Entrepreneurs seek support to turn marine resources into jobs
DAR ES SALAAM: ENTREPRENEURS in the blue economy have called for greater access to finance, innovation, skills and partnerships to unlock the sector’s potential to create jobs and reduce poverty.
They said stronger investment and support were needed to help coastal communities turn untapped marine resources into viable and sustainable businesses.
The entrepreneurs made the remarks during a business forum dialogue held as part of the ongoing 12th Conference of the Parties to the Nairobi Convention (COP12) in Dar es Salaam.
The dialogue, themed “Unlocking Investment, Innovations and Business Opportunities for Sustainable Blue Economy”, brought together government officials, businesses, financial institutions, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and development partners to explore ways of turning the region’s ocean resources into sustainable and investable opportunities.
Speaking during a panel discussion on moving ocean resources to markets, which covered fisheries, seaweed, blue carbon, valuation, post-harvest management and the circular economy, the entrepreneurs said the Western Indian Ocean offered vast opportunities in fisheries, aquaculture, seaweed, marine farming, recycling and value-added products.
However, they said communities needed stronger support to transform available resources into sustainable and profitable enterprises.
Swahili Coast Farms Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ms Gloria Justin, said access to finance and supportive regulations remained among the major challenges facing entrepreneurs introducing new blue economy businesses.
She said her company, which pioneered oyster farming in Kenya, was established in 2022 but only began farming in 2024 after navigating regulatory challenges.
According to Ms Justin, the policy framework governing oyster farming was not sufficiently developed when the company started, requiring extensive engagement with stakeholders before the business could begin operations.
She said access to capital was another challenge, as investors were initially sceptical about a business model involving a relatively new industry in Kenya.
The company therefore used its own resources to demonstrate that oyster farming could work before approaching investors, she said.
Ms Justin said extensive engagement with coastal communities and other stakeholders had also helped build confidence in the business and create a model capable of attracting investment.
“Our idea was translated on paper in a way that investors were able to come on board,” she said.
She called for financial institutions to develop financing arrangements that took into account the longer production cycles of blue economy enterprises.
Ms Justin said businesses such as oyster farming could take about a year to produce, followed by additional time to reach markets and generate returns, making conventional short-term financing difficult for entrepreneurs.
She also urged investors and financial institutions to work with technical specialists when assessing blue economy ventures so that the risks and opportunities of such businesses could be better understood.
Sabri Knows Herbs Africa Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sabri Tillya, said innovation and value addition could enable communities to benefit from marine resources beyond their traditional uses.
He said he started his business from home in 2023 with two products and 150,000/- from his grandmother, but later expanded the venture to more than 25 cosmetic products, over 12 food and nutrition products and more than 100 herbal products derived from blue economy resources such as seaweed and algae.
The growth, he said, led to the establishment of what he described as an African blue economy supermarket in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam, providing organic products in one location.
Mr Tillya said opportunities extended far beyond his supermarket, with potential for hundreds of businesses based on marine resources, including bio-leather and other innovative products.
He urged young people and women in coastal areas to explore such opportunities, saying many communities were yet to recognise the economic potential of resources available in the ocean.
“There are hundreds of opportunities for the community to be engaged in and get profit,” he said.
A fisheries and aquaculture mentor and chairman of a sea cucumber farming group in Zanzibar, Mr Badru Yassin, said coastal communities should view the ocean as an economic opportunity that could help create employment and reduce poverty.
He said lack of employment had motivated him and another person to establish a sea cucumber farming initiative in 2019, which had since grown to 10 members.
