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BRIEFNovember 7, 2023

The AquaInvest Platform

A Woman and seaweed Photo credit Wendy Lin CC

Photo credit: Wendy Lin.

Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture

The AquaInvest Platform is a multi-team project led by the World Bank with financing from the multi-donor trust fund PROBLUE

It explores the potential for transformative sustainable economic growth throughout the aquaculture value chain, improving profitability, marketability, and investments in aquaculture. Seeking to inform World Bank teams, governments and the private sector on environmental, social, technical and economic risks and challenges posed by an increasing demand for fish, shellfish and aquatic plants it explores the potential for transformative sustainable economic growth throughout the aquaculture value chain. Aims include improved profitability, marketability, and enhanced sustainable and responsible investments in aquaculture. A central component of the project involves establishing a baseline cache of knowledge and data on all aspects of the aquaculture sector. It dovetails with World Bank goals on food systems transformation and is designed ultimately to build an investment pipeline for the bank and other financial institutions, including local commercial, government subsidized lending and private equity. Aspirations include providing an improved regulatory environment for aquaculture.

Aquaculture is an inherently rural activity that engages the efforts of 20 million people in Global South countries, often operates on the margins of natural spaces, and is among the fastest growing and most dynamic global industries. This initiative seeks to help realize the World Bank vision of a world without poverty on a liveable planet in some of the most vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

Partners within the World Bank Group include: the World Bank's Environment, Natural Resources and the Blue Economy Global Practice; Agriculture and Food Global Practice and the  (IFC). Other partners include: the ; of the United Nations; and .

Shaping Sectoral Change

AquaInvest explores the potential for transformative sustainable economic growth throughout the aquaculture value chain, improving profitability, marketability and investments in aquaculture. It is a multi-team project led by the World Bank with financing from the multi-donor trust fund PROBLUE. It explores the potential for transformative sustainable economic growth throughout the aquaculture value chain, improving profitability, marketability, and investments in aquaculture.

AquaInvest identifies gaps, innovations, opportunities and new markets for aquaculture. Specifically, AquaInvest is nested within the following key PROBLUE areas of concern:

  • Supports the development and management of sustainable and responsible fisheries and aquaculture
  • Builds government capacity to manage aquatic resources, including nature-based infrastructure such as mangroves, in an integrated way to deliver more goods and long-lasting benefits to countries and communities

PROBLUE contributes to the implementation of?the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 14?to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. It is fully aligned with the World Bank¡¯s vision to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. 

Program Components

  • Investment climate and opportunities: National and regional studies to assess readiness for World Bank investment in aquabusiness value chains.
  • Guidelines for sustainable aquabusiness development:?Development of a comprehensive Aquabusiness Operations Manual to establish commercially viable operations in economies in the Global South.
  • Country pilots: Adapting the Aquabusiness Operations Manual to selected countries to build bankable aquabusiness investments.
  • IFC advisory services: Advisory services to assist private sector clients to address specific challenges and issues in the markets in which they operate.
  • Study on new markets for seaweed:?Identify new markets for a modern and upscaled seaweed industry and mechanisms to grow operations with the goals of environmental sustainability, poverty reduction, job creation for women and contribution to climate smart production and processing.

Aquainvest Logo with PROBLUE and World Bank

Last Updated: Nov 08, 2023