Aquaculture jury member: Maren Hjorth Bauer

Maren Hjorth Bauer is an active investor in the blue economy through Fynd. She has invested into and supported numerous blue economy startups globally. In 2018 she co-founded and led Katapult Ocean to become a leading force in building the blue economy globally. She has led investments into more than 30 impact driven ocean startups from 14 countries and built a leading network of mentors, partners and investors globally. She is also Co-chair for Seaweed for Europe, part of the informal working group on Technology and Innovation for the UN Ocean Decade and advisor to several venture funds. She previously had international management positions with Wallenius Wilhelmsen, Orkla and McKinsey & Co working across all continents. Her focus is active value creation, impact investment and strategy. Maren has had key notes and contributed to global events like the Economist’s World Ocean Conference, Nor-Shipping, Our Ocean, The World Economic Forum to mention some. Maren has a Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics and Bachelor’s Degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. 

What excites you about the future of feed & food tech innovation?
The global food system causes 34 percent of ghg emissions, and half of it is attributable to today’s system of protein production.
 
It is an immense opportunity to build companies that solve some of the largest challenges we are facing- feeding a growing population with healthy and climate positive or neutral food at the same time as building profitable, sound businesses. There are great opportunities ahead, but system change, tech development and smart and bold founders and capital is needed.

 

Why is this Challenge & the acceleration it can provide important to the future of feed & food tech?

One of the success factors for early stage companies is to get access to potential customers for feedback and pilots as early as possible. This challenge gives the opportunity to do exactly that.

 

What are you looking for in the pitches and business plans that will be presented in this Challenge?

A clear articulation of the problem and how the company solves it. Explain the tech in a simple manner. Product market fit- is there a need and demand for the product? What is the uniqueness of the product? Do the founders really understand their target markets and customers- and have a close dialogue with them? Do they have the grit it takes to build a company? For early stage companies the team is critical. 

 

What is one piece of advice you would have for participants in the Challenge?

Reach out for advise and support others- there are so many great people in this space that are happy to support you on different topics, from fundraising, tech, bus dev to how to build an organisation.