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De Beers partnered Netherlands start-up Kelp Blue is seeking to raise between N$800 million and N$1.4 billion in equity and debt, as it moves to commercially develop the world’s first large-scale kelp farm in Namibia. The farm will fully operationalise its processing plant at Luderitz by the end of June this year. Under the De Beers partnership, the company has now received N$150 million in funding.
De Beers partnered Netherlands start-up Kelp Blue is seeking to raise between N$800 million and N$1.4 billion in equity and debt, as it moves to commercially develop the world’s first large-scale kelp farm in Namibia. The farm will fully operationalise its processing plant at Luderitz by the end of June this year. Under the De Beers partnership, the company has now received N$150 million in funding.
The company and the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) were awarded first runner-up in the Best Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Project category for the Kelp Blue investment project. The award was presented at the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) event in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This appreciation will add more positive momentum to Kelp Blue’s ambition of restoring the health of the ocean through giant kelp cultivation. This will also lead to the ongoing generation of jobs in the local community as Kelp Blue continues to grow operations.
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Kelp Blue is a sustainable oceanic aquaculture enterprise founded in 2020 with headquarters in The Netherlands and operations in Namibia, which plans harvested kelp canopy year-round to produce sustainable agri-foods and bio-stimulants. Kelp Blue collects cultivated kelp from the seaweed canopy to produce alternative agri-food, bio-stimulant, and textile products, and convert them into a variety of products, including bio-stimulants, at the new processing plant at Lüderitz. Kelp Blue is currently developing a range of products based on Macrocystis, such as agri-feed to feed animals in order to increase productivity and stimulate digestibility.
Research has shown that kelp forests have carbon sequestration properties exceeding those of terrestrial forests and that they help sustain healthy marine ecosystems, providing food and shelter for countless species.
