The Ocean Impact Navigator is a framework published by 1000 Ocean Startups (1000OS) towards understanding how to build businesses that affect SDG 14.
- The official landing page can be found here: https://www.1000oceanstartups.org/navigator
- The official document can be found here: https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Ocean_Impact_Navigator_2023.pdf
What is 1000 Ocean Startups
1000OS is a network of 37 members who are supporting more than 330 Ocean Impact startups. 1000OS is not a VC firm or other kind of asset manager - they don't directly manage a fund or have capital to deploy. From the website: "The members of 1000 Ocean Startups have dedicated their talent, energy and resources to scaling the startups that invent and deploy critical innovations for ocean health."
Some partners directly invest capital in the Startups that are a part of the 1000OS ecosystem, other partners are contributing talent, expertise, human resources, mentorship, networks, or other resources.
See the full list of members here: https://www.1000oceanstartups.org/members
The Ocean Impact Navigator was developed by 1000 Ocean Startups and prepared by SYSTEMIQ, with the generous support of Builders Vision, SWEN Capital Partners and the GEOS UN Decade Program.
What is the Ocean Impact Navigator?
The OIN is a dedicated impact KPI framework which is needed for the Ocean Impact Innovation ecosystem. The Ocean Impact Innovation ecosystem refers to the collection of businesses, projects, and investors that are making change happen under the umbrella of 1000OS.
How can these people be sure that change is happening, and that business isn't just continuing to happen with the same negative impact as always? Through the use of the OIN, businesses can be aware of how they are actually contributing to change.
The Navigator makes three main contributions:
1. First, it can help investors identify the most impactful interventions for the ocean – providing a crucial strategic resource, given the blue economy remains underinvested and capital scarce.
2. Second, through supporting harmonized measurement across users, it will enable the aggregation of impact data, creating visibility, synergies, and supporting effective decision-making, transparency and communication on shared progress towards a sustainable ocean economy.
3. Third, it can streamline and simplify impact measurement requirements for start-ups.
Understanding what's in the blue economy
This image is included in the OIN, and describes the main sectors and groupings of the blue economy:
Interesting note:
- I wonder if conservation is not included directly on this because it isn't a revenue generating thing. I would ask if MPAs and conservation area management should go on this diagram, or if those items would not be included in here.
A Venture Capitalist firm called Katapult Ocean observed 1,978 ocean startups globally, with the most popular type being in harvesting. That was followed by transport, biofuels, and ocean data. The smallest area was ocean conservation and green energy.
The sustainable ocean economy is severely underinvested, however that is changing as more private investors are funding Ocean Impact.
Not only is there private investment, there's accelerators and incubators:
What are the 30 KPI that guide organizations towards a healthy blue economy?
The report continues to give case studies of 6 startups and how they used the framework to measure their impact.
Conclusion:
It's incredible how fast this sector is growing -with new VCs supporting Impact rising up every day. I'm fascinated by the documentation supporting the description of what is or isn't Impact and working towards definitions that enable us to get better work done.
