RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Economy and Planning has announced the 15 winners of the UpLink Regenerative Blue Economy Challenge.
The winners, revealed at the UN Summit of the Future in New York over the weekend, showcased innovative solutions to protect and restore the oceans and address challenges to their sustainability, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
They were chosen from 203 submissions by startups around the world for their groundbreaking contributions to addressing marine pollution, promoting ecosystem restoration and rewilding, and accelerating ocean-based climate solutions.
The winning cohort will benefit from exclusive networking opportunities, targeted support, increased visibility, and a share of 300,000 Swiss francs ($353,000) in prize money to further develop their projects.
They will join a support program to scale their work, backed by ecosystem partners offering business advisory, market access, global event opportunities, and financial grants and investments.
The top five finalists will present their projects to a high-level panel from Saudi Arabia and international organizations.
The three highest-scoring projects will receive additional funding and entry into the UpLink Accelerator Program, which offers targeted support to further develop their work.
The Regenerative Blue Economy Challenge is funded by the Saudi ministry and spearheaded by WAVE and Friends of Ocean Action, along with various ecosystem partners.
The call for proposals was launched by Vice Minister of Economy and Planning Ammar Nagadi on April 29 during the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia has played a pivotal role in shaping opportunities for the private and public sectors by enabling early-stage startups and facilitating their growth and scalability.
The winners include CHITELIX (Tunisia), SolarDuck (Netherlands), Kind Designs (US), Rongbient Biotech Company Ltd. (Vietnam), GREENOV (France), Rrreefs (Switzerland), Mwani Zanzibar (Tanzania) and Blue Ocean Gear (US).
The others are SEA CRAS d.o.o. (Croatia), Polychaeta (Tunisia), Reefgen (US), Advanced Third Age Renewable Energy Co. (Morocco), Swiss Ocean Tech Ltd. (Switzerland), NextProtein (France) and PolyGone Systems (US).
