Scaling investment for blue economy

Despite carrying 80% of the world's trade, absorbing 30% of its carbon-dioxide emissions, and providing food security for almost three billion people, the global blue economy (oceans and waterways) is suffering from acute underinvestment, and nowhere more so than in Africa.

- Marisa Drew

In the face of heightened economic volatility and tightening financial constraints, the transition to a more sustainable blue economy represents a major, largely underappreciated opportunity for the continent.

This is not just some abstract idea. Given investors' appetite for sustainable, scalable returns, the opportunity is hiding in plain sight, and governments are waking up to it. Spanning more than 30,000 km of coastline, Africa's blue economy does $300 billion worth of business each year, and it is uniquely positioned to benefit from the broader shift to more sustainable models. The African Union projects that the blue economy will increase to $405 billion in 2030, and to as much as $576 billion by 2063. As these sectors expand, employment levels could increase from 49 million jobs in 2019 to 78 million by 2063. Highlighting the sectors with the most potential helps to put these numbers into context. Consider food, where the development of sustainable aquaculture and fishing practices could help meet the growing demand for protein in Africa and beyond. Our calculations suggest that sustainable aquaculture-based fish production could grow eightfold in Africa, reaching approximately 19 million metric tons per year by 2050.