
25%
21% 22%
20%
14%
8%
6%
0%
2019 2020
43%
22%
24%
18%
8%
5%
2019 2020
Frontier Tech Ocean Health Energy
Frontier Tech Ocean Health Energy
Other Harvesting Transportation Other Harvesting Transportation
20

The presence of Business to
Government models is growing
We have seen a growth in the presence and participation of startups with Business to Government (B2G) business models in the ocean impact tech
space, but Business to Business (B2B) continues to be the most frequent model, employed by more than 60% of the startups. The number of
startups using a Business to Consumer model (B2C) has continued to fall in both absolute and relative terms, as it has done for the last three years.
100 %
90 %
80 %
70 %
60 %
50 %
40 %
30 %
20 %
10 %
0 %
Business model contribution
2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of startups
2018 2019 2020 2021
21

Technologies being implemented
2018 2019 2020 2021
% of Biotech % of Hardware % of Ocean Health
% of Ind. Hardware % of Consumer Product % of Big Data Analytics
Biotech, Hardware and Data
The main technologies continue gaining participation
The top seven technologies in ocean impact remained the same, but we have seen a shift in the order of their relevance. Biotech
grew by a whopping 56% compared to 2020to become the most relevant tech application. Hardware applications (HAp) and
industrial hardware (IdH) gained presence, with HAp growing more than 49% compared to 2020. Other noteworthy technologies
gaining relevance are Big Data Analytics and Machine Learning, which grew by +24% and 16% compared to 2020. Ocean Health
contracted, going from the most relevant to the third most relevant ocean technology between 2020 and 2021.
22

With some small differences
between sectors
Harvesting 2018 2019 2020 2021
1 st Big Data Analytics Biotech Biotech Biotech
2 nd Biotech Heavy Ind. Hdw Ind. Hdw Consumer Product
3 rd IoT IoT Hdw Ind. Hdw
4 th Heavy Ind. Hdw Hdw Consumer Product Hdw
5 th Hdw Big Data Analytics IoT Machine Learning
Harvesting
We are starting to see a greater focus on Biotech and Consumer Product
technologies in Harvesting. These two technologies comprise more than 80%
of the tech solutions in the sector.
Ocean health
1 st Big Data Analytics Biotech Consumer Product Biotech
2 nd Heavy Ind. Hdw Hdw Biotech Consumer Product
3 rd Biotech Heavy Ind. Hdw Ind. Hdw Ind. Hdw
4 th Consumer Product Consumer Product Hdw Hdw
5 th Cloud AI IoT IoT
Ocean health
The contributions of Biotech, Hardware (Hdw), Industrial Hardware, and
consumer products applications have been high since the first year. In 2021
they interchanged some places but no major shift.
Frontier tech
1 st Big Data Analytics Hdw Big Data Analytics Hdw
2 nd Drones Big Data Analytics Machine Learning Ind. Hdw
3 rd Hdw IoT Robotics Robotics
4 th IoT Drones Ind. Hdw Machine Learning
5 th Heavy Ind. Hdw Robotics Hdw Big Data Analytics
Frontier tech
Hardware and Robotics are the most relevant technologies in Frontier Tech,
both of which having experienced significant growth compared to 2020.
Artificial Intelligence, IoT and Big Data Analytics continue to grow in volume
and relative participation.
Transportation
1 st Big Data Analytics Cloud Hdw Hdw
2 nd Cloud Big Data Analytics Machine Learning Big Data Analytics
3 rd IoT Heavy Ind. Hdw Ind. Hdw Machine Learning
4 th Heavy Ind. Hdw IoT IoT IoT
5 th AI AI Big Data Analytics Ind. Hdw
Transportation
Hardware, Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics are the most used
technologies. We see a continuous increase in the relative contribution of
Hardware, and while Big Data Analytics experienced a decline over the years,
there has recently been a sharp increase in its contribution. Industrial
hardware saw some decline
Energy
1 st Heavy Ind. Hdw Hdw Ind. Hdw Ind. Hdw
2 nd Big Data Analytics Heavy Ind. Hdw Hdw Hdw
3 rd Hdw IoT Machine Learning Robotics
Energy
Most of the focus in Energy is placed on Hardware, where there is a clear
growth trend both relative and absolute terms.
4 th IoT Big Data Analytics 3D Printing Consumer Product
5 th Consumer Product Robotics IoT Big Data Analytics 23

Testing the waters
We analyzed the investments made into European ocean impact startups,
looking to understand more about who the investors in this space are and
what they are investing in. Since this is the first analysis we have run, it is not
possible to compare with previous years, but we’re looking forward to follow
the development. We find that In recent years, investor interest in impact
ocean tech has gained momentum. As a result, many first-time investors are
testing the water by entering the space for the first time. In contrast, others
have already tried it and are ready for a deep dive. Let’s take a dip and
explore what we see in the ocean investment space.
24

