Articles
2026/07/08
Tokyo, Japan, [July 8, 2026] — The Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF), a Japan-based foundation dedicated to advancing impact investing and systems change, today announced that it has been selected as Asia-Pacific’s first Ecosystem Partner of 1000 Ocean Startups (1000OS), a global coalition for ocean innovation hosted under the World Economic Forum’s Ocean Action Agenda.
Through its review process, the 1000OS Steering Committee recognized SIIF’s track record as an ecosystem builder and its continued commitment to advancing the blue economy across Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. SIIF’s work to promote ocean systems change in APAC, together with its convening of international blue finance conferences over the past three years in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI), was also acknowledged as a valuable contribution to connecting diverse stakeholders across sectors and geographies.
As an Ecosystem Partner, SIIF will deepen collaboration with ocean startup support organizations, investors, research institutions, corporations, foundations, and other global actors in the 1000OS community. SIIF will contribute to the coalition by advancing ocean systems mapping across APAC, creating opportunities for knowledge exchange and international convening, and supporting the mobilization of diverse forms of capital for ocean systems change.
Within 1000OS, Ecosystem Partners play a critical role in strengthening the enabling infrastructure for ocean innovation. They contribute networks, knowledge, place-based expertise, shared tools, and convening capacity to support the broader ocean innovation ecosystem.
Unlike Core Members, which directly support startups through investment, acceleration, incubation, or venture-building, Ecosystem Partners act as enablers of collaboration and impact. They help connect actors across regions and sectors, facilitate knowledge sharing, and support the adoption and scaling of ocean-positive innovation.
As an Ecosystem Partner, SIIF will contribute to the 1000OS community through:
SIIF approaches complex social and environmental challenges as systems shaped by institutions, markets, capital flows, and relationships among diverse actors. Through this systems change approach, SIIF works to identify leverage points and enable coordinated action across sectors.
As an ecosystem builder in Japan’s impact investing market, SIIF has helped connect investors, financial institutions, foundations, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers, and civil society actors. In the ocean field, SIIF has been developing ocean systems mapping for Japan and the Asia-Pacific region and supporting the use of the Ocean Impact Navigator in Japan. Through these efforts, SIIF is helping build the foundations for capital mobilization and systems-level intervention in the ocean sector.
SIIF also positions capital orchestration as a key approach: designing and aligning different forms of capital to address complex social and environmental challenges. Its participation in 1000OS will connect this work to a global community of ocean innovators and ecosystem actors.
Through this partnership, SIIF aims to bring insights from APAC into global discussions, while also introducing international knowledge, tools, and practices into the Japanese ecosystem. SIIF will continue to serve as a bridge between APAC and the global ocean innovation community, contributing to the development of ocean systems change and impact investing worldwide.
The Ocean Impact Navigator is an impact measurement framework developed by 1000 Ocean Startups and published in 2022. It helps assess the impact of ocean-related innovation across ocean health, climate change, and human wellbeing and equity. In 2024, SIIF and the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation jointly supervised the Japanese version of the framework.
1000 Ocean Startups (1000OS) is the global coalition accelerating ocean innovation and impact investing for ocean health. Hosted by the World Economic Forum, it brings together 67+Members, from accelerators and venture studios to VCs, corporate venture funds and family offices — representing USD 3B+ in assets under management. Together, the coalition has already supported 850+ ocean impact start-ups tackling challenges from marine pollution and blue food to biodiversity, ocean data and coastal resilience. By strengthening collaboration, unlocking capital and diversifying the ecosystem, 1000OS aims to support 1,000 transformative ocean start-ups by 2030 — because one solution will not restore the ocean, but 1,000 might.
The Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF) is a Japan-based foundation supported by The Nippon Foundation. SIIF works to advance impact investing and systems change in Japan and beyond through impact strategy design, impact management, research, ecosystem building, and capital orchestration. By connecting diverse forms of capital and stakeholders, SIIF aims to contribute to structural solutions to complex social and environmental challenges.