By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has formally unveiled its Blue Economy Accelerator Programme, BEAP, seeking stronger investment, financing and regulatory support for Nigerian startups developing solutions for the maritime sector.
The programme was launched in Lagos on Wednesday during a high-level interactive session involving the organised private sector, development finance institutions, commercial banks and relevant ministries, departments and agencies.
NIMASA said the accelerator was designed to identify, nurture and accelerate innovative startups capable of providing solutions to challenges across Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.
Representing the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, the Director of Marine Conservation, Innovation and Technology, Hussein Shettima, said the programme marked a shift from government being viewed primarily as a regulator to becoming a catalyst for innovation and investment.
According to Oyetola, Nigeria’s blue economy offers significant opportunities, given the country’s 853-kilometre coastline, six major commercial seaports and extensive inland waterways.
He noted that the Federal Executive Council’s approval of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy in May 2025 had established the sector as an important component of Nigeria’s economic diversification strategy.
The Minister urged commercial banks to create dedicated lending windows for blue economy businesses, while calling on development finance institutions to deploy blended finance and green bonds to support emerging maritime enterprises.
He also challenged established maritime companies to mentor and sponsor startups emerging from the accelerator, while urging regulators to provide opportunities for pilot deployment and faster regulatory pathways for innovative solutions.
Also speaking, NIMASA Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Dayo Mobereola, said Nigeria’s blue economy remained significantly underexploited.
Mobereola said the country had yet to capture a substantial share of the economic value generated across its maritime boundaries, noting that less than three per cent of the maritime value chain was currently captured onshore.
He described BEAP as a national economic initiative rather than merely an agency programme.
“The Blue Economy Accelerator Programme, BEAP, is not merely an agency’s programme. It is a national economic imperative,” Mobereola said.
According to him, the programme will run as a 12-week accelerator and national hackathon, identifying and developing innovators across 13 maritime innovation tracks.
Participants will be connected with mentors, investors, industrial leaders and other opportunities within the maritime ecosystem.
Mobereola said many promising innovations fail to reach the market because their developers lack access to capital, industry expertise and regulatory support.
He cited the example of a young engineer developing technology capable of reducing vessel turnaround time, saying BEAP was designed to bridge the gap between innovation and commercial application.
“Nigeria has a coastline. We have the talent. We have the market. We have the policy framework. What we now need is to bring capital, innovation, expertise and opportunity together,” he said.
NIMASA had earlier announced BEAP as a mechanism for providing participating innovators with business development support, industry mentorship and technical guidance.
Also speaking, Director of Opolo Global Innovation Limited, Nnkem Ogbuaku, NIMASA’s technical partner for the programme, said the initiative would target ideas, concepts and startups emerging from universities and innovation corridors across the country.
Ogbuaku said the programme was designed to incubate and accelerate young innovators whose solutions could address challenges across the blue economy.
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He said Opolo had worked with institutions to identify and groom young talents, expressing optimism that the programme could contribute to the emergence of more Nigerian technology companies with global reach.
He urged companies and institutions represented at the event to move quickly from discussions to concrete partnerships, stressing that capital, collaboration and industry participation were critical to moving innovations from laboratories into the marketplace.
The programme is expected to culminate in a Demo Day, where participating innovators will have the opportunity to engage potential investors and industry partners.
NIMASA said the initiative places innovation, financing, mentorship and regulatory support at the centre of efforts to increase Nigerian participation in the country’s maritime value chain and unlock greater economic value from the blue economy.