What's trending in the
ocean investment space?
At Katapult Ocean we are cooperating with a broad global network of investors, accelerators, incubators and organizations,
all with the same goal: to stop climate change and save the oceans. To better understand what's moving in the ocean
investment space, we asked some of them for their perspectives:
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised at the number of investable opportunities in the space and how
many investors are interested in leaning into oceans and seafood. There are so many exciting,
enabling technologies out there. I believe macro- and micro-algae will be the next emerging trend
in the seafood sector. There’s also a real need to map, collect, and aggregate data around the
oceans to provide good-quality insights. Ocean data and IoT is a super-nascent space. There has
been an emergence of certain themes with the ability to complement what has come before, and
that’s primarily ocean data, IoT, aquaculture data and technology, and animal health.
Kate Danaher, S2G Ventures
We’re seeing an emerging hybridization of investment and philanthropy. Working primarily with
early-stage startups, catalytic capital for this part of the ecosystem is critical to get startups from
idea to prototype, and at the same time support the development of the ecosystem supporting
them. As impact investment and ESG grow, for-profit ventures allow what had historically been
non-profit restoration work to become scalable regenerative impact.
Daniel Kleinman, Seaworthy Collective
“
“
There
is a growing interest in the so called “blue economy” but most investors do not prioritize
environmental returns over financial when deciding where to allocate their money. First and foremost,
investors seek returns equivalent to or better than commercial, and they want outsized environmental
performance. We need to see more ocean investments that prioritize environmental returns first and are
willing to take lesser financial returns in order to better build a true blue economy.
Brad Ack, Ocean Visions

Lots of funds are flowing into carbon capture/sequestration and carbon elimination. The
metrics are lagging as to the effectiveness of the possible solutions. If capital is to be
deployed efficiently, the metrics need to be vastly improved so that capital is deployed
for great impact and not for the "flavor of the day" solution that may get media and
celebrity attention but is not the best.
Millicent Pitts, Ocean Exchange
“
“
There
has been a lot of growth in oceans-focused investment funds in the past twelve months
creating a much more robust pipeline for blue economy businesses looking for capital. Builders’
impact platform has a mission of shifting minds and markets for good. We do that by putting capital
to work across the capital spectrum from grants to venture and growth equity to advance markets for
solutions to the issues we care about. One of those issues is healthy oceans, so we are working
hard with lots of partners to grow both the ecosystems of start-up businesses focused on ocean
health and sustainability, and by investing in first-time fund managers that are focused on the
oceans sector. It is an exciting time to be an impact investor in the oceans sector!
Peter Bryant, Builders Vision
We see that the climate resolutions proposed by shareholders and public funds incentivize financial
institutes, investors and pension funds to reshape their strategies towards a low-carbon economy and to
build a Green Investment Portfolio. Organizations that align their business models with the transition will
gain access to finance and benefit from the rewards.
Dutch Marine Energy Centre
“
“
First
overarching (and very positive) trend is that we see a remarkable continuous increase in money earmarked
for ocean impact investment! But ocean impact is as vast as the ocean, ranging from direct impact industries like
fisheries or shipping to indirect impact industries like fashion or land-based agriculture. From enabling technologies
like AUV collecting data, to leveraging the ocean as a technology or solution to climate change through blue
carbon or marine biotechnologies. The opportunities are plenty! With this said, in our African context the trends are
clear and highlighted by the growth of the circular plastic economy, blue carbon and coastal community low tech
products for better resource management, increased livelihoods and resilience.
Alexis Grosskopf, OceanHub Africa
27

Testing the waters
Investor activity in the ocean space
P
This network graph gives an overview of the
investment in European ocean tech startups. As
the most active investor in the ocean-tech arena,
Katapult Ocean’s knowledge and understanding
of the space, and the relationship between
investors and startups, is substantial. We closely
A
monitor the ever-changing space to make sure
we keep abreast of new developments.
P
Investments in the ocean industries are still quite
P
P
P
P
P
E
E
early but we have seen an accelerated
development over the last few years and more
investors are joining all the time.
As illustrated in the graph, a few ocean startups
A
P
seem to attract many investors. Most of these
investors are new in the space, trialists or one-
P
Node Codes
A= Aquaculture
P = Alternative Protein
E = Energy
time investors. The startups drawing the most
investors are particularly concentrated in the
alternative protein (P) space and aquaculture (A)
industries. This reflects a growing market, a blue
INVESTOR
STARTUP
The startup node size conveys the number of investors each
startup has attracted, larger nodes equals more investors
ocean dynamic with large opportunities and low
overlap in offers.
28

