Latina female power recognised on International Women’s Day

Thirteen female-led companies were featured in the Women in Ocean Food Innovation Studio in January 2024. Participants presented and developed their business ideas in an intense two-week mentorship and networking programme. They were given support to build their business models, improve their pitching skills, validate the opportunities in their markets and grow their networks across the blue economy.

Participants have been paired with industry leaders and introduced to dedicated venture philanthropists and impact investors. There’s also the potential for companies to attract follow-on investment from Hatch and CI Ventures.

Wendy Banta, Head of Supply Chain Assurance at ASC, attended the event to talk about the role and benefits of responsible aquaculture across the supply chain.

 “Engaging with driven, capable women who are transforming aquaculture and other ocean food industries was insightful and inspirational. ASC can help empower them to include environmental and social responsibility in their business models for sustainable growth and development by providing the knowledge, support and network to achieve responsible aquaculture,” she said.

Hatch Co-founder and Partner Wayne Murphy said it was a privilege to be part of such a globally unique event. 

“Standing room only for an engaged audience which witnessed only female speakers – entrepreneurs, investors, industry and government representatives on stage. Increased inclusion and diversity in the Blue Economy are very vital to the future of the industry and exciting events like this showcasing amazing female talent and experience needs to be the rule rather than the exception going forward.”

From biotechnology, to genetics, to health and supply chains, the topics covered during the sessions were rich and diverse. 

Participants included Organización de Pescadores Rescatando la Ensenada (OPRE), an all-female oyster farming cooperative based in Mexico, which uses suspended sacks as its main cultivation method. OPRE won Best Pitch during the event.

Others included Tres Peces Pescadería, Chile’s first mobile fishmonger, which connects fishermen with the market, while Chilean company AQUIT has developed a preventive treatment for infections that replaces antibiotics, improves survival rates, and boosts natural immunity after only seven days of using it with feed.

Seaweed has also become a focal point of interest among many innovators. Brazil-based Phycolabs uses seaweed to create textiles and materials as an alternative to petrochemical products, while community-based Belize Women’s Seaweed Farmers Association uses submerged farming techniques and actively supports its members in the development and marketing of value-added seaweed products through branding, microenterprises and collaborative initiatives. 

And Mexico and Norway-based startup Thalasso builds container-based micro-biorefineries to extract high value ingredients and create products from Sargassum seaweed, which is negatively impacting coastlines around the world, to create beneficial and commercial products.

AQUIT CEO Diana Allerbon, said: “It was a very unique programme with insightful information and amazing speakers and mentors. A tight collaboration spirit arose among all the teams, and the bonds that were built will surely help us all through this exciting but difficult process of growing a startup. Furthermore, it was a privilege to know about the background of ASC certification standards, systems and tools, critical to promote the reduction of antibiotic use in aquaculture, which is one of Aquit’s main goals.”

This Latin American cohort comes three years after the first globally-focused Women In Aquaculture studio that took place online in 2021 and three years after the in-person Women In Ocean Food 2022 Innovation Studio in Bali, Indonesia. 

It will be followed by future studios in Latin America and Africa.