Blue Economy Solutions in South Africa

This challenge is in phase: Understand target

🚀 Join the lab of tomorrow at the Ocean Innovation Africa conference from 23-25 March 2026 in Durban and develop your Blue Economy business in South Africa!

GIZ, the AHK Southern Africa and Ocean Innovation Africa invite you to apply for the lab of tomorrow business development programme at the Ocean Innovation Africa conference from 23-25 March 2026 in Durban, South Africa.

What’s in it for you?

We match your company with German and African businesses and experts that bring complementary skills to the table. Together, you’ll co-create business solutions for local markets. You explore potential for joint ventures or strategic partnerships and benefit from local and international insights and expertise.

How it works:

Choose 1 of 7 validated blue economy business opportunities.

We match you with relevant German and African business partners based on common business interests and complementary resoruces.

Co-create concrete business models in a four-hour workshop at the Ocean Innovation Africa Conference using the design thinking method.

Pitch your business solution to a panel of experts and potential partners in an online demo session to gather feedback on feasibility, innovation, and impact potential

The strongest teams receive incubation support to further develop and pilot their business ideas.

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Understand

South Africa’s blue economy business landscape and opportunities

South Africa’s blue economy is rooted in strong natural and economic assets: a long coastline, strategic ports, and established industries such as fisheries, maritime services, and port-linked logistics. The opportunity is less about creating new sectors and more about modernising existing value chains, improving performance, and unlocking value that is currently lost through inefficiencies and underinvestment. With Ocean Innovation Africa hosted in Durban, this becomes highly practical. Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal coastline offer a live environment to test partnerships and solutions in port operations, coastal circular economy systems, and climate resilience in real conditions.

Durban offers a concentrated environment where blue economy opportunities can be grounded in immediate operational realities. The most relevant Durban-linked opportunities align strongly with port and logistics innovation, coastal circular economy systems shaped by river-to-ocean waste flows, and resilience delivery models for coastal cities and infrastructure. Durban is also well positioned for ocean technology applications linked to port operations and coastal monitoring, as well as enabling roles within offshore renewable energy value chains through port servicing and marine support ecosystems.