Five key players
in ocean impact investments
Katapult Ocean’s neighborhood
Few investors have a large number of
investments in the space. The graph reveals
five key players that are clearly committed to
ocean impact as shown by the number of
ocean tech startups in their portfolios.
Katapult Ocean is the only investor that is
fully focused on ocean impact, and we are
diversifying our investment portfolio across
the five categories in the arena: Energy,
Harvesting, Transportation, Frontier Tech
and Ocean Health. Other investors tend to
focus in one particular category, with
alternative protein, aquaculture and ocean
energy attracting the most first-time investors
(shown in the previous graph).
INVESTOR
STARTUP
The investor node size conveys the percentage of its of
investments that each investor has in the space. Larger
node equals higher percentage of its portfolio in the space
29

Riding the Waves
In this chapter we have asked some of our network partners of what they
think are the most challenging issues that needs to be solved within the
next decade. In addition, we have read reports, talked to different players
in the ecosystem and tried to sum up what we see in the space. In this
chapter, you will also find highlighted impact cases from our portfolio, one
representing each of our investment domains. We hope this will make you
curious about the ocean of opportunities. We all have to make an impact -
to create the world we want to live in, and swim in. Dive in and enjoy!
30

The greatest challenges
that need to be solved within the next decade
At Katapult Ocean we are cooperating with a broad global network of investors, accelerators, incubators and organizations,
all with the same goal: to stop climate change and save the oceans. We asked them what they considered the biggest
challenges in ocean impact:
“
Climate
change is the biggest challenge that needs to be solved within the next decade, and the ocean
plays a critical role. Driving climate and weather, providing food, oxygen and livelihoods, enabling trade
and so much more! It is the one single ecosystem that links to the most SDGs, and it is in danger. We
must work collaboratively to develop and adopt new sustainable ocean solutions scientifically informed
but also informed by indigenous knowledge we can reverse the tide, fix climate change and biodiversity
loss for future generations.
Alexis Grosskopf, OceanHub Africa
Making ocean-based solutions a central part of reversing climate change. We need to overcome
the terrestrial bias of limited focus on land-based solutions when we have 72% of our blue planet
to work with to combat a global problem.
Daniel Kleinman, Seaworthy Collective
“
“
The
devastating and accelerating impacts to the ocean driven by excess greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. For example, ocean warming, acidification and deoxygenation are existential threats to
ocean ecosystems and populations. Without solving the root cause of this set of problems, other
interventions are likely to meet with much success over time.
Brad Ack, Ocean Visions

“The largest challenge we all face is climate change, and it affects everyone and every part of the planet.
Oceans make up 72% of our planet so oceans have an enormous potential contribution to make towards
mitigating global warming and developing adaptation mechanisms that will undoubtedly be needed from
climate change. At Builders we are really interested in learning more about and contributing to research,
policy work and business solutions to oceans-based carbon dioxide removal through micro- and macroalgae
solutions, ocean alkalinity enhancements and electrochemical engineering solutions. There are a lot
of questions that still need to be answered about these solutions and their potential environmental impacts,
but these solutions need to be explored further.
Peter Bryant, Builders Vision
We believe that the enormous amount of energy stored in our oceans, seas and rivers will be a crucial
driver to realize our global energy transition and foster sustainable growth. By advancing innovation,
mobilizing capital, and shaping policies, we create multipurpose energy solutions for a wide variety of
markets. Marine energy could generate 300 GW of renewable energy by 2050. This is enough to supply
electricity to 350 million households worldwide. Realizing this potential is necessary to achieve the
ambitious goals set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Dutch Marine Energy Centre
“
“The greening of the supply chain: The experts tell us that 90% of everything we see, and touch has
either traveled on a ship or a component did, or the raw materials did. Most ports are near big population
centers on coastlines so there are human health as well as ocean health implications to the supply chain
contribution to carbon footprints today. The solutions are very complex, and some have other unintended
consequences that may be equally unacceptable environmentally or to society. The timelines for these
largely engineering based solutions are very long and it may take most of the decade to sort it all out.
More solutions need to be advanced, more early-stage funding needs to flow there to help de-risk the
advancement, and lots of traditional capital needs to be on the sidelines waiting to be deployed for the
growth and scale once the solutions start to mature.
Millicent Pitts, Ocean Exchange
33

New
Frontiers
Ocean data to enable marine
stewardship
The growing recognition of the vast
opportunities offered by ocean resources
has prompted activities to best capture
their value. The awareness that our
ocean is currently under threat from
climate change effects, such as the loss
of marine biodiversity weakening ocean
ecosystems, as well as other human
activities like overfishing, has rightfully
awakened us to the importance of
deploying new solutions in a cautious
and regenerative manner.
Sector Contribution to the
2030 Transformation Outcomes
Sustainable New Ocean Industries: Innovation and investments in new
ocean industries have boosted environmentally responsible and inclusive
economic growth.
A Precautionary Approach to Seabed Mining: Sufficient knowledge and
regulations are in place to ensure that any activity related to seabed mining
is informed by science and ecologically sustainable.

