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75.000 €

Settled by the promoter

Oceano Fresco II

Location Pin Svg
Algarve, PT

instalment

monthly

term

4 years

yearly interest

5.5%

risk rating

B-

Installation of a sustainable off-shore clam farm.

Description

Oceano Fresco is going to install the first open sea off-shore clam farm in the world in the south of Portugal (Algarve). The installation will happen in 2020 and it will occupy 100 ha, 5 km from Lagos/Alvor coast.

This is the second campaign the promoter funds through Goparity after having raised 75.000€ successfully, an amount that was used to order the cables, chains, concrete blocks, buoys and lanterns that are needed to set up the farm. The company has since then raised a 3.8M€ investment from BlueCrow Capital, a BioEconomy-focused venture capital fund.

The structure of the clam farm will be composed of submersed horizontal cables, on which lanterns (plates wrapped in a mesh) will be placed and where the clams will be cultivated.

The farm is fundamental to complete the biological cultivation cycle because, after the spawning and hatchery phase, clams need to grow-out until the adult edible size, promoting environmental sustainability and raising the satisfaction and the security level for the final consumer. At the off-shore farm, the clams find the perfect conditions to complete the cycle, with a natural source of food and perfect abiotic conditions.

Besides that, Oceano Fresco is building a bio marine centre in Nazaré to produce the clam seeds that will be cultivated in the Algarve’s farm, the first off-shore clam farm in the world, allowing control of all of the value chain.

The Impact

Ecosystems provide essential services such as food, fresh water, clean air and shelter. They mitigate natural disasters, pests and diseases and help regulate the climate. A sustainable ‘blue economy’ will play a central role in alleviating the multiple demands on land resources and in tackling climate change. The sector can contribute by promoting a sustainable use of aquatic and marine resources and by providing an alternative source of protein that can relieve pressure on agricultural land.

In the next 50 years, it is predicted that the search for protein will grow exponentially. The cultivation of clams is one of the most sustainable alternative sources of protein used nowadays with less environmental impact, as no chemicals or artificial feeds are used; the clams have a filtering function fighting aquatic pollution; and they capture CO2 in their shell formation.

Once installed, the off-shore farm will have the capacity to capture 266,73 tonnes of CO2 per year, based on annual production estimated of 600 tonnes of clams.

Click here to read the article "Can the ocean feed us sustainably?" written by the promoter.

Impact Indicators

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44,45 t

CO2 avoided per year

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16,67

Hectares for biodiversity

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17

jobs created

Sustainable Development Goals

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Financial viability

The off-shore farm will have a total investment of 3,1M€, of which 1,5M€ was secured by the MAR2020 program and 800K€ by the company's own capital. Puromar wants to fund the remaining amount via various campaigns with Goparity. This is the second tranche of funding, after they raised 75.000€

Moreover, on 8 April 2020, Oceano Fresco announced the closing of a €3.8 million investment from BlueCrow Capital, a BioEconomy-focused venture capital fund.

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Download Key Investment Information Sheet

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Guarantees

This project is secured with guarantee from the holding company, Oceano Fresco, SA. 

The Promoter

About PURO MAR - UNIPESSOAL, LDA

Puromar Lda is a subsidiary of Oceano Fresco SA and provides the service of the grown-out production in the open sea farm in the Algarve.

Oceano Fresco was founded in 2015 by Bernardo Ferreira de Carvalho. The company is focused on sustainable aquaculture of high-value bivalves (European clams), using scientific research and methods and an innovative approach in the systematic improvement of aquaculture. The company's motto is: “we can regenerate nature if we farm and eat better”. Oceano Fresco is led by a Board of five Directors with scientific, financial, and business experience, including launching and scaling up of start-ups. They are supported by a growing Operational Team (40 people) covering R&D, production, business, and several Advisory Board members with world-renowned fish breeding experts.

The company has built a state-of-the-art Biomarine Center, including a hatchery, labs, and offices in central Portugal, as well as a 100-hectare sea farm off the coast of the Algarve region. With these rare and complementary assets, the company will apply advanced selection and breeding methods to native European clam species of high nutritional and market value, which are presently being replaced in the market by their low-value Asian counterparts (low organoleptic value).

