Thursday, March 8, 2018

09/03/2018: Aqua-Spark announces investment in global accelerator for aquaculture, Hatch Accelerator 1.0

Together Aqua-Spark and Hatch Can Support Aquaculture Innovation From Startups to Established Companies, From Ideation to Commercialisation

Aqua-Spark, the first investment fund focused exclusively on sustainable aquaculture, today announced its investment in Hatch Accelerator 1.0, the first-ever global accelerator program dedicated to the aquaculture industry. The investment will be used to accelerate a group of eight companies between April and June of 2018.
  


Aqua-Spark launched in December 2013 with a mission to make the rapidly-growing fish farming sector sustainable. By investing across the value chain in companies, technologies, and practices, they are transforming this exploding industry.

While Aqua-Spark focuses on the growth stage of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Hatch was created with the mission of investing in early stage aquaculture opportunities. It was founded in 2017 by Carsten Krome, Georg Baunach, and Wayne Murphy, with support from Alimentos Ventures, which was created by Carsten Krome. Together, the cofounders realised an opportunity and need to help mature early stage companies and technologies that have the potential to transform the landscape.

With a shared history and similar goals (Krome previously worked for Aqua-Spark), Hatch and Aqua-Spark are creating a complete support system to nurture aquaculture startups from innovative ideas through commercialisation. Technology and innovation are just starting to play a role in aquaculture. The right solutions could resolve production issues and make the industry much more efficient. More success among these aquaculture startups means faster growth towards a more sustainable industry.

“Aqua-Spark often encounters great ideas, products, and technologies that could have benefitted from ideation phase support,” explained Mike Velings and Amy Novogratz, cofounders of Aqua-Spark. “Further, it is imperative that we develop a way to finance early stage aquaculture ventures, which Hatch is doing. Between Aqua-Spark and Hatch, there is a clear opportunity for a symbiotic partnership that will improve collective deal flow. We can direct smart, early-phase companies to Hatch, and as Hatch actively finds and grows early stage startups, Aqua-Spark can absorb those that have progressed beyond accelerator. It is a holistic win for the aquaculture industry as a whole.”

Visit the Aqua-Spark website, HERE.

Visit the Hatch website, HERE.

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