Your springboard
to Startup success

OIO Boost is our pre-growth initiative, developed to support founders before they enter growth or scale-up programs.

Applications for OIO Boost 2025 have now closed.
Express your interest in future intakes below.

Express your Interest

The Program

Our 8-week program provides practical support for early-stage blue economy ventures through eight focused sessions with expert support. Designed to have real-world application, the program gives startup founders who are ready to pressure-test their solutions access to our trusted network and a pathway to growth and funding.

Program runs for 8 weeks over October–November

Boost is for you if you want…

🙋 A stronger understanding of who your early customers are and what they need

📈 Insights on how to improve, pilot, or position your product

📢 Honest feedback from experts who understand this space

🌊 A clearer view of where your venture sits in the sustainable blue economy and where it could go next

What Boost is…

A working program for founders building real ventures and looking for strategic support – without the fluff.

What Boost is Not…

🚫 It’s not for idea-stage founders

👎 It’s not a high-gloss, pitch coaching program

🙅 It’s not a generic startup course

Ocean solution areas

Are you pursuing an impact in any of these four solution areas?

  • FOOD SECURITY

    Solutions that help sustainably manage ocean resources via aquaculture, fisheries, and alternative blue foods.

  • OCEAN POLLUTION

    Solutions contributing to a clean ocean that target plastic, agricultural, chemical, biological, or sound pollution.

  • CLIMATE

    Solutions shaping a stable climate by addressing clean ocean energy, shipping & ports emissions, or ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (ocean CDR).

  • HABITAT & BIODIVERSITY

    Solutions contributing to thriving and restored habitats, including Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), nature-based solutions, and restoration or monitoring technologies.

This may include hardware, software, data and monitoring tools, AI, biotech, deep tech, robotics, advanced materials, or any other technology.

Program Benefits

  • Practical support for early-stage blue economy ventures

    OIO Boost is an 8-week program designed for founders with a working MVP who are ready to engage customers, test key assumptions, and build early traction. You’ll leave with greater clarity on your market, your model, and your next move.

  • A program built for this stage

    OIO Boost isn’t about refining an idea; it’s about pressure-testing something you’ve already built. The program supports founders who have something in hand and need structured support to figure out where and how it fits in the market.

  • Eight focused sessions with expert support

    Each week combines a live workshop with actionable tasks, feedback, and access to mentors and domain experts. Over eight sessions, we’ll cover customer & market validation, value proposition & positioning, early-stage partnerships & pilots, business model refinement, as well as metrics, storytelling, and funding pathways

  • Real-world application

    We work with ventures tackling challenges in the sustainable blue economy, from ocean health and marine science to sustainable seafood, decarbonisation, nature-based solutions, and more. The program is built around what actually works in these sectors.

  • Access to our trusted network

    Founders in Boost become part of the broader OIO community, gaining access to peer founders, alumni, mentors, industry collaborators, and potential future partners or investors.

  • A pathway to growth and funding

    Boost is also the entry point into OIO’s broader founder journey. Ventures that show traction and alignment may be invited into our Growth Program and considered for investment through our network of ocean-focused investors.

Express your Interest

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Applications are open globally to startups operating in, or seeking access to, the APAC region.

  • The program will be delivered live and online from the AEST/AEDT time zone. However, sessions will be made region-friendly based on the majority of participants in the cohort (session times TBD closer to the start of the program).

  • Yes! The program is free to join and no equity is taken.

  • Possibly! We consider blue economy ventures as those pursuing an impact in any of our four ocean solution areas: Food Security, Ocean Pollution, Climate, or Habitat & Biodiversity.

    Your solution may be ‘for the ocean’ (eg. working to improve ocean health by addressing a key challenge or threat) or ‘from the ocean’ (eg. sustainably utilising the ocean).

  • This program is focused on:

    • profit-making corporations

    • founders that are about to incorporate

    • founders who have spun out a blue economy venture from a science or academic institution, and who currently have or are in the process of securing IP ownership

    It is not open to ocean charities, science institutions, or academic institutions.

  • No, we’re happy to receive applications from solo founders.

  • No, this isn’t a requirement for OIO Boost since the program is not tied to investment or equity.

    However, please note that to qualify for future OIO growth programs or investment, investors will require that the founder is full-time in the business.