Kee Farms

We're back in Dubai! Nicholas Kee is in Dubai, representing us, Jamaica, SIDS, and the Caribbean for COP28 and COY18. The Conference of Youth is the biggest and most substantial youth conference related to the multilateral UN climate processes. While at COY18 Nicholas Kee was highlighting ecosystem-based adaption and resilience projects like ours Kee Farms. COP28 is an international annual climate summit. At COP world leaders gather to work together on solutions to tackle climate change. This year Nicholas Kee is pushing the agenda for more support for SIDS and advocating for climate resilience for vulnerable groups.

Come join the winning team!

It was a pleasure to attend and speak at the One Young World Summit earlier this month. Combatting the #FoodCrisis faced by us today and ahead of us is extremely important in the wake of the climate crisis. I am glad I was able to shed light on the challenges faced by Jamaica and other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and present the work being done by us at Kee Farms. I was also happy to share the stage with others in the food insecurity space. Organizations like the Audi Environmental Foundation recognize the work that we are doing and happily supported my attendance at the #OYW2023 and are championing our cause for change globally as we aim to hit our Net Zero targets. I'm looking forward to more companies joining the mission that we are on to enable environmental, social, and economic impact. Very happy to represent the Caribbean Community! #OYW23 #AudiEnvironmentalFoundation #OneYoungWorld #Sustainability

Ocean Exchange wrapped up yesterday and Seaworthy Collective was thrilled to not only contribute to the selection process but also serve as voting delegates. We were also proud to have our first-ever representation on the prestigious Neptune stage with Nicholas Kee and Kee Farms + Anya Freeman and Kind Designs Official from our first cohort! It's such a privilege to hear from so many amazing global BlueTech innovators that Millicent Pitts, Susan Zellers, and the Ocean Exchange team are able to bring to our region. We're grateful to be partners and support their wonderful community and invaluable efforts that continually bring the best and most promising ocean entrepreneurs to the forefront through their incredible platform. It's personally also special to get to connect the community with my hometown in Fort Lauderdale! This year more than any of the 3 editions I've attended so far, it was heartening to see so many entrepreneurs at exciting inflection points that organizations like Seaworthy and other fellow 1000 Ocean Startups Coalition members can tangibly help support! Looking forward to seeing current and future members of our global BlueTech ecosystem! Also had an awesome time meeting adventurer Chris Bertish and spending quality time with ocean friends from all over! Huge congrats to Neptune award winner Remora Technical - glad to see bio-mimicry is having a moment! Speaking of having a moment, South Florida had more amazing news this week; The Biden-Harris administration, through the Department of Commerce’s U.S. Economic Development Administration, announced that South Florida has been designated one of 31 Tech Hubs. The goal of this initiative is to invest in high-potential regions within the US, transforming them into globally competitive innovation centers. Being one of these Tech Hubs enables South Florida to apply for $50 million to $75 million in “phase two” funding, alongside technical assistance from the federal government. Congratulations to Francesca de Quesada Covey and Galen Treuer for making waves nationally - establishing South Florida as a federally-recognized hub for #ClimateTech! Between Ocean Exchange and Seaworthy Collective's startup showcase, all the proof is in the pudding that #BlueTech is a major part of it! Looking forward to having some long-awaited bandwidth to support new and exciting collaborations ahead of us! 🚀

Last night, Seaworthy Collective's third startup showcase not only celebrated the hard work & dedication of our latest wave of Sea Change Makers (ocean startup founders), but truly was the culmination of all 3 years of the journey seeing our Miami & global community driving the evolution of our region as a #BlueTech and #ClimateTech hub, all built around our mission to make ocean & climate impact innovation (BlueTech) accessible and inclusive. For the first time, the MAJORITY of the startups we were able to support this year were based in South Florida; a testament to the growing innovation in our region that desperately needs solutions. The energy in the space was electric, and we kicked off the night with an inspiring keynote from Ted Janulis of Investable Oceans. Ted shared his overview on the building wave of momentum in the blue economy and blue investment, alongside milestones in pop culture & ocean exploration, perfectly setting the stage for the evening! Afterwards, we celebrated the incredible partnerships that have enabled us to get to where we are today, with meaningful words of support from Salesforce & Ashley Monson, U.S. Small Business Administration Growth Accelerator Fund Competition & Maura Shenker + Alison Evans, as well as Miami-Dade County / Mayor Daniella Levine Cava & Galen Treuer. Their support of Entrepreneur Support Organizations & communities like ours enables our ecosystem to thrive & continue to grow! For the first time, we brought back 2 startups from our 1st cohort to share their exciting updates and progress since we began our journeys together in 2021! Anya Freeman and Kind Designs Official rocked the stage as she continues trailblazing with 3D-printed bio-inspired seawalls here in Miami! Nicholas Kee and Kee Farms shared how he's growing tangible social, economic, and environmental impacts in Jamaica - creating the model for implementing triple bottom line impact. We say once you're part of a Seaworthy cohort - we're with you for life, and we're so proud to see what they've achieved in just 2 short years! After Anya and Nicholas set the stage for what our startups can achieve, we were thrilled to unveil our latest wave of Seaworthy startups we've supported this year, including: 🚤 ARKHAUS w/ Co-founders Sam Payrovi & Nathalie Paiva 🌊 Algas Organics w/ Founder & CEO Johanan Dujon 🏖️ ShoreLock w/ Co-founders Blayne Ross and Troy Scott ♻️ Gradible w/ Founder & CEO Yadira Diaz Learn more & connect with each of them here: https://lnkd.in/es9nwmWn (website updates to come next month!) Finally, we shared some exciting announcements including our latest philanthropic capital ask, welcoming inquiries for new partnerships, open applications for our 2024 startup programs (with full scholarships available for all participants!), and our first-ever pitch competition with the Miami Heat coming in early 2024 for a little extra motivation for startups to apply for our programs 🏀🔥 Photos by ESL Pix Studio