Singapore, [18 September 2025] — OCTAVE Capital and Katapult Ocean today announced the launch of the Asia Ocean Fund, a pioneering impact investment vehicle targeting US$75 million. This fund was formally introduced at IMPACT WEEK 2025 in Singapore on 18th September 2025, marked by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing between the two organisations.
The Asia Ocean Fund will be among the first and largest in the region, directly responding to the US$5.5 trillion funding gap in the Asia Pacific needed to meet SDG14 (Life Below Water) targets by 2030. While investment in ocean start-ups in the region has doubled, reaching $400 million in the period between 2020-2024, this is dwarfed by global peers (the US alone reached over $800 million in 2024).
The fund is designed to accelerate breakthrough solutions, filling a critical gap in early-stage funding across the region and providing strong backing to the ecosystem that is already emerging. The fund will also support companies as they scale their business and impact.
Asia’s ocean sector is unparalleled in scale and importance, producing most of the world’s seafood, managing over two-thirds of global maritime trade, and supporting millions of livelihoods. Yet the region faces urgent climate and sustainability risks, making accelerated investment essential for food security, decarbonisation, resilience, and the global transition to a New Blue Economy.
The Asia Ocean Fund unites OCTAVE Capital’s regional presence and deep maritime expertise with Katapult Ocean’s global leadership as the world’s most active ocean impact venture fund manager. The OCTAVE Capital team brings over a decade of impact investing experience in Asia, with a strong track record advancing the well-being economy through investments in healthcare, education, climate and energy transition, circularity, and sustainable food. Katapult Ocean has invested in and accelerated over 80 ocean-tech startups across 25+ countries since 2018.
Together, they will co-manage the fund 50/50, combining complementary strengths and a shared holistic impact philosophy to channel capital into innovative solutions that advance ocean health, decarbonisation, and impact throughout Asia.
“Oceans are a shared global lifeline and an investment frontier for regeneration. Asia is at the frontline of both challenges and opportunities. By channelling capital into ocean solutions here, investors can unlock growth while tackling urgent environmental and social needs,” said May Liew, CEO and Executive Director of OCTAVE Capital. “With Katapult Ocean, OCTAVE Capital is harnessing our maritime roots and systems perspective to build an investment platform that restores, not extracts.”
Focusing on six key sectors, the fund aims to catalyse scalable solutions tailored to Asia’s unique challenges and potential. The sectors are maritime decarbonisation, ocean renewable energy, green shipping infrastructure, ocean biodiversity and restoration solutions, circular resources, and sustainable aquaculture and marine biotechnology. Targeting over 20 investments over the next 5 years, the first accelerator is set to launch in H1 2026.
“Asia’s blue economy holds immense promise, but what’s been missing is the bridge between innovation and capital,” said Jonas Skaftum Svegaarden, CEO of Katapult Ocean. “The Asia Ocean fund is that bridge—de-risking early-stage ventures, attracting broader investment, and empowering entrepreneurs and the Asian ecosystem to drive the global transition towards a thriving ocean economy. We’re proud to co-manage this pioneering effort with OCTAVE Capital.”
The MoU was signed at IMPACT WEEK 2025—a global convening dedicated to systems transformation and the well-being economy—taking place from 15–19 September in Singapore. Following the launch, the partners will engage in strategic collaboration with shipping and maritime leaders, family offices, foundations, and mission-driven investors who share a commitment to building a cleaner, healthier ocean future.
About Octave Capital
OCTAVE Capital is a Singapore-based impact investment firm focused on generating meaningful social and environmental outcomes. Backed by the purpose-led family business TPC (Tsao Pao Chee) and building on its heritage in global maritime innovation and sustainable ocean development, OCTAVE Capital deploys catalytic capital to drive systemic change across Asia and beyond.
Formerly known as Heritas Capital, the firm was rebranded in 2025, underscoring a renewed commitment to investing in regenerative, purpose-driven industries that underpin a well-being economy. With a sharpened focus on environmental and social sectors, OCTAVE Capital aims to fuel long-term, positive transformation through purposeful capital deployment. Learn more at www.octavecapital.co.
About Katapult Ocean
Katapult Ocean is the world’s most active ocean impact venture fund manager, headquartered in Oslo, Norway. It invests in and accelerates companies globally that restore ocean health, combat climate and biodiversity loss, and ensure sustainable food and clean water access. Since 2018, Katapult Ocean has backed over 80 companies across 25+ countries, helping scale innovations that drive measurable impact.
The firm is also a founding member of the 1000 Ocean Startups Coalition, a global initiative to accelerate and support 1,000 transformative ocean ventures by 2030, fostering collaboration across the global ocean innovation ecosystem. Katapult Ocean is recognised as a Top Innovative Fund by the World Economic Forum and Uplink, and its accelerator programme is nominated as the world’s best by the Global Startup Awards. In 2025, Katapult Ocean expanded its global presence by establishing an office in Singapore and launching a regional ocean fund in partnership with OCTAVE Capital. Learn more at katapultocean.com.
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