Six companies from four countries received Top Innovator awards at the close of Fish 2.0’s 2019 Global Innovators Forum. A packed house of over 200 investors, entrepreneurs, and ocean and seafood experts chose the winners by voting on presentations from the Fish 2.0 Forty—the most highly ranked businesses from a pool of 150 entries reviewed throughout the 2018–2019 Fish 2.0 cycle.
The Fish 2.0 Top Innovators by category weree:
- Global Seafood: Fortuna, a Philippines-based company whose Fortuna Cooler is the first fish transport box made of natural, locally sourced materials. The durable cooler replaces polystyrene containers.
- U.S. Seafood: Montana Microbial Products, which produces high-quality barley protein concentrates for fish feed, a new fish-free alternative to traditional feeds.
- Australian Seafood: Australian Crayfish Hatchery, whose state-of-the-art facility supplies antibiotics-free, pathogen-free hatchlings to farmers of the lobster-like crayfish in Australia and internationally.
- Aquaculture: Aquaai, whose Fish as a Service platform is based on a robotic fish outfitted with cameras and sensors that monitor conditions in offshore fish farms.
- Ocean and Seafood Technology: Yorso, an online B2B wholesale seafood marketplace that operates internationally and integrates with buyers’ and sellers’ CRM systems.
- Supply Chain Change: Wholechain, a user-friendly, blockchain-based traceability solution that provides transparency throughout the seafood supply chain.
Fish 2.0’s 18-month 2018–2019 cycle included regional workshops for seafood businesses as well as the online readiness assessment that qualified applicants for the Fish 2.0 Forty. Participating businesses received feedback from investors, business and impact advisors, and peers that helped them develop their strategies, integrate positive impacts and metrics, and position their enterprise for investment. At least five investor judges scored each competitor to reach the finals.
This is the fourth and final biennial Global Innovators Forum. Since its start in 2013, Fish 2.0 has worked with 588 entrepreneurs from more than 40 countries, built a network of over 700 investors, produced 27 investor briefings on topics ranging from algae products and aquaculture technology to traceability and tuna, and inspired 388 investors and experts to volunteer as advisors or judges to help sustainable seafood entrepreneurs develop their businesses.
“When we launched Fish 2.0, few people saw seafood as an exciting sector for sustainable business innovation,” said Fish 2.0 founder and executive director, Monica Jain. “And we believed progress would accelerate if we could help investors and entrepreneurs build the knowledge and connections they needed to get promising ideas off the ground and move capital into the sector. That proved true, and as the 2019 Fish 2.0 winners demonstrate, innovation in the sector continues to grow,” she added. “We thank everyone who has supported us over the years in filling the gaps, and we are grateful to the increasing number of innovators and investors who are making our oceans and plates healthier.”
