What is the BlueInvest Project Pipeline?
See our showcase of innovative projects and entrepreneurs who are shaping the Blue Economy.
Projects consist of innovative, scalable and sustainable business ventures from traditional and emerging sectors of the maritime economy.
The graphs below provide an overview of the country distribution, sector, and TRL of projects currently listed in the BlueInvest Project Pipeline.
Selection Criteria:
Your company is EU-based or from an eligible sea basin region (Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Mauritania, United Kingdom, or Norway)
Your project TRL is 4 or higher
Your project sector is in one of the 10 blue economy sectors identified for this initiative
Your solution has a clear sustainable impact on the blue economy
Your project is looking for investment
Project Country
Country in which the project is being developed and / or implemented.
Project Sector
Main blue economy sector the project relates to.
Project TRL
Current technology readiness level of the project.
Costa Nostrum Certification
Vassilis Zissimopoulos (founder & CEO) is a mechanical engineer, with more than 15 years of experience in sustainable development, green economy, circular economy, environmental protection, and sustainable waste management. He holds two MSc degrees, “MSc Energy and Sustainable Development” and “MSc Environmental Conservation and Management”, while next summer is finishing his third MSc degree in Integrated Coastal Zone Management, from Aegean University. He is a member of the Standing Committee on the Environment of the Technical Chamber of Greece – Department of Eastern Crete and he is also a member of the Hellenic Solid Waste Management Association and member of International Solid Waste Association.
Athina Kypriotaki, (co-founder and PR Manager) is a freelancer Systemic Psychologist Psychotherapist with more than 15 years of experience. She holds also two MSc degrees, “MSc Applied Social Research” and “MSc Counseling Psychology”.
Both of them have participated as speakers in several international scientific conferences.
Mediterranean beaches constitute an important natural heritage for the region and a top worldwide tourism destination. However, although they are also a highly sensitive ecosystem, until today, no properly structured effort has been made towards a sustainable development and management of the Mediterranean beaches, resulting in a variety of environmental, economic, and social consequences.
It’s the first time worldwide that a protocol for the sustainable development and management of the Mediterranean beaches is created, aiming to prevent the environmental causes instead of “curing” them, as well as, proposals are made for economic viability & social well-being of the wider region, in order a balance to be achieved in three pillars of sustainable development.
The Costa Nostrum certification protocol is designed in a way that it can be adopted and applied by all municipalities and regions of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, as well as, by private entities/businesses, such as hotel units and camping, organized or not, that financially exploit a number of beaches.
Action is taken at the level that is closest to the real world of places and a community & stakeholder engagement is achieved.
A similar protocol for the sustainable management, certification, and promotion of beaches does NOT exist globally.
The protocol seeks to achieve the sustainable development of both the beaches and the wider coastal area and to prevent the environmental causes, instead of "curing" them, by proposing specific actions depending on the unique characteristics of each beach.
It is a dynamic upgrading system that can incorporate solutions, depending on the needs and characteristics of each beach, aiming at all beaches, with objective classification and categorization. It takes into account the carrying capacity of each beach and allows its annual scoring upgrade. It creates an experiential two-way bond between the bather and the beach and a very personalized tourist experience. It gives practical beach management tools to their managers and a healthy competitive environment is created.
The protocol consists of three main pillars: The initial study of the certified beach incorporates suggestions on the sustainable development and management of the beach based on its capabilities, infrastructures, and its unique characteristics. Secondly, the beach assessment - certification is following, with 39 objective criteria – indicators (social, economic, and environmental). The beaches are classified and assessed, concerning the degree of their sustainability, and allow annual improvement and beach classification, until the beach reaches the maximum classification. Finally, the third pillar is the worldwide promotion of the beach through the Costa Nostrum’s website, which also is a free online information portal for Mediterranean tourists, in regard to the infrastructure, classification, and characteristics (natural – technical) of all certified beaches, allowing visitors to search & choose for an awarded beach depending on their personal requirements avoiding unnecessary wanderings.
The specific protocol is “designed” in order to be able to be implemented in all kinds of beaches, organized or non-organized, public or private, even at the beaches which are located in protected natura areas, with the same positive results.