Transformative Ocean Investment Opportunities 2025

8 Making Waves in the Regenerative & Sustainable Ocean Economy: Transformative Ocean Investment Opportunities A suite of financial instruments and platforms exist to catalyze private investment into a regenerative and sustainable blue economy. But to truly scale and unlock investment, three enabling conditions must be met. 1. The pipeline of bankable ocean- based projects must be expanded While developers often point to a lack of funding, one of the main obstacles to capital deployment is the limited availability of mature, scalable projects. The pipeline must grow – upstream and downstream. What we have found is that a small catalytic grant in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, or early seed funding, brings in more private capital of all types and it is critical that these funds begin to flow. 2. A Capital Market for the Ocean A true ocean finance ecosystem needs a structured capital market that includes venture and private equity, as well as public equity, blue bonds, and insurance- linked instruments. Ocean finance must evolve from niche innovation to mainstream capital deployment. Financial intermediaries, MDBs, DFIs, insurers, and institutional investors all have critical roles to play in establishing robust financial vehicles and deal structures that align with ocean-positive outcomes. 3. Financial commitments need to translate into capital flows A regenerating and sustainable ocean needs to have a seat at the table in finance and insurance decisions. Building the wave of investment starts with institutional investors and asset managers setting robust net zero commitments and driving financial system policy change by adopting corporate ESG standards and disclosures as well as taxonomies that define clear and common criteria for classifying ocean-linked projects and investments as sustainable. It also means accelerating the transition towards a healthy and sustainable ocean through lending, investment and insurance practices that mitigate ocean risk and build the resilience of climate vulnerable coastal communities. ORRAA and The Forum are working to enable this journey. The cumulative value of the Assets Under Management by current endorsers of #BackBlue amounts to USD$3.45 trillion. AXA, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, Eurazeo, Mirova, WTW and Palladium are among the financial institutions to have joined. We are looking for others to join the #BackBlue Commitment. In 2018, there were only four funds in the market that were focused on ocean health and sustainability. @Unsplash Image: Wolfgang WeiserSCALING UP: UNLOCKING INVESTMENT IN THE REGENERATIVE & SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY