Waves of Change: 11 Key Achievements From Our 2022 Impact Report

Our team was thrilled to release Ocean Impact Organisation’s first published impact snapshot the other week!

“Our Impact 2022” chronicles the impact OIO has made in the 2022 calendar year, as well as featured highlights of our lifetime impact to date, and we couldn’t be happier with the results.

All life on earth relies on a healthy Planet Ocean. It regulates our climate; produces around half the world’s oxygen; fuels the water cycle; sustains livelihoods; provides nourishment; is fundamental to diverse cultures; essential to global transport; critical to addressing climate change; and is home to millions of marine species - many yet to be discovered!

But the ocean is on a precipice, facing complex challenges due to human action.

That’s why OIO is dedicated to transforming ocean health by supporting ocean impact startups and oceanpreneurs to make their greatest impact. And we’re proud to say we’re doing just that!

See the Full Report

Key ACHIEVEMENTS

In our lifetime to date - since 2020 - we have:

We’ve facilitated $1.1m AUD of funding into ocean impact startups.
Supported 68 startups and oceanpreneurs from 65 countries.
Built an active community of 26,000 followers and subscribers.

In the 2022 calendar year we have:

Executed our first full calendar year of innovation programs and events.
Developed Australia’s first early-stage investment fund dedicated to ocean impact innovation.
Supported the raise of over $1m AUD into that fund.
Directly supported six game-changing startups through the inaugural Ocean Impact Accelerator Program.
Celebrated 16 innovative startups through The Ocean Impact Pitchfest and its NSW Ocean Innovation Award.
Awarded a total of $100,00 AUD in cash prizes to Winners of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest.
Held our first ever INNOVOCEAN showcase event at Sydney’s National Maritime Museum, bringing together ~200 attendees made up of startups, impact investors, Government, industry, and ocean health community.
For the first time in our history, we awarded 15 scholarships to emerging early-career ocean academics as part of our Ocean Impact Ideation Program.

Success Stories

In addition to OIO’s own impact and achievements, it was wonderful to see the startups from the first Ocean Impact Accelerator Program cohort reach some incredible milestones in 2022, including:

Uuvipak won the Nespresso StartCup Challenge (AUD$50,000 funding) for their 100% compostable and edible single-use packaging alternative made from upcycled clean organic food waste.
Philippines-based agri-fisheries marketplace Mayani secured a total of $1.7 million in seed funding in their 2022 round for their B2B platform that supports small-scale fisherfolk by building pathways to market that are sustainable and traceable.

Nuvoe won The Circle Awards 2022 Lifestyle & Technology Award for their ‘Nuvoe Pod’ water purifier powered by UV-C light that can be used with almost any pre-existing water bottle.
Saathi won the Nikkei Asia Award 2022 (JPY ¥5,000,000 prize) and the 2022 Waislitz Global Citizen Award ($100,000 grand prize) for their work producing sustainable, compostable pads made from banana and bamboo fibre, reducing plastic waste reaching the ocean, empowering women and farmers, and addressing period poverty.

Opportunities

Our impact over 2022 as well as in our lifetime to date has highlighted a variety of opportunities to grow and expand, including;

Running our Healthy Oceans Social Club community meetups quarterly throughout 2023
Looking to accelerate ten ocean impact startups for the 2023 cohort of our Ocean Impact Accelerator Program this year
And in future, offering grants to those Ideation Program participants with the greatest chance of commercialising their idea.
We also aim to secure more multi-year partnerships with highly aligned organisations, continuing the success of partnerships with our friends at Minderoo Foundation and Builder’s Vision.
As a result of these partnerships, we’re now on track to double our previous goal of accelerating 100 ocean impact startups and entrepreneurs in five years, with OIO now targeting a total of 200 by 2027.

Wrap UP

Whether we were facilitating funding into the ocean impact space, accelerating and supporting startups from around the globe, executing our events and innovation programs, or bringing together the ocean impact innovation ecosystem both virtually and in-person, we’ve seen Ocean Impact Organisation go from strength to strength throughout 2022. And we can’t thank our community, members, partners, supporters, and team enough for helping us in our mission to transform ocean health. View the Impact Snapshot to learn more about our impact in 2022, and to see the full report.