BluAct - Starting Up the Blue Economy

BluAct is a network of 8 European port cities including Piraeus, Mataro, Ostend, Galati, Matosinhos, Burgas, Salerno and Szczecin aiming to share good practices in Blue Economy entrepreneurship. The project is funded under the EU’s URBACT programme, which helps cities to develop sustainable, pragmatic solutions, integrating economic, social and environmental urban topics.

The project follows the success of Piraeus’ Blue Growth Initiative, an entrepreneurship competition that offers incubation services to local businesses boosting innovation and job creation. Through an approach of creating Urbact Local Support Groups and engaging local stakeholders and other interested parties, with the ultimate aim of starting up the blue economy, BluAct aims to deliver far reaching results in the respective partner cities.

BluAct network initiated its works during Spring of 2018, and has been awarded with the EEPA 2018 “Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit” award. Phase 2 of the project initiated recently with main event the transnational kick-off meeting that took place in Piraeus between 26-28 of February 2019. An interesting event, with valuable discussion, workshops, panels, exchange of important ideas and feedback from the sector, sharing of experience from past beneficiaries, winners of the 5 competitions and sponsors of the BlueGrowth initiative. The meeting concluded with the organization of the future work, and the presentation of the transfer plans of the 7 port-cities.

An increasing sea of opportunity?

It’s actually a little-known fact, but the word ‘opportunity’ comes from a Latin seafaring phrase, ob portus, which is made up of the terms ob, meaning “toward”, and portus, meaning “port”. The word came about, because sailors used to have to wait for the right combination of wind, current, and tide to successfully sail into port. They had to seize the right opportunity.

Today, the opportunity presented by the Blue Economy across Europe is significant and growing. Despite the well-developed nature of the blue economy, there is a scope to further increase its productivity, potential and contribution to the European economy.

Whilst a wide range of opportunities exist to further this aim, expanding Piraeus’ Good Practice in the field of Investment Readiness to a range of other cities across Europe and connecting this into a central Investment Platform like the one being developed by the Commission will help to establish a coherent cross-sectoral strategy to tackle one of the major obstacles to growth in the sector.