3 Questions to D. Michael Adams, President of Ocean Assets Institute NGO
TF - What issues does BlueInvest Asia address?
MA - With the BlueInvest Asia platform, we address the financing gap to blue economy SMEs in developing Asian countries. This encompasses 30 countries whose citizens depend on the sustainable growth and benefits from seafood, marine tourism, shipping, ports - with pressures of climate change, pollution and ecosystem collapse increasing each year
TF - How does BlueInvest Asia concretely address these issues?
MA - With funding from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and private investors, we will launch three components of BlueInvest Asia: Maritime Accelerator, Equity Impact Fund, Credit/Trade Finance Facility. We bring blended finance, technical assistance, pipeline development and SME coaching to the blue economy space in the world’s most important region (Pacific and Indian Oceans, developing countries from India to Philippines) for all maritime industries. Two UN agencies, UNDP and UNEP, are also actively involved in providing governance, technical support and impact measurement of the project. Our model is adapted from EU’s BlueInvest Platform, which we helped create in 2019.
TF - What would be the ideal scenario for the development and diffusion of BlueInvest Asia?
MA - We wish to attract private investors to match ADB’s catalytic funding of growth-oriented projects across this vast region and the sustainable (ie, non-extractive) blue economy sectors. An investor club will be formed in partnership with multi-lateral funders to enjoy access to properly vetted and supported SMEs with positive E & S impacts - all at reduced risk levels from the standard market.
Those 3 questions were written following the Transition Forum Call for Expressions of Interest. BlueInvest Asia is part of the top 20 selected projects.
