What blue companies need for growth

Financing challenges according to seafood companies

Impact companies from the seafood industry and Innovatum Science Park's network, participated in the DI Impact Summit Sweden and discussed funding challenges.

- "The Impact Summit event shines a light on business models and companies whose core business is about solving global societal challenges," says Lillemor Lindberg, Innovation Manager at Innovatum Science Park.

The aim is to spread good ideas so that companies can gear up and make a real positive impact in society. During this week's event Impact Summit Sweden, startup hubs from all over the country participated in a joint conversation about challenges in funding, scaling up and business models.

The companies participating from Innovatum Science Park in Trollhättan were Musselfeed, KOBB, Smögenlax Aquaculture, Ostrea Aquaculture and Nordic Seafarm, which came up with the following three important areas for boosting financing:

• Investments in infrastructure/process technology. For future, sustainable food production with raw materials from the sea, it is important that the investor community gains knowledge and insight into the importance of finding capital for investments in infrastructure / process development such as machines, factories, etc.
  
  On January 1, 2023, a new EU law will mean that investors and corporate finance companies must report their investments from a sustainability perspective. Institutional investors will be the first to be affected, but it will permeate all investors and all companies.
  
• Diversity among investors. Underrepresented groups have more difficulty finding capital. The investor community needs to be broadened to better reflect society (gender, age, origin, geography). This requires more structured and systematic work with clear objectives. Government capital can be at the forefront here. It is also important to highlight good examples such as Bling and Women in Tech.
  
• More efficient routes to capital. It takes a lot of time for entrepreneurs to raise capital, which risks taking focus away from the work of running the company. One way to make it easier for entrepreneurs is to have good access to information about opportunities and what they look like. Business incubators can help here, and investors can be better at explaining in which phase they are investing, how much, and in what. It is also important to highlight that there are more ways to get funding than just through venture capital, such as finding paying customers early on.