Continuing on the momentum from UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice and the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) in Monaco earlier this year, in this webinar, we will talk about why oceans matter, and why driving investment into ocean resilience is key – especially for Africa with oceans as their economic lifelines.
Our guest Dr. Melissa Walsh, Director Blue Finance & Scaling from ORRAA (Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance), will help us understand key blue investment sectors and what needs to shift to unlock blue finance at scale. She will share insights how they help drive investment into building coastal and ocean resilience through finance and insurance products that reduce risk and create more financially and socially resilient communities.
Melissa is a leading global expert in ocean finance and the blue economy, with 24 years of experience in coral reef science, management, and conservation finance across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Melissa’s expertise spans all sectors of marine conservation including government, private industry, academia, and NGOs. Prior to ORRAA, Melissa was Head of Ocean Finance at the Minderoo Foundation and Director of the Ocean Finance Initiative for the Asian Development Bank. In the latter role, she supported ADB’s USD$5 billion commitment by developing innovative finance mechanisms including the Blue Bond Accelerator and building global market standards for blue finance.