SOA Connects: Demo Day Edition

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Featuring SOA's 2020 Accelerator Cohort of Ocean Startups

As Profiled in Tech Crunch

Thursday, November 5th | 9:00am - 12:00pm Pacific Time (U.S.)

Join us for our virtual Demo Day as we present our “Third Wave" Cohort of ocean entrepreneurs. The nine companies hailing from seven countries represent SOA’s global presence and address a wide range of ocean threats using technological advancements in areas related to habitat destruction, sustainable seafood supply chain, water treatment, and plastic pollution. This year more than half of the cohort’s startups are led by female CEO's.

“We cannot expect to solve the ocean’s most critical challenges with philanthropy alone. We must support entrepreneurs and invest in scalable ocean-impact businesses if we are to reverse the tide of environmental destruction.” Craig Dudenhoeffer, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-founder of the SOA Ocean Solutions Accelerator.

Demo Day will include startup presentations, industry-based panel discussions, expo booths, and networking space as well as keynote presentations from Ashlan Cousteau and Philippe Cousteau.

Register Now

Ashlan and Philippe Cousteau, Jr.

Environmental Advocates and Filmmakers

Ashlan and Philippe are environmental advocates and filmmakers with a deep mutual passion for exploration and storytelling. Their mission is to inspire, entertain and motivate people to solve the critical issues facing humans, wildlife and the planet. Ashlan and Philippe’s extensive work encompasses award-winning documentaries, Emmy-nominated TV series, multiple books, ground-breaking VR experiences and empowering youth. Since 2004 their non-profit EarthEcho International, a leading environmental education organization, has been building a global youth movement for the ocean and has engaged 2 million youth in 146 countries.

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Meet the Third Wave

Aquaai: Norway. Aquaai has developed a specialized, flexible, fishlike Autonomous Underwater Vehicle loaded with cameras and sensors that "swims" close to the source unobtrusively for superior data acquisition.
AKUA: Brooklyn, New York. AKUA creates plant-based foods, like their award winning Kelp Jerky and forthcoming Kelp Burger, made from ocean-farmed kelp, which is one of the most healing and healthy forms of food on the planet.
ARC Marine: Brixham, UK. ARC Marine have developed Reef Cubes, the patented building blocks for the ocean which provide sustainable habitat & nursery and spawning grounds whilst performing a useful subsea and/or coastal asset protection role.
Desolenator: Maastricht, the Netherlands. Desolenator is pioneering low-cost, ocean-safe desalination with a technology powered 100% by solar energy, and without the use of harmful chemicals.
FlyWire: Lexington, Kentucky. FlyWire has built the world’s first “Fitbit” for fishing boats to give customers the operational insights they need to achieve efficiency comparable to other industries and boost profitability.
microTERRA: Mexico City, Mexico. Alternative protein for animal feed grown in aquafarms, reducing waste water output and fresh water input for farms and allowing the uptake of more sustainable aquaculture methods.
Oceanworks: Los Angeles, CA. Oceanworks® is the largest global marketplace for recycled ocean plastic.
PlanetCare, Ljubljana, Slovenia. PlanetCare has designed the only purpose built microfiber filter that has been independently tested to capture over 90% of the fibers of all size ranges before they leave the drain pumps.
Trademodo: Vancouver, Canada. Supporting sustainable trade by providing a platform for users to easily find, research and connect with ethical seafood businesses throughout all levels of the supply chain.

Past Summits

Keynote: Cristina Mittermeier, Co-Founder and Managing Director of SeaLegacy

Spotlighting Female Solutionists

September 3, 2020

The September 3rd Summit highlighted female solutionists from SOA’s global community, as well as workshops in a wide variety of subjects including Impact Investing, Environmental Advocacy through Film, and Circular Economy. This year’s theme builds on the success of SOA’s all-female panel of marine biologists, scientists, and ocean leaders during SOA x United Nations World Oceans Day.

Read the recap here.

The Inaugural SOA Connects Ocean Solutions Summit

June 2, 2020

Ocean Solutionists from 73 countries attended our first-ever SOA Connects virtual summit. We asked all registrants to submit their impact action photo and statement as a demonstration of their commitment to ocean health. We were blown away by the 250+ submissions we received, and compiled as many as we could in a recap.

Read the recap here.