Transforming current ideas for ocean resource utilization and protection into positive actions towards a
sustainable ocean economy will require vast amounts of data. This creates a vast market potential for
technology that enables the collection, sharing and processing of ocean data.
New technology platforms collected more data on the oceans in 2018 than was collected during the entire
twentieth century. The availability of systems and incentives for sharing and managing data can enable new
business models to be deployed and scaled. Improving the infrastructure for sharing and managing ocean
data could enable the data collection and analysis for ocean conservation with unprecedented ease as well
as being crucial for making sound business decisions.
Ocean data needs to be based upon continuous monitoring and compatible data sets, and it is clear that no
single organization or government can acquire and interpret of the amount of data necessary to map global
ocean ecosystems. Creating human and system capacity that can successfully manage the data for these
complex systems will require the involvement of stakeholders across all ocean industries; this will contribute
to a common understanding of how we can manage the ocean responsibly and sustainably, now and in the
future. Ultimately, better ocean data will facilitate the safer deployment of solutions in offshore energy,
shipping and aquaculture, and it will improve our ability to regenerate ecosystems in a way that is more
resilient to climate change effects if not actively mitigating them.
Startups within the following impact areas will make a positive contribution for the sector:
• Solutions that contribute to ocean exploration through data collection
• Robotics and unmanned vehicles that can enhance efforts to collect and process data
• Data analytics to support stewardship, conservation and decision making in ocean industries
35

Increasing ocean knowledge through
Crowdsourcing data
collection
Paralenz develops underwater camera technology that enables anyone to easily capture and share
ocean footage; this ultimately provides much needed ocean data. Divers using Paralenz technology will
increase ocean knowledge effortlessly while doing what they love: exploring the ocean. Ocean dives
recorded by Paralenz users can be shared with scientific organizations thereby adding to the wealth of
knowledge needed to help restore and protect our oceans. Their platform allows divers without a
scientific background to support marine conservation initiatives in a scalable manner.
“Any real change is a collective effort.
Through empowering people of the ocean
worldwide, we will help reverse the steep
decline of life beneath the surface.”
Paralenz vision statement
Paralenz recently deployed their first rental kiosks for diving cameras; this data crowdsourcing approach
is a more sustainable alternative to traditional ocean conservation projects. Paralenz’s underwater
cameras take high resolution photos and videos while automatically registering information including
depth, time, location, water temperature and water connectivity. Any user of the Paralenz app can easily
share data, and new ocean data is therefore constantly accessible to scientific communities. The
technology and rental model are currently being tested in restoration and ocean cleanup programmes in
Italy and Florida. In Florida, the company have rolled out numerous camera rental kiosks to support the
work of the Coral Restoration Foundation in their project to restore 93,000 square meters of reef across
seven sites over the next two decades. 40 more kiosks are being used in Italy to support ghost net
removal from ghost fishing activities along the country’s western coastline. Data collected from divers
renting Paralenz cameras in this area will be shared with Ghost Diving, the largest international diving
organization working on removing and exposing abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear.

Photo captured by Paralenz Ambassador Raffy Francisco
with the Paralenz Vaquita underwater camera

Ocean
Health
Working together for a healthy
ocean and a healthy earth
The ocean covers 71% of the earth's surface
and more than 3 billion people rely on the
ocean for their livelihoods. The ocean
contributes to poverty eradication, sustained
economic growth and food security. However,
the benefits it provides are increasingly
undermined by human activities. According to
the Sustainable Development Goals Report
2021, rising CO2 emissions are driving ocean
acidification and deoxygenation as well as
warming, which threaten marine ecosystems
and the people who depend on them. These
effects are also overwhelming the capacity of
oceans to moderate climate change.
Sector Contribution to the
2030 Transformation Outcomes
Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Ambitious climate action has set the
world on track to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and restore
ocean health.
Protect and Restore Marine and Coastal Ecosystems: Marine and coastal
ecosystems are healthy, resilient and productive, and nature-based
solutions are key elements in developing coastal infrastructure.
Reduce Ocean Pollution: The ocean is no longer a sink for pollution and
ocean dead zones are minimized.

