Between 15 and 16 October 2025 Lomé, Togo became the beating heart of Africa’s blue economy at the third edition of BlueInvest Africa. The matchmaking event transformed the city into a hotspot of innovation, where entrepreneurs met investors, stories met strategy, and passion met possibility.
Organised by the European Union with Togo’s support, the event combined energetic pitching sessions with networking opportunities, bringing over 300 participants on-site and 100 more online. The goal? To champion innovation that creates jobs, enhances food security, reduces marine pollution, and boosts climate resilience across Africa.
From Senegal to Zambia, 23 start-ups and SMEs pitched their projects to a panel of investors, which tested the pitchers’ skills, pushing them to prove themselves and investigating their strengths and weaknesses to select the most deserving of award. Out of an excellent line-up, six pitchers took home the session prizes and the Grand Prize:
- Enabling aquaculture: Kplolali Ahama-Esseh, Aquaponie Togotɔ (Togo) — urban aquaponics bringing resilient food production to Lomé’s doorstep
- Feeding from aquatic resources: Seydina Ababacar Sadikhe Thiaw, Aquakoom (Senegal) — dignified livelihoods and better seafood supply chains
- Reinventing waste to protect the ocean: Samuel Kumi-Gyau, Coast Tokota Ltd. (Ghana) — turning plastic and organic waste into value
- Strengthening climate resilience: Henry Lamba, Schrödinger Technologie (Nigeria) — smart, low-carbon engineering for coastal communities
- Regenerating the ocean: Herisandratra Marie Raïssa Rakotonjatovo, Mena Tsook (Madagascar) — restoring ecosystems while creating jobs
- Grand Prize: Mohamed Trimeche, Société Tunisienne d’Élevage de Poissons – STEP (Tunisia) — scaling sustainable aquaculture with regional reach
BlueInvest Africa went beyond awards. Discussions featured leaders from development banks to venture capital, all focused on boosting Africa’s blue economy sustainably: Alexis Grosskopf (OceanHub Africa), Lina Kacyem (Launch Africa Ventures), Madeleine Nyiratuza (UNDP), Laure Kuhn Bruma (Expertise France), Jesús Amoa (European Investment Bank), Tidiane Boye (UNIDO), Anton Dahlberg (MTI Investment), Noah Wilson-Bahun (World Bank) and Foungnigué Traoré Djiré (FAO – FISH4ACP). They all met in Lomé to explore innovative pathways to scale investment and accelerate impact across Africa’s coastal and ocean economies.