Facilitating investment in the Blue Economy
Maldives Tuna Think Tank
Facilitating sustainability and financing readiness of the Maldivian tuna sector through collaborative action
February 12th & 13th 2025
0830 - 1700 hrs
Sponsored by
Co-sponsored & coordinated by
Day 1
0830 - 1900 hrs
Sustainability in Business /
Communications and Storytelling
Day 2
Getting There
We will provide round trip transfers from Male' and Hulu'male on both days.
Male' pickup will be at 0815 from Jetty #2
(map below)
Hulu'male pickup will be at 0815 from the wooden jetty
(map below)
Gallery
After the workshop has ended, find photos and videos here.
Venue
The two-day workshop will be held at Villa Nautica Resort. Close to Male' and with modern facilities, it is an ideal place to focus on dialogue and interactive sessions.
We are grateful for the assistance provided by staff at Villa Nautica to organise the event.
Meet the Experts who will be sharing their knowledge to help analyse the Maldives' fishing industry through a sustainability lens
Joan Fulton
Coordinator of finance themes for the Tuna Think Tank.
Joan brings over 25 years of international corporate banking and finance experience, combined with 10+ years of teaching diverse multinational business subjects at universities in Madrid and Geneva. She acts as an intermediary between funders and recipients of funding. Her focus is on business readiness and making introductions, with a funding target below USD 20 million.
"Having worked in business and banking and having taught a variety of management courses, I act as a bridge between business and finance."
Susan Lahey
Blue Economy Publisher
Susan has launched a news site covering theBlue Economy following decades of work as a journalist and communications expert covering business, finance, emerging tech and innovation, sustainability, since and ocean topics. She has worked as a consultant with dozens of businesses on business storytelling in order to garner media interest, consumer interest, and funding.
"I am a journalist and communications expert who has funnelled her experience covering sustainability, climate resiliency, business, tech, science and ocean coverage into a new publication called BlueEconomyNews.Earth."
Ewan Puckle Hobbs
Sustainability development and advisory consultant - focus on Blue Foods /
Blue Economy
Ewan works with Tahtva, a company focused on increasing yields and incomes for small scale businesses, particularly in the Blue Economy across southern Asia. He has led a successful career as a diagnostic analyst and strategic operating model designer as part of IBMs global banking team. He has used his diagnostic capacilities to understand a range of blue and green agri-business value chains and to identify constraints preventing sustainable development.
"I am a strategic business analyst with a robust understanding of the relationship between the sustainable development of agri-businesses and the flow of money that can enable it."
Sandra Mies
Sustainability Communication Consultant
Sandra Mies is a former journalist, PR expert and communications manager with 20+ years of experience in different fields of sustainability such as fishery certification and ecolabelling, supply chain operations and dairy production, biodiversity and regenerative agriculture. She has previously organised documentaries following seafood from catch to plate in various fisheries aimed for European markets.
"I am an expert in sustainability communication focused on sustainable fisheries and certifications."
Thomas Kessler
Principle Finance Specialist (Disaster Insurance)
Sector Group Finance
Thomas has more than 25 years of experience in the private reinsurance market. At ADB, he supports the development of sustainable and climate finance solutions, including leveraging the value proposition of the insurance industry and to unlock private sector capital and investments into resilient infrastructure, blue and green SMEs, nature based solutions, and disaster risk financing.
"I see great value in working together with multinational organisations to coordinate action to support responsible and practical Blue Economy development throughout the Global South".
Thomas Egli
Workshop Coordinator and Market Expert
Not only does Thomas have a broad understanding of entire seafood supply chains, but he has worked alongside indigenous groups on several continents to contribute to effective ecosystem management. With a passion for realistic development, Thomas sees immense value in balancing the needs of a growing population with finite resources.
"I firmly believe that there is great opportunity to support responsible and sustainable development of the Maldivian tuna industry in a way that will benefit all stakeholders. The way forward will not be easy but through open dialogue and transparency, the Maldives can become a model fishery and processing industry for others to learn from".
Matt Porteous
Ocean Storytelling
An award-winning photographer and videographer and official Royal Photographer, Matt's passion for storytelling is captured in his ability to weave visual narratives of profound depth. His focus on impactful stories bridges personal experiences with universal truths. Matt's work has been published by the UN and his deep commitment to enabling local ocean storytellers emphasises the significant contribution of indigenous knowledge to development.
"I aim for my photographs to share the amazing stories of people and their passion for the ocean, supporting its protection along with the livelihoods dependant on it."
Tamsin Raine
Empowering Local Storytelling
Tamsin has used her passion for marine science and communication to found a successful communications business as well as a non-profit that supports local storytellers. She hopes to foster collaboration that supports sustainable development, heritage, and ocean stewardship by integrating culture, science, and communication through creative practices.
"Enabling local peoples to tell their stories of endurance and passion through a changing world is a powerful way to promote responsible development."
Ariane Kaploun
Sustainable Investment and Insurance Representative
Ariane is head of Nature-baed initiatives at AXA Climate, whose mission is to reinvent the insurance business to support companies engaged in sustainable transitions. She helps private and public organisations adapt and transform to create positive interactions between nature, climate, and their activities.
"I am building innovative solutions to re-risk natural capital projects and accelerate environmental preservation."
Richard Speak
Impact Investment and Small-scale Fisheries Finance
Richard is co-founder of Finance Earth where he designs investment facilities and accelerators to support investable biodiversity and carbon projects. He helped design an incubator programme to support community enterprises in the SW Indian Ocean in partnership with WWF. Together with WWF, Finance Earth created and manages the Fisheries Improvement Fund, a multistakeholder blue finance solution to deliver global fisheries improvement at scale.
"My journey setting up social enterprises has taught me that understanding the mechanics of supply chains is critical to designing innovative and lasting facilities that effectively benefit communities."
Alan Steele
CEO at Sea Green / Global Supply Chain Executive
Allan has a passion for excellence, innovation, technology and global collaboration. He leads strategy operations and services in the areas of resource saving technologies, food and beverage, finance and technology with a clear focus on the Blue Economy and the Environment.
"I aim to bring creative solutions to companies and customers I service. I specialise in innovative and technology-driven supply chain management."
Contributing local partners
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