Land-based pollutants, including plastic pollution and nutrient and sewage runoff, adversely affect coastal habitats
and communities. Almost 40% of the world’s population lives in coastal areas, which are facing growing risks from
eutrophication – that is, excess nutrients from human activities, such as agriculture, running into coastal
environments and causing algal blooms. The primary drivers of eutrophication are fertilizer run-off, livestock waste,
sewage discharge, aquaculture and atmospheric nitrogen emissions. Coastal eutrophication is detrimental to the
environment and coastal populations, and is associated with harmful algal blooms, deoxygenation, fish and
seagrass die-offs, loss of coral reefs and nearshore hard-bottom habitats, and health hazards to swimmers and
fishers. The number of dead zones worldwide – areas of water that lack sufficient oxygen to support marine life –
increased from around 400 in 2008 to approximately 700 in 2019.
Changes in eutrophication can be indirectly monitored by analyzing algal growth and chlorophyll-a (the pigment that
makes plants and algae green). Global satellite data show that countries’ exclusive economic zones (areas where
nations have special rights to exploration and resources) have higher levels of chlorophyll-a today compared with
values from 2000–2004. Still, there are some signs of progress: the frequency of chlorophyll-a anomalies in
countries’ exclusive economic zones fell by 20% from 2018 to 2020. Efforts to reduce nutrient inputs into coastal
areas are yielding results in some regions; however, algal blooms suggest that coastal eutrophication remains a
challenge.
Ocean health, biodiversity and climate change have traditionally been treated independently, but there is an
increased recognition that these are inseparable issues. The ocean plays an essential role in climate regulation as it
absorbs CO2 and heat, and the life within it produces half of the oxygen we breathe. There are a lot of issues for us
to tackle, and startups are handling a big share of it. Startups are finding solutions to the problem of plastics
pollution in the ocean by developing biodegradable alternatives to oil-based plastics. Other startups are finding out
how to use algaes in new and sustainable ways, to reduce the efflux of microplastics into the ocean and to secure
biodiversity. Still, not all problems can be commercialized and solved by startups, and we are dependent on a broad
collaboration of different entities such as governments, NGOs and businesses.
Startups within the following impact areas can make a positive contribution for the ocean health sector:
• Alternative packaging, reducing plastic waste
• Solutions that reduce nutrient and savage runoff
• Solutions that reduce microplastic waste in the ocean
• Solutions that safeguard the biodiversity of our coastal ecosystems
39

Regenerating biodiversity with
Artificial reefs
The loss of biodiversity is a great threat to marine ecosystems. With the development
of ocean-based wind power, concrete constructions are now being submerged in the
ocean. In the UK waters alone, there are some 40,000 concrete matts to cover
underwater pipes, many of these matts require retrieval as they can damage
ecosystems and are therefore classed as marine litter. ARC Marine is an ecoengineering
company whose mission is to accelerate reef creation.
We strive to become industry leaders in
nature inclusive designs and long-term reef
stewardship by creating a model which can be
adopted by everyone, anywhere in the world.
ARC Marine’s vision statement
ARC Marine has created artificial structures called Reef Cubes® and Marine Matt®
that have a minimal carbon footprint to restore reef health. The business is built on
science and model scenarios and test the products in cooperation with scientists and
marine specialists to secure that their products are close to natural habitats. The
unique selling point that ARC Marine offers is that species colonize their products in a
short period of time, creating new habitats in the nektobenthic zone at the bottom of
the ocean. ARC Marine was borne from the desire to leave our environment in a
better place than when it started. That is why they apply their knowledge and
experience to lead the way in developing man-made solutions across a variety of
marine industries – delivering effective solutions that are able to make a difference for
both their clients and our planet.

7

Harvesting
A growing momentum
for seaweed
Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture will
play a significant role in the future of food, as
will technology to enable the efficient and
sustainable utilization of organic ocean
resources. The future health of the ocean
depends on urgent actions to renew, innovate
and scale solutions that meet the needs of a
growing global population in a more
sustainable manner. Many academic and
research organizations have asserted the
crucial role that aquaculture can play in
feeding global populations, but this industry
must develop approaches that sustain the
health of ocean ecosystems as they grow.
Sector Contribution to the
2030 Transformation Outcomes
Sustainable Ocean Food: Wild fish stocks are restored and harvested at
sustainable levels, aquaculture is sustainably grown to meet global needs,
and waste is minimized and managed throughout the value chain.
Sustainable New Ocean Industries: Innovation and investments in new
ocean industries have boosted environmentally responsible and inclusive
economic growth.

While fisheries are an established industry, the vast potential of other ocean resources has long been untapped. If
we manage to sustainably scale alternative innovations and uptake from these resources, the ocean could
provide significant value in multiple applications, making it uniquely positioned to replace unsustainable processes
and products that abound today. The cultivation of ocean organics, such as algae, is one of the emerging
industries projected to provide sustainable protein alternatives. In addition to its use as a sustainable protein
source that could replace resource intensive and more polluting processes on land, seaweed can act as a
regenerative force by supporting carbon sequestration, nutrient absorption and biodiversity in ocean waters.
Production of seaweed does not require fresh water or fertilizers, making it more efficient compared with other
production processes. Seaweed, as an alternative seafood, has the potential to act both as a climate change
mitigant and ocean ecosystem regenerator, and it ultimately poses a healthier and less expensive alternative to
conventional food and animal feed.
Production and technology companies in the sector are now gaining significant traction as the huge potential of
this wonder material becomes better understood. The value of the global seaweed market has more than tripled
between 2000 and 2018 and is forecasted a double-digit compound annual growth rate in the next five to ten
years, dependent upon the availability of funding required for these many new players to scale their production.
The overall amount invested
in European seaweed
companies has grown by 24x
between 2010 and 2020
The diverse functions of seaweed as a biomass also pose opportunities for application in other value chains, such
as pharmaceuticals and bioplastics for alternative packaging. The number of seaweed industry players across the
value chain (in production, consumer goods and sales) reflects this optimism for the industry and has close to
tripled in Europe over the past ten years. While seaweed’s ability to mitigate climate change is gaining increasing
validation, it is still unclear what the environmental impact truly is, and it is thus crucial to sustain more research
and data collection in years to come, to keep up with the expected growth. As the value chains are continuing to
get more established, and are being supported by a strong research network, we see vast potential for impactful
solutions in this space.
Startups within the following impact areas will make a positive contribution for the harvesting sector:
• Solutions utilizing other nutrient sources from the ocean for feeding people and animals
• Development of food using methods within alternative protein use and cultivation
• Solutions supporting the transformation of fisheries towards more sustainable practices
43

