Blue Hack: An Innovation Journey connected to the Sea in Cabo Verde

January 11, 2023


Written by: Vladimir Fonseca | Head of Experimentation, Accelerator Lab Cabo Verde


Blue Hack São Vicente took place in November, between 23 and 25, as part of Cabo Verde Ocean Week 2022, a week where the entire ecosystem linked to the Sea comes together in the beautiful City of Mindelo to think about the development and progress of the country based on the Sea. This event concluded a series of 3 Hackathons the Accelerator Lab promoted in Cabo Verde in Blue Economy this year, after Fogo and Sal Islands where more than 60 young people and local entrepreneurs had the opportunity to developed their solutions connected to the Sea and the Environment according to this innovation methodology.

São Vicente event began with the symbolic delivery of the winner prize to Bob Lima, who won the Blue Hack Sal Island edition with his audiovisual project connected to the sea, followed by a testimony of his experience with Blue Hack to inspire the newcomers of São Vicente to the initiative.

Hackathons are events that brings together software developers, engineers, designers, entrepreneurs and other professionals to, within a short period of time and in a collaborative basis, create innovative solutions to identified challenges or opportunities.

The process begins with the definition of a set of thematic areas on which the teams will focus to develop their solutions. Cape Verde, as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) faces a very particular set of vulnerabilities that hinder its ability to achieve sustainable development. Structural factors including size, territorial fragmentation, limited resource base, limited market, exposure to climate risks and natural disasters strongly impact socio-economic outcomes and its ability to achieve the SDGs. The COVID-19 pandemic has further amplified these vulnerabilities.

 


On the other hand, the country recognizes the great potential in the maritime economy, with its vast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and related resources. The sector is a national priority and strategic planning has been developed by authorities and international partners to unlock this potential and promote investments in ports and maritime transport, fisheries, renewable energy and other related areas. Cape Verde is also rich in globally significant biodiversity. The country's coastal zones and EEZ provide habitat for extensive marine biodiversity with a significant number of endemic and emblematic species.

In this context we launched the Blue Hack initiative, a Hackathon in Blue Economy and Nature Based Solutions, to promote an open innovation challenge to empower local communities around blue economy sectors and bring locally based solutions for development in this context of SIDS challenges in Cape Verde. The overall objective is to engage communities in the blue economy and support innovation and development of locally-based and nature-based solutions to address sector’s opportunities and challenges in the country.
 


Methodology

With partner’s support, 10 thematic areas were documented, including Fisheries and Aquaculture, Coastal/Sustainable Tourism, Marine Pollution and Waste Management, Marine Biotechnology, Climate Change, Digitization and Maritime Industry, etc. Within each thematic area, specific problem statements were developed to direct participants to concrete opportunities and challenges in order to align the work to be developed with the reality of the sector.

A public call for candidates was conducted online and via local partners for each edition / island, and a 3-day workshop was held using hackathon dynamics. The process begins with the presentation of the challenges by thematic specialists / speakers, followed by teams formation. Then, the teams work with technical and management areas mentors linked to the blue economy to develop their solutions, combining Human-Centered Design (HCD) approaches, to bring empathy and emerge in livelihoods and local challenges, and Design Thinking, as a practical, collaborative and iterative way of understanding and solving problems.

Following the methodology, the teams immerge in the problem and develop an Empathy Map and then work on the customer journey and an experience map. With these elements, a sketch phase follows, where the teams develop their Business Model Canvas by applying market concepts such as TAM1, SAM2 and SOM3, and create services and prototypes on various platforms. With the business model developed, the next step is a final presentation to the hackathon’s jury in a 5-minute pitch. The pitch deck includes the development of a storyboard. The jury uses evaluation criteria such as creativity and innovation, feasibility, sustainability and scalability, and ranks the final solutions presented.
 

1 Total Addressable Market, 2 Serviceable Addressable Market, 3 Serviceable Obtainable Market  


Developed Solutions

More than 15 solutions for the blue economy were developed in Blue Hack on the various islands. Cosmetics with therapeutic potential, Tourism and conservation of marine species; Virtual underwater diving simulator for educational, tourism and environmental purposes; Surf and water sports school; Production of a macrolake and brine shrimp to feed species in aquaculture; and Ice production and fish conservation for fishermen and fishmongers in a fishing village, among other solutions were developed.


Challenges and Lessons Learned

We’ve discovered during project implementation that each island has a different focus regarding blue economy. In Fogo Island, participants have more focus on biodiversity and the use of local and endogenous products for cosmetics, agriculture or ecotourism. In Sal island, the most touristic island in the country, participants tend to focus more on water sports and on promoting the island flagship sports such as kitesurfing and windsurfing, with surfing schools, and also diving. São Vicente Island, as the center of blue economy in Cape Verde, presents a greater diversity of opportunities and potential, from digital transformation of the sector to services that add value to economic operators. Semi-industrial fishing is transversal to all islands, whereby everyone recognizes the need to structure projects for vessels of this caliber and improve fishing conditions and capacity.

Fishermen, divers and fishmongers have some difficulty participating in events like this given their work schedule and because of income loss fears, hence the difficulty in attract them in lager scale. Still, we’ve managed to work with some fishermen community associations for the initiative. The diversity of ages, professional areas and levels of education also represented a challenge. The role of mentors in the process was very important.


Recommendations

Winning solutions from the different editions of Blue Hack should be implemented with the support of business incubators / accelerators accredited in our entrepreneurship ecosystem, namely those linked to the blue economy. There are some options available. Recommended incubation period is 6 months to 1 year, and should include the development of a more detailed business plan, and technical and financial assistance with appropriate financing instruments for each case.