Registration and attendance booking officially begins for the Blue Economy Innovation and Investment Summit 2024

Blue Economy

Published on 08/09/2024

By Allan Kai

Sote Hub and its partners officially launched the Blue Economy Innovation and Investment Summit 2024 today. The media launch was held at the Sote Hub premises in Nyali, Mombasa, with journalists, dignitaries, and other stakeholders.

The event will take place at the Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa. It will feature keynote speeches, pitch sessions, and panel discussions that will delve into the issues of "renewable energies, eco-tourism, circular economy, waste management, sustainable agriculture and agricultural processing, Blue Economy (BE), and sectors with "green business models" in traditional sectors, such as transport & logistics or construction." a statement from the Blue Economy Innovation and Investment Summit read in part.

The event saw Sote Hub interact with journalists from various media houses in Mombasa, sharing information about the Blue Economy Innovation and Investment Summit, which will take place from October 2nd to 4th this year.

Sote Hub Director David Oginga addresses the media and partners during the Blue Economy Innovation and Investment Summit Media Launch event at Sote Hub premises in Nyali. Photo: Ali Mzee

"Today, we had a media Q&A or soft launch for the Blue Economy Innovation and Investment Summit. It is a summit that we normally host every year in the months of October and November. So today we bring all our partners together, We are flanked here with very good friends and partners. We have walked with, throughout the journey, Absa Bank, The Kenya Maritime Authority, The County Government of Mombasa, Kenya Fishing Corporation, and others." David Oginga, the Director of Sote Hub,

The Blue Economy Innovation and Investment Summit is a platform that brings together key stakeholders in the Blue Economy sector to share insights, opportunities, and ideas for development and investment.

"About the Blue Economy Summit, we considered it a platform that can be able to bring in all the actors in the summit, whether it's the government, the private sector, the innovators, and the financiers, on a common table to be able to discuss challenges and opportunities in the Blue Economy," explained Oginga.

This year's event will focus on three themes related to climate-centric business innovations: access to capital for entrepreneurs and MSMEs, start-ups, and business technology.

Kenya Maritime Authority Chairman Hamisi Mwaguya attended the event and expressed the authority's support for the event, inviting more participants to the summit in October.

"As the Kenya Maritime Authority, we are happy to partner with Sote Hub. We have been working together for the past three years on this Blue Economy Innovation and Investment Summit, and we are looking to support this particular summit this year as well," said Mwaguya.

KMA Chairman Hamisi Mwaguya speaks with the media at the BEIIS soft launch. Photo: Ali Mzee

He further urged youthful innovators and entrepreneurs to participate in the summit, promising their support in whatever way KMA could.

Hamid Shehan, Mombasa County Government CECM Environment and Solid Waste Management lauded the efforts by Sote Hub and its partners in creating the summit as a platform for the youth to showcase their innovations. He identified the summit as a platform that brings the youth's voices closer to the government and ensures that they are heard.

"Sote Hub has been an integral part of the government, being in touch with the youth, which is the headspace of every innovative youngster. And also giving them a platform to speak to us." Shehan added, "It is very critical with the current times that we are in to give the attention needed to the youth, who sometimes feel disenfranchised and unheard, and these kinds of events are fundamental."