Blue Ambition 26 - Finding Opportunity in the Blue Bioeconomy
19 October 2026 | The Convention Centre Dublin
Ireland's flagship blue bioeconomy event returns, this time as a Satellite Event of the Global Bioeconomy Summit 2026. Under the theme "Finding Opportunities in the Blue Bioeconomy," Blue Ambition 26 brings together investors, innovators, and ocean champions to uncover high-potential opportunities across the blue bioeconomy.
From high-value marine ingredients to technology and ecosystem services, the sector is scaling fast, and Ireland is well placed to lead. Taking place during Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the EU, this is a moment when global attention turns to Dublin and the opportunities in the blue bioeconomy come into sharp focus.
If you are looking to find out what exciting areas of the blue bioeconomy are emerging and offering opportunities for global economic development then this is the event for you.
Organised by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland's Seafood Development Agency in conjunction with Hatch Blue, Blue Ambition 26 will spotlight the emerging companies reshaping seafood production, ocean monitoring, circular systems, and more. Blue Ambition 26 is supported through funding provided under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).
Opening address by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Timmy Dooley, T.D. followed by two keynotes from entrepreneurs who have turned marine resources into global businesses.
Fertram Sigurjonsson, Founder and CEO, Kerecis
Rooted and Scaled: Building a Giant from the Shoreline
Fertram took an underutilised fishing by-product from Iceland's Westfjords, Atlantic cod skin, and turned it into a clinically proven technology for treating wounds and burns. In 2023, Kerecis became Iceland's first unicorn when Coloplast acquired it in a deal valued at around USD 1.3 billion. His keynote explores how a locally rooted marine innovation became a global medical business, and what that means for fishers, seafood processors, and policymakers looking to create more value from marine resources.
Liris Maduningtyas, Co-founder and CEO, JALA
How Data Makes Production Scalable and Investable
An electrical engineer by training, Liris co-founded JALA in 2017 with shrimp farmer Aryo Wiryawan to help Indonesian farmers move from traditional methods to real-time data. What started as water quality monitoring has grown into an end-to-end platform covering pond management, farm assistance, credit scoring, and financing, with more than 20,000 users across over 35,000 ponds. Liris shares how trusted production data turns fragmented farms into businesses that can grow and attract capital, and what that means for scaling aquaculture anywhere, including here in Ireland.
James Murphy, Founder and CEO, Lifes2Good
Proof of Value: The Marine Ingredient That Went Global
James built Viviscal, the hair-growth supplement based on a marine complex, into a category leader in the US before selling it in 2017 for roughly EUR 150 million. Now an impact investor and advocate for the potential in Ireland's marine resources, from proteins and peptides to seaweed, he shares a distinctly Irish success story and invites the room to consider how more Irish companies can take these opportunities further and build the next global success.