MALTAccelerate played an active role at the first ever #Atlantic-WestMED Stakeholder Conference, organised within the Assistance Mechanism for the Atlantic Action Plan in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Over 200 delegates from across both sea basins, including policymakers, government authorities, researchers, entrepreneurs, clusters and other Blue Economy stakeholders, gathered to connect, exchange ideas, build partnerships and turn cooperation into concrete action.

Alessandro Silvestri, MALTAccelerate Managing Partner, animated the ‘Investing in Sustainable Blue Economy for Resilient Coastal Communities’ session as panel member and speaker.

This session explored how sustainable innovation can create opportunities for private investors and other donors to support healthier marine and coastal ecosystems while strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of Atlantic and Western Mediterranean coastal communities. The discussion focussed on main financing challenges, on how the organisations represented on the panel try to address these challenges via support provision and opportunities’ creation, and on what the persisting gaps are and policy recommendations.

Tailored financing mechanisms and MVP pilots support were among the key points put forward by MALTAccelerate, with the MED-Hubs project being an impactful example of how startups could effectively be supported in testing their solutions on the field.

Sincere thanks to Ecorys to arrange such a useful and constructive event and to the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to be such a fantastic host.