6 Startups Join OceanHub Africa Accelerator

OceanHub Africa (OHA), the first and only ocean impact-focused business accelerator on the continent has chosen six ocean-related startups.

The Ocean Health Alliance (OHA) is an ocean-impact catalyst initiative that supports ocean-impact ventures through an acceleration program and the leadership of a global ocean-minded ecosystem. OHA promotes a sustainable and prosperous economy that would effectively reduce overfishing, pollution, and the effects of global warming on the oceans.

OHA has expanded throughout Africa and is now based at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, which is home to a strong ecosystem for scientific, technological, and business capabilities and is at the confluence of three oceans. OHA delivers its program both online and in-person through a weeklong bootcamp.

The six startups were chosen from 128 applicants from 33 countries. They include South Africa’s SeaH4, which offers the maritime industry a scaleable decarbonization alternative to fossil fuels, Ethiopia’s Happy Pads, which creates eco-friendly feminine hygiene products, and Nigeria’s Eja-Ice, which provides small-scale fishers with solar-powered refrigeration systems and cold chain services.

The remaining members of the cohort are Nigeria’s Think Bikes, which makes electric cargo bikes tailored to meet the needs of small businesses across a variety of industries, Kenya’s Kumbatia Seafood, which offers small-scale fishers access to markets, capacity building, cold-chain facilities, and financing options, and Nigeria’s Scrapays, a waste management service that gives people the support they need to launch, grow, and scale their mini-recycling businesses.

During the week of September 19–24, the cohort took part in a hybrid bootcamp with a focus on bonding, peer learning, and capacity building. The OceanHub Africa team trained the chosen business owners, and they also heard from knowledgeable outside speakers.

The accelerator’s staff, mentors, and partners will continue to support the blue startups that were chosen over the coming months as they expand their businesses through product development, access to business, engineering, and scientific expertise, access to market leads, and practical services from corporate partners.

The chosen businesses will complete the acceleration program at the Ocean Innovation Africa Summit the following year and join the OHA alumni group, which gives them access to further mentoring fundraising, and networking opportunities as needed.