Supplying the world with
Sustainable Nordic
seaweed
Ocean Rainforest seeds, grows, harvests and processes seaweed in the North Atlantic
Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. By applying a gentle handling process at sites close to
the farms they ensure the seaweed stays rich in nutrients. By cultivating the seaweed
instead of taking from wild stocks, Ocean Rainforest is sustaining the natural balance
of local habitats, and the seaweed absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere as it grows.
Our purpose is to improve people’s wellbeing
by growing seaweed while making a unique
contribution to a blue regeneration on our
planet
Ocean Rainforest’s vision statement
Ocean Rainforest has developed a promising cultivation method, making them a
frontrunner in the European industry and Europe's leading seaweed cultivator. The first
scale pilot was successfully completed last year and has made it ready to scale its
production and utilize its carbon mitigation opportunity, placing it in a position to make a
positive impact in food and feed value chains as well as on ocean health, economic
development and job security in coastal areas.

Ocean
Energy
The oceans as a source of
clean energy production
Energy production today heavily relies on
fossil fuels. To stop climate change, we have
to make a shift towards a cleaner energy
production, and the shift must come fast. New
technology and investment into clean energy
are essential to limit global warming as the
cost of action to prevent climate change is
probably far less than the cost of managing
its effects. From an investment perspective
there are significant economic opportunities
flowing from the low-carbon transition;
renewable energy sources such as solar and
wind energy are predicted to grow steeply
over the next 20-30 years, and as land areas
are scarce, we must seize the opportunities
within the ocean in a sustainable manner.
Sector Contribution to the
2030 Transformation Outcomes
Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Ambitious climate action has set the
world on track to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and restore
ocean health.
Protect and Restore Marine and Coastal Ecosystems: Marine and coastal
ecosystems are healthy, resilient and productive, and nature-based
solutions are key elements in developing coastal infrastructure.
Reduce Ocean Pollution: The ocean is no longer a sink for pollution and
ocean dead zones are minimized.

One challenge with ocean energy has previously been the costs, but the field is evolving, and today offshore wind
produces clean electricity at a competitive price. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the energy sector
is responsible for almost three-quarters of the greenhouse gas emissions that have already pushed global average
temperatures 1.1 °C higher since the pre-industrial age resulting in clear impacts on weather and climate extremes. To
limit global warming to 1.5 °C, we need more clean energy. In 2021, the electricity produced from renewable sources
grew by 6%, but that was not enough to keep up with rising demand. Unfortunately, much of the gap was filled by coalbased
energy generation, which grew by 9% to reach a new all-time peak. In a zero-emissions society, more than half
of our energy must be electric, and of the electricity 86% must come from wind and solar energy according to DNV’s
report Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions.
Luckily, things are moving. According to the Sustainable Development Goal Report 2021, there has been an increase in
the production of renewable energy over the last few years. Still, effective climate action will require accelerated
development of modern renewable energy. Solar photovoltaic and wind power are already the cheapest sources of new
power almost everywhere, and within a decade it will also be cheaper than thermal power in most places. In their
Energy Transition Outlook 2021 report, DNV Predicts that by 2050, solar and wind will represent 69% of grid-connected
power generation, and fossil power just 13%. Connectivity, storage and demand-response will be critical assets in the
decarbonized power system. In addition to a change in the energy composition from non-renewable to renewable, DNV
forecasts that we will see an improvement in energy efficiency, which is central to the global goal of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Union launched its
strategy to harness the potential of
offshore renewable energy at the end
of 2020. The EU commission
estimates that the installed capacity
for offshore wind will grow from 12
GW today to at least 60 GW by 2030,
and by 300 GW by 2050.
Most of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the ocean, meaning that the potential market for near-shore and
offshore energy generation is enormous. The ocean is an underdeveloped arena for clean energy production, but the
market is evolving quickly towards more ocean-based solutions, and production costs are decreasing. We see a
growing number of startups that are driving innovation in the ocean energy field. Over the last year, ocean wind farms
have been developed off the coasts of the US and of Scotland, and more projects are in the pipeline. The ScotWind
projects alone are predicted to produce 10 GW of new clean energy and more than 53 countries around the world have
developed or are developing ocean wind projects. Ocean solar power is also evolving, and countries where land is
scarce are leading its development. In addition, wave and tidal energy are sectors where we see a promising
evolvement. Like in the Ocean Health-sector, to speed up the development of the ocean energy sector we are
dependent on Governments, businesses, investors, science and startups doing their parts to move the sector forward.
Startups within the following impact areas will make a positive contribution for the ocean energy sector:
• Developers and subcontractors in the Ocean wind solutions
• Developers and subcontractors in the Ocean solar solutions
• Solutions to capture wave and tidal energy
47

