Apply to WAVEMAKER: Marine Conservation Start-up Award!
On 16 September 2026, five marine restoration start-ups and spin-offs will take the stage at the WAVEMAKER Marine Conservation Startup Award in Berlin to pitch their ventures to an expert jury and an audience of industry leaders, researchers and public authorities from across the blue economy.
Hosted by the SUBMARINER Network and funded by EIT Water, with support from the Poul Due Jensen Foundation (Grundfos Foundation), the award celebrates business ideas that are making marine protection and nature restoration more efficient and effective.
Any European start-up and spin-off working in this field can apply, and five finalists will be selected for the award ceremony. Of those, three winners will receive a one-year membership to EIT Water, the new EU innovation community for the water sector. The membership opens doors to funding opportunities, business support and partners across Europe. The first-place winner will go on to the European WAVEMAKER final at the EIT Water Launch Event in Málaga on 15 October 2026, competing with regional winners from across the continent for the European title and a EUR 5,000 prize.
The award ceremony takes place immediately after the kick-off of SPHERE, an EU Mission Ocean project on marine protection and co-organiser of this event, coordinated by s.Pro Sustainable Projects. It is a unique opportunity to meet and network with more than 15 restoration partners from nine countries across Europe, experts from the MPA-Community Network, and other organisations shaping the future of marine restoration.
What applying involves
The application form asks for short details about you and your venture, followed by five open-ended questions, each limited to 1,000 words. Completing the form takes approximately one hour, so we recommend preparing your answers in advance, as the form does not save progress. These are the five questions:
- What problem do you address, and why does it matter for marine protection and restoration? What evidence shows it matters?
- What is your solution, what makes it innovative, and how does it differ from existing approaches? Focus on how your solution works and what is new about it.
- What measurable impact will your solution have on water and sustainability, and how will you measure it? Focus on the environmental outcomes your solution delivers, the numbers you expect, and how you will measure them.
- How viable and scalable is your business model? Who are your customers, and what is your competitive positioning?
- Who is on your team, what relevant expertise do you bring, and what progress have you made so far (prototype, pilots, partnerships)?
Alongside the five questions you will also asked to upload your pitch deck as a single PDF. The deck supports your written answers and helps the evaluators understand your venture in more depth.
Submit your application by 20 August 2026 via the application form. The five finalists will be informed by 31 August, will be invited to pitch in Berlin, receive expert mentoring ahead of the event, and receive a contribution towards their travel costs.
