Webinar 27th August (Rec.): Opportunities in The Blue Economy § Mauritius, Seychelles, WOC

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are the custodians of much of the world’s oceans. Through their exclusive economic zones, they control about 30% of all oceans and seas, and most of them have EEZs that far exceed their landmasses. Several SIDS have already adopted national Blue (Ocean) economy strategies. Developing ocean economies is critical for them; it’s the largest natural resource they have access to. Seychelles and Mauritius have launched their Blue Economy roadmap. If you have missed the live event, then a recorded version can be viewed at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwgbfrOpWQI

The third episode was organised on the 27th of August 2020 at 1000CET. This episode was in collaboration with World Ocean Council - USA

To discuss the topic, we had on the panel:

Paul Holthus - Founding President and CEO, World Ocean Council (WOC) – the Global Blue Economy Business and Investment Organization – as the international leadership alliance on ocean sustainable development and stewardship. The WOC brings together investment, shipping, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, oil/gas, offshore renewables, ports, and other sectors for leadership, collaboration and action. The WOC Ocean Investment Platform is the global structure/process linking investors, ocean industries and innovators. The annual WOC Sustainable Ocean Summit is the premier high-level global ocean business event on "Corporate Ocean Responsibility". He has held senior positions with UN and other international organisations and worked in 30+ countries, including many small island states. He is a regular speaker at international business and investment events and is the only global ocean industry organisation representative invited to address the UN General Assembly.

Angelique Pouponneau - CEO, The Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT).

Angelique has always had a passion for advancing the sustainable use and conservation of our oceans. She was born and grew up in a fishing district, Bel Ombre, in Seychelles where she gained a firsthand perspective on the critical importance to preserve marine resources. She is a lawyer (Seychelles and UK) and she holds an LLM in Environmental law specialising in the law of the sea and natural resources law. Also, Angelique is a trained climate change negotiator under the AOSIS Climate Change Fellowship Programme at the United Nations. She has worked in different countries in the Caribbean, Pacific and the Indian Ocean on a wide range of projects relating sustainable fisheries, sustainable management of marine biodiversity within and beyond national jurisdiction, and climate change, in particular, climate adaptation and climate finance. Further, she served as a legal expert of the African Group of Sixth Committee in works of oceans and law of the sea at the United Nations.

Moreover, Angelique has experience working with civil society as a co-founder for a not-for-profit organisation in Seychelles and a Board member of a Commonwealth-wide youth-led organisation.

Seewraj Nundlall - Head of Cluster, Economic Development Board Mauritius

Seewraj has more than 20 years of experience in investment promotion, trade facilitation, aftercare, policy formulation and business development. Seewraj has been very active in promoting Mauritius as an attractive investment destination in various markets worldwide including India, China, South Africa, Malaysia, Germany, France. He has successfully contributed to project implementation in different sectors of the Mauritian economy including manufacturing, agriculture / agro-industry, financial services, IT, logistics, film industry, etc. Currently, Seewraj has the responsibility of the Indian market for attracting investment from India to Mauritius and Africa and operates from Mumbai.

Ranjan Naik - Co-Fonder and Business Ambassador, The Blue Economy Hub.