© The Earthshot Prize and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
The round was led by Hatch Blue's Blue Revolution Fund (BRF), a €92 million fund investing in sustainable aquaculture. Co-investors include Conservation International Ventures, elea, RS Group, Potato Impact Partners, Minderoo Foundation, Kibo Invest and Azulito Fund – a donor advised fund held at ImpactAssets.
Coast 4C* connects smallholders to global buyers through a traceable and responsible supply chain. While Southeast Asia produces the majority of the world's carrageenan – a seaweed-derived ingredient used across the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries – supply remains fragmented across informal networks, which limit product quality, consistency and farmer incomes.
The company addresses this at the source, providing farmers with technical support, inputs and market access to produce high-quality red seaweed for processors worldwide. The model also supports marine ecosystem health through regenerative farming practices and community-managed protected areas.
"The successful completion of the funding round marks a pivotal moment for Coast 4C,” said Nick Hill, founder and chief executive of Coast 4C, in a press release. "We will use the proceeds from the seed round to reach breakeven ahead of a Series A round, driving scale initially within Southeast Asia before expanding into other regions. We also plan to expand our farmer network across coastal communities and complete the rollout of our digital farm management and traceability platform.”
The round marks a continuation of lead investor Hatch Blue's commitment to backing Coast 4C from the ground up.
"Smallholder farmers have long been treated as grant recipients rather than equity-backed producers,” said Sol Park, a principal at the Blue Revolution Fund. "Having supported Coast 4C through our accelerator and pre-seed fund, Hatch Blue has seen first-hand what this company is capable of. BRF's investment is our way of proving that impact-oriented companies can sustain institutional capital, and that the sector is ready for it.”
The round blends family offices, venture philanthropists and venture capital funds, with early backers deepening their commitment alongside new investors entering at the seed stage.
“We are excited to partner with Coast 4C, one of the few entrepreneurial models building real economic opportunity for marginalised coastal communities,” said Stéphanie Abels, the executive director of elea. “By turning seaweed farming into a viable livelihood, the company gives these communities both the means and the incentive to protect the marine ecosystems they depend on.”
To support the transaction, the Blue Carbon Action Partnership – an initiative hosted by the World Economic Forum and supported by the UK Government’s COAST programme – collaborated with the Asia Pacific (APAC) Community of 1000 Ocean Startups to support Coast 4C with a grant to finalise the closing legal costs for the round.
*Coast 4C is one of Hatch Blue’s portfolio companies, but The Fish Site retains editorial independence.