Powering the world with
Clean solar energy
SolarDuck, a spin-off from Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands, is developing offshore
floating solar panels to produce clean solar energy where land is scarce. The solution
is scalable to match specific local requirements and offers a sustainable alternative to
meet the rising demand for clean energy. SolarDuck’s technology is designed for
offshore application, and it is therefore robust, able to handle high waves and wind
speeds. The founders of SolarDuck have experience in the offshore energy industry
and use their knowledge in the development of this clean energy solution. Their
technology consists of flexible connected triangles that are resistant to waves up to five
metres high, hurricane proof and have a lifetime up to 30 years.
SolarDuck powers the world with clean solar
energy. We generate offshore solar energy
using state-of-the-art technology. Fully
scalable to match specific local requirements
worldwide. Offering a sustainable alternative
to meet the world's rising demand for energy.
SolarDuck’s vision statement
SolarDuck seeks to maximize their environmental impact producing clean energy while
being aware of the risks and ensuring marine life safety. To have a minimal impact on
ocean ecosystems, the solar panel plants have been designed to minimize air and
sunlight blockage by having elevated systems that allow for air transmission and open
gratings that allow for sun light transmission below the platform. SolarDuck's first full
scale demonstrator started generating energy in 2021.

Transportation
Greener, smarter, cleaner
As over 80% of global trade by volume is
carried out by sea, international shipping is a
large and growing source of greenhouse gas
emissions. It is easy to think that
decarbonization in shipping should focus on
developing zero-emissions vessels and
alternative fuels; these are changes that many
are working on, but we cannot sit down and
wait for them. There are significant emissions
reductions that can be achieved by focusing
on operational improvements, and that is what
the majority of the startups in this field are
working on.
Sector Contribution to the
2030 Transformation Outcomes
Sustainable Ocean-Based Tourism: Coastal and ocean based tourism is
sustainable, resilient, addresses climate change, reduces pollution,
supports ecosystem regeneration and biodiversity conservation and
invests in local jobs and communities.
Sustainable Ocean Transport: Shipping investments have effectively
accelerated the shift towards zero-emission and low-impact marine
vessels.

Biofouling management is an important factor in maintaining ocean health. Biofouling is the accumulation of aquatic
organisms on wetted or immersed surfaces such as ships and other offshore structures. Biofouling is a major vector for
the introduction of alien species – Invasive Aquatic Species (IAS) – that may severely degrade marine biodiversity.
Studies show that biofouling on ships is responsible for between 55.5% and 69.2% of established coastal and estuarine
invasive species globally. IAS have caused significant harm to the marine and coastal environments, and they are
considered one of the leading causes of marine biodiversity loss. Managing biofouling by keeping hulls clean from the
build-up of species can protect biodiversity as well as reduce ships' fuel consumption and their resulting greenhouse
gas emissions.
Onshore Power Supply with renewable energy, safe and efficient bunkering of alternative low-carbon and zero-carbon
fuels, and support for the optimization of port calls including facilitation of just-in-time arrival of ships are all subjects the
transportation industry is working on to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is also a need to further
optimize the logistics chain to reduce the impact of transportation on GHG emissions, along with the initiation of
research and development activities addressing marine propulsion and innovative technologies to improve the energy
efficiency of ships. The above mentioned solutions may require global coordination from more players in the industry
and even though there are many startups in the field, it might be difficult to gather the industry around one or a few
solutions, or have the solutions work together.
Smaller scale transport might an be easier industry for startups to target, and there are still greenhouse gas emissions
to be reduced there. In Norway alone, there are one million leisure boats and almost all of them have diesel engines. In
addition, medium sized boats in the fish farm, tourist and other nearshore related industries also run on diesel or
gasoline. These are areas where startups can make a difference both in terms of the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions and of noise pollution. With electric propulsion systems, these boats can run more silently and cause fewer
disruptions of the life below water.
Startups within the following impact areas will make a positive contribution for the ocean transport sector:
• Alternative propulsion systems
• Port efficiency systems
• Solutions to reduce biofouling
• Optimization of freight and fuel consumption
• Autonomous systems to reduce the relevance of shipping time
51

