Innovative financing for Africa’s blue economy

Abstract

This chapter examines the blue economy concept and discusses the increasing and cumulative challenges that require integrated solutions and finance approaches. It describes the broader sustainable finance landscape before identifying a number of specific innovative finance approaches that can be applied to develop a sustainable blue economy. Innovative finance is based on the premise that traditional funding from taxpayers of public goods and delivery entirely through public services alongside purely commercial finance for private business are on their own insufficient to deliver the required transition at the necessary scale and speed and level of technology. Strong nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement that cover ocean goals, marine spatial plans with ecosystem protection for resilience and biodiversity that engage all stakeholders and adequate ecosystem-based management mandates are a prerequisite to attracting long-term sustainable financing into sub-Saharan Africa's blue economy. Sub-Saharan African economies will need to proactively target sustainable blue economy using innovative finance to build sustainable marine and coastal economies.