The team

Bernardo Carvalho

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CEO & Executive Director

Entrepreneur and independent consultant for leading companies in agro-genetics, pharma, and banking.

Frederico Reis

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CCO & Executive Director

Marketing & Sales senior executive with >15 years in FMCG, Consumer Healthcare, Electronics and food Retail across Europe.

Bernardo Empis Meira

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Chairman & Non-executive director, BlueCrow Capital

Experienced financial advisor with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. Strong entrepreneurship professional skilled in Mergers & Acquisitions, Venture Capital, and Project Finance.

John Mairlot

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Non-executive Director, Aqua-Spark

Senior Investment Manager at Aqua-Spark

Hugo Augusto

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Non-executive Director, Semapa NEXT

Semapa NEXT CEO and entrepreneur

Nuno Arantes Oliveir

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Co-Founder & Chairman of the Advisory Board

Life Science executive and entrepreneur. PhD in Genetics. MIT Portugal, NOVA-SBE. 200M Fund. Research at Univ. of California.

Bjørn Skjævestad

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Advisory Board member

Owner of Altavida, Oslo. Numerous key roles in aquaculture, biotechnology and animal health ventures

Olivier Cottet

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Advisory Board member

Plant breeding specialist. >20 years experience managing breeding programs at Syngenta.

Stan Allen

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Advisory Board member

Shellfish breeding specialist. Director of Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center at Virginia Institute of Marine Science (USA)

Marco Dubbeldam

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Advisory Board member

Shellfish rearing specialist.

Business Model

The revenue source of Oceano Fresco is the high quality and value clam sale, where the market demand greatly exceeds the supply. The production will mainly be sold in Europe but also exported for sale to other regions such as Japan and South Korea. By controlling several steps in the value creation chain, Oceano Fresco is poised to become a leading producer of clams and eventually other bivalves in the foreseeable future. Over the last few years, the Company’s unique value proposition has led to it being awarded approximately 12 million euros in competitive grants and 7.5M€ in seed-stage equity investments.

The Company expects to reach a turnover of €9m in less than 3 years, and of €250m in a matter of 7 years. So far, it has reached out to over 50 potential customers (among shellfish distributors and supermarkets). Their intention to buy at the prices established in the business model largely exceeds the company’s production capacity in the first years, a positive sign for the company to achieve the predicted turnover.

Oceano Fresco has already assembled a world-class team of international advisors, managers, scientists, breeders, and technicians. Oceano Fresco aims to become a game-changer in the €20 billion shellfish market, contributing to higher levels of sustainability in European and global food production.

Active since

2014

Fiscal country

PT

Operating In

Portugal

Industry

Aquaculture

Number of Goparity Loans

9

Women Shareholders

No

Updates

2024-06-14

Project End

This project has successfully reached its payments plan maturity. All investors have received their full capital invested and interest. Nevertheless, its impact will keep growing for many more years!

2021-02-18

Project Update

  • 2.5m seeds have been produced which are ready to go to the sea.
  • The reconfiguration and improvement of the 12-metre vessel has been finalised, and the boat is now ready operational at the port of Lagos.
  • Three more containers containing flashlights have been received.
  • Oceano Fresco has received notices of purchase interest from several potential customers which include supermarket chains, seafood distributors and purchasers.
  • Several R&D projects have been established and Oceano Fresco has applied to Portuguese and European funding programs to finance them.
  • Progress has been made on ongoing R&D projects in generic, pathology and cultivation projects.

By the end of March, Oceano Fresco plans to achieve:

  • Seed placement in the sea nursery and obtaining growth data.
  • Increased production cadence for the seeds.
  • Visible progress in the construction of the 22-metre vessel.
  • Receive further notices of interest from potential customers, especially from Spain.

2020-07-16

First payment

First instalment was paid to all the investors

2020-06-15

100% funded

275 investors successfully raised 75.000 €

2020-05-22

Amount extension

The promoter decided to increase the total amount of the project from €50.000 to €75.000, maintaining the end date of the campaign on 13/06/2020.

2020-05-13

Open for investment

This campaign will help capture the emission of 99.4 tons of CO2 per year

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