| The UNDP Nature for Development Hub is pleased to announce that the Ocean Innovation Challenge (OIC) Blue Economy Accelerated 4th Call for Proposals is now open for submissions. UNDP OIC will be supporting local organizations, including start-ups and small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs), as well as local NGOs and academic organizations in coastal least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS). Selected innovators will benefit from the UNDP OIC Incubator mentoring and up to US$40,000 deliverable-based contract support to pilot blue economy innovations.
The OIC is in search for standout proposals that will stimulate socio-economic growth while restoring and conserving the coastal and marine ecosystems. The Call for Proposals will focus on SDG 14 Target 7: “by 2030, increase the economic benefits to SIDS and LDCs from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.” Innovations must be technically feasible, truly innovative, replicable, scalable, poverty reducing, livelihood creating, gender mainstreaming, youth empowering, and potentially transformational. Upon completion of the contract, innovators will be equipped with new skills and experience and positioned to engage with bigger venture capital investors. The successfully implemented innovations will be part of the UNDP’s catalogue of proven ocean solutions with transformational socio-economic impacts that can be rapidly upscaled and replicated in other SIDS, coastal LDCs and beyond. For more information, visit https://oceaninnovationchallenge.org/4thcall. The deadline for submission is 28 August 2023, 23:59 Central European Summer Time. Photo: Pemba Afro Divers |