Accelerating the transition to
sustainable boating
Evoy is a Norwegian startup that electrifies working and leisure boats and its vision is
to eliminate boating emissions. Evoy is creating fully electric inboard and outboard
motors for boats, serving both the smaller industrial boat market and leisure boat
market. The startup strives to deliver a more sustainable boating experience by
developing long-lasting electric motor systems with a similar engine power as diesel
engines, accelerating the transition to sustainable boating.
In the Norwegian leisure boating market alone, boats with diesel engines release more
than 1.2 million tons of CO2 every year. In Norway we have seen the electrification of
the car industry over the last few years. Even though we have come a far way in this
transition, partly because of the reduced taxes on electrical cars in Norway, the number
of electric Porsches sold in the end of 2021 was higher than the total number of fossil
fuel cars sold; the world is going electric!
Evoy®’s vision is to deliver an irresistible
boating experience by developing
sustainable electric motor systems to
accelerate the change for electric boating.
Evoy’s vision statement

Katapult; more
than an accelerator
To create the world we want to live in, Katapult is investing in more than Ocean startups.
At Katapult we work tirelessly to allocate more capital into impact investing, with the aim
of speeding up the change towards a more sustainable planet. We do this through
awareness building in Katapult foundation and our impact funds focused across three
thematics; ocean, climate and Africa.
54

Katapult Foundation
An ecosystem builder
Katapult is more than investing in and accelerating startups. We are also working with the ecosystem to gather and spread our knowledge about impact
investing.
The Katapult Foundation sits alongside the Katapult Group with the goal to move people, capital and technology for good. Katapult Group’s founder Tharald
Nustad and CEO in Katapult Foundation, Alison Fort, created the Katapult Foundation to gather and develop the mission-driven, non-profit activities.
The Katapult Foundation runs activities such as the Nordic Impact Investing Network (NIIN), various tailored Impact Investing Academy programmes in
collaboration with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the Katapult Future Fest, an impact focused gathering with experts from across the globe and the Coalition
for Impact (C4i), a global network of networks which comprises BMW Foundation, Toniic, the University of Zurich Centre for Sustainable Finance and Private
Wealth and Nexus.
Nordic Impact Investing Network (NIIN): connects and educates the emerging impact investor ecosystem in the Nordic countries to the global impact investing
community. Providing asset owners with support and inspiration for their impact investment journeys, the NIIN offers like-minded investors a community.
The Nordic Impact Investing Academy: With 50 years experience in impact investing across the team, The Academy educates and supports families and
groups of asset owners who desire to move into strategic action with their impact investments.
Accelerate: Founders and entrepreneurs have the unique opportunity of enabling positive impact when transitioning from entrepreneurs to investors. Accelerate
is the first of its kind to support self-made wealth holders in finding answers to the pressing questions related to the why’s, how’s, what’s, and who’s of impact
investing.
Katapult Future Fest: An impact focused gathering with experts from across the globe. The 2022 themes are: Impact Investing, Transformative Tech and
Future Society including tracks focused on everything from the Metaverse to Impact Unicorns, Sustainable cities, Climate, Consciousness, Ethical AI and
Systems change. 56

A thriving world for all
Katapult Climate
In 2021 Katapult Accelerator narrowed its investment specter to land based climate
solutions. Katapult Climate was born because we believe in a world where a stable
climate is in harmony with economic development. That is why we invest in and support
startups that have a positive impact on our climate. We invested in 8 promising climate
tech startups in 2021 and will do 10 more each year.
Katapult Africa
The last decade has witnessed a tech revolution in Africa. However, the interlinked
challenges of climate change, inequalities and poverty remain acute on the continent,
and are most evident in agriculture and food value chains. For Katapult - where 17 of our
most innovative and impactful portfolio companies are active - technology and
entrepreneurship will be critical in solving these problems, helping to meet global African
and global consumption demands equitably and sustainably.
In 2022, Katapult’s dedicated Africa vertical is launching. We have built high quality local
teams to source, invest in, and accelerate a generation of game-changing agri, food and
climate tech startups in two carefully chosen markets. Launching its first cohort in April
2022, the Katapult Mauritius Accelerator at Ferney Agri-hub is part of a larger plan to
develop the island nation Mauritius as a focal point for sustainable innovation. And in
summer 2022 - in partnership with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Norrsken
and Smart Africa, and with the support of Norad - Katapult is launching its crosscontinent
Katapult Africa Accelerator from Rwanda.
57

Acknowledgements
We would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who provided valuable
contributions to this report, including our portfolio companies and industry network for
sharing their insight.
We would also like to express our deepest appreciation to all the amazing founders out
there, who go to work every single day to create a more sustainable future.
The launch of this report has been made possible thanks to our partners, Hafslund Eco
and Centre for Energy, Development and the Global Environment at Duke University.
58

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59

Photo captured by Paralenz Ambassador Raffy Francisco
with the Paralenz Vaquita underwater camera
Katapult Ocean
Universitetsgata 2
0164 Oslo, Norway
Questions? Say hi to hello@katapult.vc