Cape Town based OceanHub Africa accelerator to launch first cohort in first quarter of 2020

Cape Town based impact accelerator OceanHub Africa has announced that it will launch its first programme in the first quarter of 2020 with six local startups.

The accelerator, whose founders are Alexis Grosskopf and Stephanie Canac, was launched last month during its Ocean Innovation Africa event which was supported by Wesgro, the French Embassy, University of Cape Town and the V&A Waterfront (see this story).

The aim of the accelerator is to inspire and support ocean-minded startups with the express aim of nurturing an environmentally conscious and profitable economy that effectively mitigates the effects of global warming as well as the over-exploitation and pollution of the oceans.

OceanHub Africa is also offering a technology transfer support programme

OceanHub Africa said in a statement last Friday (6 December) that through the accelerator programme will seek out sustainable pathways that yield stable profits and avenues for scalable growth throughout the continent.

The accelerator said it will provide startups it accepts into its programme with physical working space, access to tailored mentorship, business and scientific expertise and access to market leads.

In addition, startups accepted into its programme also stand to benefit from hands-on services from corporate partners —  these will include cloud and IT services as well as access to an engineering and software suite for prototyping and testing — and support with fundraising including pitching and structuring of deals.

OceanHub Africa will open its Cape Town headquarters in February. The accelerator is currently being hosted by venture fund and technology incubator Savant Technologies.

The accelerator is calling on ocean-impact businesses, entrepreneurs seeking an equity-free acceleration programme and impact investors interested in supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water to join it.

Tech transfer support programme

The accelerator is also offering a technology transfer support programme that it says promotes collaboration between researchers and entrepreneurs for science-based innovation.

OceanHub Africa said by partnering with local universities, its objective is to find commercial use of scientific patents through the identification of transferable technologies and the incubation of selected projects.

This programme, the accelerator said, will strengthen the pipeline of ocean-minded startups and leverage the knowledge that lies within universities and research centres.

Read more: Ocean Innovation Africa 2019 to bring together tech startups, players in sea protection

Featured image: Wesgro CEO Tim Harris speaking at the Ocean Innovation Africa event held last month in Cape Town (Supplied)