OCTAVE Capital and Katapult Ocean have launched the Asia Ocean Fund, an impact investment vehicle targeting $75 million. The fund is designed to accelerate breakthrough solutions in the region, filling a critical gap in early-stage funding and providing backing to the emerging ecosystem.
The Asia Ocean Fund will focus on maritime decarbonization, ocean renewable energy, green shipping infrastructure, ocean biodiversity and restoration solutions, circular resources and sustainable aquaculture and marine biotechnology. Targeting over 20 investments over the next 5 years, the first accelerator is set to launch in 2026.
Asia is home to two-thirds of global fisheries production, two-thirds of global maritime trade and most of the world’s total seaweed production. Its coastlines include 76% of all known coral species. Yet the region faces urgent climate and sustainability risks, making accelerated investment essential for food security, decarbonization, resilience, and the global transition to a Blue Economy.
The partners said the Asia Ocean Fund will be among the first and largest in the region, responding to the $5.5 trillion funding gap in the Asia Pacific needed to meet SDG14 (Life Below Water) targets by 2030. While they said investment in ocean start-ups in the region has doubled, reaching $400 million in the period between 2020-2024, this is dwarfed by global peers.
The fund will also support companies as they scale their business and impact.
“Oceans are a shared global lifeline and an investment frontier for regeneration. Asia is at the frontline of both challenges and opportunities. By channelling capital into ocean solutions here, investors can unlock growth while tackling urgent environmental and social needs,” said May Liew, CEO and Executive Director of OCTAVE Capital. “With Katapult Ocean, OCTAVE Capital is harnessing our maritime roots and systems perspective to build an investment platform that restores, not extracts.”
The OCTAVE Capital team brings over a decade of impact investing experience in Asia, with investments in healthcare, education, climate and energy transition, circularity, and sustainable food. Katapult Ocean has invested in and accelerated over 80 ocean-tech startups across 25+ countries since 2018. They will co-manage the fund 50/50.
“Asia’s blue economy holds immense promise, but what’s been missing is the bridge between innovation and capital,” said Jonas Skattum Svegaarden, CEO of Katapult Ocean. “The Asia Ocean fund is that bridge—de-risking early-stage ventures, attracting broader investment, and empowering entrepreneurs and the Asian ecosystem to drive the global transition towards a thriving ocean economy.”
