Women In Ocean Food 2024
Photo: Hatch.
Hatch, in partnership with Conservation International, holds the 3rd edition of Women In Ocean Food in Baja California, Mexico to focus on women entrepreneurs and diverse leadership teams.
The studio kicked off in La Paz on 15 January and includes interested parties from the marine community. The community day will take place on 26 January.
During the event, women "have the opportunity to connect with a global network of aquaculture industry experts to validate their ideas, to understand key market insights, and learn to pitch to investors and customers."
According to Hatch, in 2021 only 4% of CEOs in top seafood companies are women and that was the reason why they launched the world’s first global women in aquaculture innovation studio. In November 2022 they delivered an in-person program in Bali, with a focus on women-led businesses in East & Southeast Asia.
Then, the 2023 edition focused on women entrepreneurs and diverse leadership teams. "We aim to develop more successful and innovative companies in ocean foods and put together a cohort of female leaders and diverse teams whose goals are to build a sustainable ocean economy," the team said.
Lukas Walton, Founder and CEO at Builders Vision posted in his LinkedIn profile: "I'm grateful for the leadership of Conservation International Ventures LLC and Hatch Blue, who created this program and continue to center gender equity in this space, and I'm proud to support this effort through the Builders Initiative Foundation and alongside the Innovaciones Alumbra Foundation."
Project Manager at Hatch, Karlotta Rieve, will host Latin America's Women In Ocean Food Community Day: "We are inviting everyone interested to join us on this final day of our 2-week innovation studio, where we will have a selection of pitches from the cohort of impactful women-led ocean food projects, an engaging panel discussion of industry experts and networking time with regional stakeholders."
Aquit was selected to participate in the program too and CEO Daniela Allerbon wrote on LinkedIn: "I'll share the next two weeks with a group of inspiring and powerful women leading startups and impactful projects, the Hatch team and outstanding mentors at La Paz, Baja California, México. The best way to begin 2024."
Finally, Hatch and Conservation International are looking to expand the geographic focus to include a Sub-Saharan Africa-focused program in 2025.